A Closer Look: Christmas 1950s Style | Cultured Elegance
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- A Closer Look: 1950s Christmas | Cultured Elegance
In this video, we will explore Christmas during the 1950s specifically in America. We will look at the traditions, cultural norms, parties, food served, toys and much more!
Together let’s travel back in time as we learn about what it was like to have Christmas during the fifties in America.
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I grew up in the 80's, but my parents, family, and family friends had grown up with 1950's style Christmas, and it was their tradition. It was wonderful to experience as a child. I am looking to recreate some of it for my family.
I was a child back in the '50s. Everyone got dressed up, went to church, and then visited family. Friends were seen on Christmas Eve and the week between Christmas and New Year's. We didn't get new clothes for Christmas---there were four of us, and that would have broken the bank for my parents. Clothing was passed along from siblings to cousins and then friends. I vividly remember wearing a red plaid jumper and blouse that three of my cousins had worn. When I outgrew that wonderful outfit, it was passed along to my younger cousins Liz and Elaine. The women all had corsages on and holiday pins on their outer coats. Hats, scarves and gloves/mittens were in vogue because it was cold!!! And there was always at least a foot or two of snow on the ground. Every hour of Christmas Day was magical in many ways, and I can still remember going outside after a light supper and wishing on the first star of Christmas that we could see. Those were magical and good times, and the people were not as materialistic, greedy, crass, and often vulgar as they are today. People then understood the true meaning of Christmas, and it didn't involve a madly gyrating Santa holding a beer can and smoking a joint.
Guess what! People were just as mean and crass as they are today. Just as materialistic and just as petty. Humans do not change.
I loved my Nan’s collection of big Christmas tree & wreath coat pins. She always got a corsage as well.
@@plicketyplunkAt least it wasn't on full display like it is now.
@@bryanspindle4455 It is on full display now because we are all on the internet with our noses deep in the news who have their own agenda. I keep telling people it is simple to go back to the "good old days" but apparently everyone prefers to keep their technology and then moan and complain about life. Go figure🤷
@@plicketyplunk Edit: wrong word, spacing People then _may_ have been just as crass and petty as they are now, but they were not as mean or materialistic. I've watched good manners shrivel and consumerism mushroom over the past six decades. A lot of it is due to the brainwashing of advertising as well as declining church attendance (secularism simply has no adequate mechanism for teaching brotherly love or other important values of civilization), but we are each responsible for our own attitudes and actions. Humans may not change, but their social and moral educations have, and that has made the unhappy difference.
I grew up in a NYC suburb. My favorite memory was driving into the city to see the tree at Rockefeller Center and then our parents would drive up and down 5th Ave and we would hop in and out of the car to see the windows at the different stores while munching on the big toasted hot pretzels.
We would be taken into Glasgow city centre to see the lights in George Square, Sauchiehall St, Buchanan St, Argyll St. It was a magical time.
My family name is Buchanan , sounds like a lovely place to go 😉
My family name is Buchanan , sounds like a lovely place to go 😉
That sounds so great! 😊 ❤
My favorite Christmas toy was in 1970 or so. My Malibu Barbie and her camper. I can still smell the plastic of the camper in my head!
Love it!! Thank you for sharing! Merry Christmas
My fondest memory of my mom was how glamorous she looked at Christmas and New Years. The holidays were the only time we could all get together without fighting. It was a wonderful time!
My Mother too was Beautiful and Glamorous. Back then many women had CLASSSSSSS!!!!!. Today CLASS is a long lost word that can be found only in the dictionary. I am glad I grew up in those days. I was born in 1955 on Valentine's Day. I watched this video and can only cry, cry and cry. Those times will never ever come back.
How far we have fallen as a nation. Love your channel and thank you for all of your great work. Happy New Year and God bless.
Yes Margaret we have fallen with a big THUD. The question is, can we get back to some NORMALCY? I pray that we can but I don't see anything that can show me we ever will get off the smelly ground.
This was my childhood! We lived in a rural area near a small town but my older sisters were so elegant. We all dressed up for Christmas dinner. I still have many of Mom’s Shiny Brite ornaments.
I also have my parents Shiny Brite ornaments (also bought more from Antique shops). I have decorated my tree every year with them, also with tensile for that 50's look!
What a lovely tribute to my parents' and grandparents' generation. ❤
The small Georgia town where I live still has a Christmas parade complete with a fire truck. After the parade we have the lighting of the downtown Christmas tree while Santa meets with the children. 🎄🎅
Same in my town in Kentucky.
There are several small towns in our county that do the same thing - the kids eat it up (and so do the parents!).
@@maggiesue4825 Glad to hear that. I thought those good old traditions went out with chrome bumpers. We don't have anything like you say here in Los Angeles. I remember those wonderful times when I was a four and five year old in Warsaw & Fort Wayne, Indiana.
@@Nightbird1914 Nice to hear that there in Kentucky they kept old traditions.
Golly I loved our aluminum tree. We also had a green (fake) one. That tree had the bubble lights. I used to stare at them for hours.
