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Home-grown, Hand-made, Vintage Christmas! Vol 1

September 30, 2011 in Your Vintage Cocktail Party

We have decided here at Your Vintage Life to share you with you some of our Christmas ideas. They are all based around home-grown, hand-made and of course vintage.

There is nothing better than receiving a gift with has had lots of thought, time and oodles of love given into the idea. So, here are is what we will be doing this year.

Volume 1

First the Blackberry Vodka.

Now is the time to go out blackberry picking. They are still very ripe but you need to be quick as the birds are eating them and this late sun is drying them out. We have only a few in our back garden so I went over to our local park, Tupperware container in hand! Pick high as these are the juiciest. Wear boots as all the nettles will get in your way (I had to go home to change my footwear!) I picked loads..but you only need about 200 grammes of berries for almost a litre of vodka.

You will need a sterilised large jar. I have old Kilner jars but whatever you use it needs to be airtight. An old coffee jar should be fine. This needs to be sterilised. We have kept our baby steriliser as this is so quick for jam jars etc.

Now I’m not one for total precision with measurements. I filled half the jar with washed berries (about 250g as I wanted it to be very strong with flavour). Sprinkle some brown sugar on the top to speed up the process and also to take some sharpness away. I sprinkled some cloves and cinnamon in too, as this will make it very Christmassy! Use 2 cloves and a cinnamon stick (I used ground as this is all I had in the spice rack!)

Fill the jar up to the top with vodka. Buy cheap stuff..keeps the price down but also there is no need to use your finest booze here. I used about 3/4 of a litre..but this is how much the jar holds. I would suggest using a half berry, half vodka ratio.

Now, give it a gentle shake to dissolve the sugar and store for a week or so in a dry place..room temperature, no sunlight. Give it a shake or stir throughout the weeks to help that sugar dissolve.

I would now leave it alone until nearer the time. Decant it, strain it and pour into nicer smaller bottles for gifts. I suggest getting some small bottles so you can share it around. Don’t waste the fruit either…it will be infused with alcohol so will be yummy, slightly heated poured over ice cream for a winter treat.

Now remember this is a gift not for you (although it’s always best to make enough for your own Christmas Eve cocktail party!)

So we have the home-grown and the hand-made..now it’s time to add the vintage. Team the vodka with vintage glasses, and how about a decanter or a cocktail shaker. Shot glasses are another great idea. Wrap them up in a small vintage basket and add nibbles or olives for the perfect boozy hamper. (Maybe add some headache pills too as you may well need them!) I will show you mine nearer the time after I have decanted them.

Enjoy..not long til Christmas!

p.s. Remember this will be very boozy…please drink responsibly x

Here are some gift ideas from Your Vintage Life, for your boozy hamper. Just click on the photos to buy now!

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Simply: 1. Sign up to the blog 2. Leave us a comment about the blog 3. Tell your friends through Facebook, Twitter etc so they can join in the vintage fun!

Winner will be drawn on Thursday 6th October x

Tags: 1950s, 1960s, basket, blackberry, cocktail, cocktail shaker, decanter, foraging, glasses, hamper, hand made, home grown, recipe, vintage, vodka
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Have yourself a Merry Vintage Christmas!

November 22, 2010 in Your Vintage Cocktail Party, Your Vintage Home, Your Vintage Kitchen, Your Vintage Musings

We know, we know.. it’s still November but here at Your Vintage Life we can’t wait ’till Christmas. We wanted to share our latest article for Vintage Life Nostalgia magazine to start to get you in the festive spirit….(and remember we have great pressies available on the site!)

Have yourself a Merry Vintage Christmas…

…by adorning your home with 1950s decorations, throwing a vintage Christmas Eve party and creating a traditional Christmas Day!

Christmas in years gone by, was more about family than today’s commercialism. Mother saved all year in saving schemes to ensure everyone could come together with peace and happiness. And every year was the same.

The dusty box of decorations came out of the loft to reveal a blast of colour, with glass baubles and strings of garlands. The tree was covered in balls and icicles reminiscent of the atomic shapes that were appearing on fabrics. The balls had indentations with crushed insides, stripes like the rings of Saturn and cigar shaped icicles which brought a modern feel. The tree was real, as artificial tinsel trees were not the fashion until the 1960s. Cards, candles, wired tinsel and coloured lights were thrown on top creating a haphazard, joyful vision. Under the tree amongst the presents, was a pile of pine needles mixed with broken glass; bauble casualties occurred on a daily basis! It wasn’t until the 1970s that plastic, durable baubles became the norm. A Barbie influenced fairy sat on the top with canary yellow hair and an organza skirt.

