Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Mad Men Holiday Party

This holiday season was a busy one, as always. We attended many family and work events. My Fiance and I recently fell in love with Mad Men an AMC series about Advertising on Madison Avenue in the early 60's. I just love the style and he loves the drinks. I started out looking up other people's pictures and ideas for Mad Men parties, their are not a lot out there that are exactly what I wanted... authentic. Here are some pictures I found that I liked:


First Image from  second image from http://www.boston.com/ 
Right away I got my Aunt Maggie working on making the perfect red holiday dress for the soire.
I found the pattern at Joann Fabrics.
I also have a collection of my great grandmothers clip on earrings/broaches etc... 
that worked great for the party. 

I found a 1961 Vintage Mink Fur on etsy in not very good condition but 
had my wonderful auntie sew it together as best as she could.



 The most important part about a Mad Men themed party is the bar! I removed most of my furniture and put it front and center in the middle of my living room. I bought a few tinsel trees which were huge in the 50s and 60s and framed a few drink recipes to decorate the bar. Here are the recipes I used:
Old Fashioned A favorite of Roger sterling
Brandy Alexander A Peggy Olson Fav
Tom Collins Betty Draper orders these


We also had fixings for Martinis
I had a Punch bowl of Spiked eggnog for all to enjoy (Equal parts Rum to egg nog)
In many Mad Men episodes you will see the pregnant women drinking and smoking as a nod to this I of course had regular egg nog & sparkling cider fancied up in champagne flutes.

I purchased old school candy cigarettes online at The Candy Warehouse
A box of 24 for 6$ is a great deal and they make for fun photos and favors.
The type writer, my boss was getting rid of so I snatched it up and became quite a fun game!
We all took turns writing a line or two of a story and came up with a crazy 
and fun read at the end of the night.
For food I did all appetizers! I got my inspiration from Oprah's Mad Men Cocktail Party Guide
Cheese Log and crackers
Deviled Eggs
Stuffed Mushrooms
Veggi Platter with Dip
Candy Canes
Puff Crackers

Decor was fairly simple. A little tinsel and paper snowflakes did the trick. I also printed up a ton of advertisements from the era and put them up
on the walls, framed, just about anywhere I had space.
I found these on Mom's Basement. This is a great source for old advertisements.
I have a record player and a ton of older records we put on and twisted the night away!

 Overall we had a blast and I think we kept it quite authentic! 




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