Christmas was the best time of year for us as kids. We cut our own tree from our land (always the worst one, cause the others were for growing for lumber) but it smelled so good no matter how spindly/misshapen. My parents had real German glass ornaments, what wonderful memories.
My uncle brought back ornaments from Germany after his discharge post WWII. We still have two of them - they are carefully wrapped and mounted each year to protect them!
Love the elegance of the old Christmas dinners. My paternal grandfather used to come to Christmas dinner in a suit and tie. Now, I shudder when I go to my in-laws and they INSIST on everyone wearing Christmas pyjamas at the table. I just cringe at the thought of it.
Learn how to say no.
Oh my. I had emergency surgery Friday and sad I won’t be dressing up and going to Midnight Mass or Christmas Day Mass. My son, brother, and sister n law will be here. I told my son loungewear for me but not pajamas!
I know what you mean. We always took pictures of the set table before we sat down to eat. People went to a lot of trouble to make the meals and fellowship special!!
That makes me sad. I can remember being in a red velvet smock dress with patent leathers & my brother in a plaid Eton suit. 🎄
Just lovely! What fun seeing all of the decor and toys and dress. Such elegance! My favorite Christmas memory from childhood was going to the 11pm candlelit Christmas Eve service with my family. Being in church to usher in Christmas is so meaningful. It's wonderful because that tradition still lives on.
Family get togethers and the fabulous foods was what I loved. But I always passed on the green bean casserole!
I exchange the cream of mushroom soup for cream of celery or cream of chicken. BIG difference!
Sounds delicious
Love the videos. My family, lower-middle-class, could not indulge in all the parties, party dresses and tuxes, but we witnessed them on the sidelines, since my father was a musician who was often employed to entertain at these festivities. Truly, though, people actualled DRESSED for these events. These days, you never know what people will wear, much less comport themselves with decoram and grace. Thanks for the tour down memory lane!!
I remember when our parents bought a pink flocked Christmas tree. ❤
That’s pretty wild for back then 🎄
Actually, in Birmingham AL , there was a tree lot (1959?) that had trees flocked pink, aqua, and I believe lavender.@@samanthab1923
Oh,- this was a super video. Growing up in the 50’s was a delight, especially at Christmas time. My favorite gift was a wonderful dollhouse designed in the round. I loved that house and played with it for hours. I had a whole family that lived and moved around from room to room. I don’t have that house, but I do have some of the furniture still. Oh,- and by the way, I’m a professional interior designer still working in the industry. Love it still! Carol from California
Beautifully done.
Thank you so much! I appreciate your support
Grew up in the 80’s & 90’s and those were some great toy years. I remember asking for a talking doll by the name of Jill when I was in 5th or 6th grade. Jill was awesome, she not only talked but she moved her head and her arms. Only thing was Jill was extremely expensive and while my parents could afford to buy her for me I didn’t think they would pull the plug on such an expensive gift. To my surprise after opening several presents on Christmas morning one of my older sisters lead me over to a large brightly colored package. I had no clue until I opened it and all my Christmas dreams came true when I saw Jill.
Later on I found out my parents had to drive quite the distance to find her since she was so expensive many of the local stores sold out because the stores only received one or two of them or none at all. My dad use to love to tell the story about how he and my mom had to take the day off to hunt Jill down and then pay a fortune in batteries just so I wouldn’t be disappointed with a doll who couldn’t talk because there were no batteries. Lol
We would wake to Mom and Dad chopping celery and onion, sewing up the bird (stuffing was always steamed inside it). Dinner always called for the "best" dishes, cloth napkins and Fostoria glassware, and the silver handled carving set! Of course, we dressed for dinner. Thank you, Mum and Dad for the greatest memories!!❤
Classy video. Very nicely narrated as well. Merry Christmas too you and God bless 🙏🎄
Thank you so very much!! Same to you and your family!!!
So informative. My mom grew up in the 50s, she was obsessed with those bubble lights you showed. She found some at an estate sale and used them every year after.
Also when I was a kid in my house tinsel was a big thing but eventually I think we just phased it out ,makes a mess
Ty this was so informative
Tinsel was also metal in those days. If they came in contact with an exposed wire or socket, you got shocked!! Also a fire hazard. But oh, was it pretty!!
Love this video! So beautifully written and narrated and curated with just the right corresponding imagery. Have to subscribe now! ❤
Thank you so very much!! More content like this to come!
@@CulturedElegance Can’t wait!
Thank you for sharing your elegant and informative videos all through the year. Happy Holidays to you and your team. Much appreciated!
A wonderful video! I have to say that your voice is so relaxing and soothing to listen to, something that is so hard to find nowadays. New subscriber!
Welcome to the channel! Thank you so much!
A wonderful decade!
ONE YEAR OUR FAMILY DROVE TO ORANGE COUNTY. TO ST JOHNS LUTHERAN CHURCH. FOR ONE OF THEIR CHRISTMASES SERIVICES!!!! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!! SEEING FAMILY AND FRIENDS THERE!!!!!
Love this!♥️🎄♥️
So commercial. British Christmas very different.Still lovely to watch.
💐💝💐💝
“Wonderful Times..”
Beautiful video… 🎅🏼🎄🎅🏼
Thank you so much!