Multi coloured paper garlands zigzagged across ceilings with folded out paper bells hanging from the centre. Making paper chains was a family event with everyone participating. Strips of coloured crepe paper were stuck together with a running stitch sewn down the middle to create a twisted rainbow effect. There was one rule: the more the better!

The house was decorated often as late as Christmas Eve. Due to lack of transport, families spent the evening walking from house to house delivering cards and presents. This was party time when parents had a festive drink and children stayed up late, drinking lemonade. The drinks cabinet was stocked up and party snacks were laid out: men drank sherry, ladies drank Gin, Cherry Brandy or cocktails with a glace cherry on top. These were always served in the best glasses: frosted shot glasses for sherry (the schooner didn’t really take off until the 1960s) and branded champagne flutes for your Cherry B, Snowball or Babycham. Bar accessories were on display with fruit ice buckets, soda syphons and glass cocktail shakers.

Candy coloured “Little Forks” were used for nibbles. Meat was the main party food: cocktail sausages, tinned ham and scotch eggs were the favourites. The centre piece on the table was a hedgehog; a potato wrapped in foil with cheese and pineapple chunks on cocktail sticks sticking out. Entertainment came in the form of a sing-a-long and flicking through last year’s Christmas card scrapbook. Everyone enjoyed themselves but was always home before midnight….before Santa arrived!

Christmas morning, children woke up to a pillow case full of toys. A must was the year’s annual laid on top, perfect for excited eyes to read while waiting for parents to wake after the festivities of the night before.

As it is today, the dinner was the main event. The table was set, using only the best china which hadn’t been used since Easter. Candles were lit in the traditional central Christmas log. This was homemade; father would find a log, drill a hole in the middle and place candles in it.

He would stand at the head of the table carving the turkey on a huge ceramic platter. Seasonal vegetables were served in matching tureens. Mother added Bicarbonate of Soda to the sprouts to keep them green…everything had to be just so. Homemade crackers were pulled. Beer was drunk as wine didn’t become popular until the 1970s. Everyone dressed up in their best clothes. The meal ended with a Christmas pudding which had been made in November. All the family stirred the mixture in large mixing bowls, made a wish and hoped they would get the lucky sixpence.

After dinner, the family gathered around the wireless to listen to the Queen’s speech. Instead of flaking out on the sofa, everyone played board games. Pin the tail on the donkey, Lotto and the Christmas jigsaw were favourites. Cards were also played, using buttons for money when bets were placed.

Eventually, after turkey salad, cake and a glass of port at the table, the day drew to a close.

All this can be created today. Learn from the ghost of Christmas past and create a simpler festivity, holding family values high and celebrating a fun, bright look. Keep your eyes peeled all year for vintage decorations and pile them high on the tree. Dress your 1950s cocktail bar, make some old fashioned cocktails and invite people over on Christmas Eve. Wear your favourite vintage clothes. And turn off the television, play games and have a sing-a-long with the people you love!

Merry Christmas!

Tags: 1950s, 1960s, babycham, baubles, board games, Cherry B, Christmas, Christmas day, Christmas eve, cocktail party, decorations, festive, garlands, ornaments, retro, season, soda syphones, tradition, tureens, vintage, Xmas
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You’re beautiful my deer

October 2, 2010 in Your Vintage Cocktail Party

Yesterday I received a present after a day at Peterborough Antiques Fair. I closed my eyes and was told the gift was very delicate…slowly and carefully, I opened a Babycham bambi deer.

She is lovely and in perfect condition. This is rare as often the horns and the bow have broken over the years.

She dates from the 1960s.

They were introduced for advertising in bars and came in 3 different sizes.

An orange version was also made which is extremely rare.

She now sits pride of place in my cocktail cabinet (often mentioned in my blog) and the 70s plastic version has been relagated to the back.

These ones arent actually made by Babycham but were very popular.

They came as a set with 2 baby deers in orange and blue.

I also have a silver metal set of bambis!

Then there are the ever popular glasses.