On Christmas Eve in the late 1950s, a Catholic church some distance away would ring out Christmas carols using its bells...all night until day light. You could hear them for a couple miles and they sounded absolutely beautiful. They made Christmas special. My favorite toy was an all metal U.S. Army truck, complete with working headlights, soldiers, a canon that could fire its shells via a working spring breech and a working military spotlight to track imaginary enemy aircraft.
My mom and grandma would be cooking away in the kitchen for days...making everything from cookies to a huge main meal! $20.00 would buy you enough food for two weeks filling six or seven large supermarket bags. And on Christmas day our entire family would get together and the house would be filled with kids playing all type s of games, partying and joy. I cherish Christmas in the 1950s very, very much!!! However, I fill sorry for all the children of today who will never know such things.
P.S. I still have those soldiers and the canon.
When people took pride in themselves with beautiful and elegant clothing; it’s indeed sad today to see how people leave their homes looking like slobs.
Back then they taught tailoring in schools. Now we don’t have many options besides fast fashion if you weren’t born wealthy
The best of time were then 🎄
Nice episode! ☮️
If you love the 50s you should read a great book called, “A Bronx Christmas - a Nostalgic Novel About a Young Girl’s Impossible Wish in 1957 NY”. By Bettie Bornay. As a baby boomer woman, it really brought back sweet memories, so nostalgic, true to life.
Some of these pictures look like advertising. They always make those look good, don’t they?
The tinsel on the trees! Everyone put it on their trees, until they didn't. One day, it fell out of fashion, and you really don't see it anymore. Maybe when Martha Stewart came along.....
Lots of sugar, lots of smoking; beautiful and classy dress; and no one was fat. :(
But many of diabetes and heart attacks anyway. Or of alcoholism mixed with pills in the long run.
How about Christmas in the 70s, 80s & 90s?
Not glamorous enough...
❤
Life will always be the best of times depends what path we choose to take , growing up in the forties up to the present our families had ups and downs but our Christmas in York town Texas was memorable a huge family gathering beautiful and most enjoyable most of them are now in their resting place but the joy and memories they left behind are unforgettable,God bless all and Merry Christmas.
I almost bought a silver tree this year.alway to late
Fruit cake, gingerbread and eggnog - UGH.
I love all three!
Oh look,not one guy in a dress 😆
The government used to invest in future engineers and scientists by engaging childrens' interest in technology through Santa Watch. Because of this, and many other resources and investments, we've been on a technological fast track for decades. Today, however, one has to question what is all this race hate and gender confusion going to produce.
You can really tell the education has gone downhill on this person 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 from "The government doesn't invest in technological development" to "race hate and gender confusion." Strong conclusion, much brain
@@crystalcandles752 You could stand to brush up on your reading comprehension.
"Sylvania", not Flavania
I grew up in the 50s and have mixed feelings about those years. They didn't match the images in this video of chic, well-dressed, prosperous people. There was a threat of getting coal in your stocking instead of gifties. The music was nice, and the lights; the arguments and drunkenness, not so much.
Agreed. That was the reality, these videos are romantizing it and not giving all of the perspective. This is just Hollywood romanticism. What they put in hollywood films then was not the reality.
SADLY, ONE CULTURE WHICH IS LOST IS PEOPLE DRESSING DECENTLY IN DRESSES AND SUITS!!
The narrator's voice got on my nerves.
Uh, disposable cameras in the 1950s? I don't think so...
..and food and gift exchanges are not exactly unique to 1950s parties..
More like bad food and strong booze. That was the 50's.
Not at my house
Nostalgia, makes people forget that not everyone had the perfect Christmas. There were families separated, wives with dead husbands that died in the war, and there were plenty without money even back then. This is romanticizing an era that was not perfect. And based on Hollywood films.
A large segment of women, approximately 50% were heavily into alcohol or medication. This was due to their frustration with their "elegant" life. They had no control of their life whatsoever, we subservent to their husbands that even had to sign off if the women wanted bank accounts. Women had no say in spending, had to put up with cheating husbands, abusers, alcoholics, and everything in between because they could not cause any social taboo or they'd be shunned. They had to show an outward perfect image, had to always wear makeup, had to always look perfect for the neighbors and friends and husbands. They were always trying not to scandalize. If a husband wanted sex, they had to give in.
Sure, some things were great. Not all of them were. Will say the one thing that it did have, was that everyone dressed well (if they were wealthy and upper middle class and could afford the newest clothes). And people did have social lives, work was not EVERYTHING.
My feelings exactly. I do like the women's dresses. I hate it that women had no rights or birth control that was 99% effective like now. Although they are going to try to take that away from us you just watch.
You are pitiful.
I'm really tired of these extreme absolutist statements. I'm writing about only the simplest of your statements b/c I have too much else to do: My mother didn't wear make-up, and neither did most of the women around, not even most store clerks, bank tellers, nurses, or other women in everyday settings. Many -- far from all-- wore lipstick, and all had enough self-respect to keep their hair combed. Make-up was more often part of dressing up for church or special occasions. Look at photos of regular people from that era, not movies or ads. Try talking with people who were alive then instead of believing whatever you're told.