The 50s version has white deer that looks almost washed out.

The 60s version has a frolicking deer in an orange colour. Her stance reminds me of my figurine.

The 70s version is a yellow deer which is jumping.

I try and collect them when I can and also have some for sale.

It is hard to find whole sets as the deer and glass stems differ on each one as there were so many variations.

Babycham was first created in the 1940s in Shepton Mallet. One of the owners was playing around with fermenting fruit juices with the idea of creating a new cider. He discovered that perry pears made a refreshing and sweet sparkling drink.

In the 50s it was bottled and called Champagne de la poire. It was entered into competitions, always winning first prize..it then was known as Baby Champ…..baby champagne…..baby champion….babycham!

In 1953 there was a gap in the market for alcoholic drinks for young ladies. Men drank sherry, whisky and ale. Women drank gin and Creme de Menthe. Babycham was fun, sparkly, aspirational and with the introduction of the deer brand image, the young lady found her tipple.

Babycham in 1957 was the first ever alcoholic brand to be advertised on television. Here is a 1960s advert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjYGb2ThYso

so retro, pschedelic and kitsch all at the same time!

In the 60s the Babycham Babes beauty competition was introduced.

In the 70s and 80s, Babycham started to become outdated. Women who enjoyed it in the 50s and 60s continued to drink it but the younger generation were discovering wine and alcopops.

In 1993 it was rebranded and the beautiful, fun and iconic deer was no more.

“Now I’d love a babycham…………………………….”

Tags: 1950s, 1960s, babycham, bambi, cocktail, deer, pear, retro, shepton mallet, vintage
3 Comments »

Shaken not stirred

September 11, 2010 in Your Vintage Cocktail Party

We were given a great pair of vintage champagne glasses recently to celebrate the birth of our second child. Kitty Jen was born in July and the champagne definately flowed.

They are really unusual and I havent seen any glasses like this before. They are the perfect his and her glasses and are so kitsch! They look a bit Spanish with her flat hat cocked to the side. The rimmed bases give them a touch of colour which I love.

They now sit in our 1950s glass cabinet along with our other vintage glasses and cocktail shakers. We found the cabinet thrown away outside someones house…we rescued it, cleaned it, re-painted it and added a mirror to the back. We have 2 1950s drinks cabinets..the other houses my 1950 handbag collection!

Here are some of our other lovelies. Great 1950s frosted pastels…I use these for Baileys in the winter…the colour reminds you of summer on those cold nights!

Great branded glasses…Cherry B, Britvic and Babycham.

The Britvic ones have tomatoes, oranges, lemons and pineapples on. We also recently found matching champagne glasses. The Cherry B’s are my favourites…Now I don’t remember Cherry B at all…but I love the 50s feel of the kitsch cherries (although the glasses and the drink were later). Babycham glasses are the ultimate in retro drinking….I do love these glasses….when my partner proposed he had hidden a bottle of champagne in our VW campervan (hoping I would say yes) and after I did say yes we sat and drank it out of the Babycham glasses. So very glam!

Great 50s shot glasses in a red atomic ball feet stand. We have so many shot glasses in different colours and designs and we dont ever use them! I just can’t resist!

Decanters…These are so pretty, perfect to pour a shot as the stoppers fill up when you turn them upside down.

Great jugs (!). The pink frosted one is really heavy and perfect for cocktails. The gold flower one was given to me by my mother in law last birthday with matching glasses.

1930s cocktails…so so so pretty! I use these for deserts….or dips for a starter.

1980s cocktails…I havent used these ones. Every time we have a cocktail party I worry about using them as I have a full set and I dont want them smashed in the raucousness!

These were given to me for Valentines Day a few years back. I was lucky enough to receive 6 of these highballs in mint condition! The colour is so vibrant and they are a great size.

My absolute favourite frosted blue glass cocktail shaker. When you see the metal ones used today you just can’t believe that people used glass ones. I worry about breaking it with all that shaking!

And no collection would be complete without an original cocktail bar! This one is made from cream vinyl and teak. It houses our record player…complete with pineapple ice bucket on top! The ice bucket is unusually made from metal with each leaf curving outwards.

Here is a small selection of our current stock great for Your Vintage Cocktail Party. Get the Pimms out, summers not quite over! (and there are loads more available too including ice buckets, little forks, soda syphons and bowls for your peanuts!)