Midcentury Christmas: Holiday Fads, Fancies, and Fun from 1945 to 1970

This is now one of my favs for nostalgic Christmas books! Born in 1954 into a military family, we moved to Germany, and did not return to the U.S. until 1960. I lean toward German traditions, but remember a few things from mid-century from visits to relatives, and enjoy seeing and reading more about that time. The author’s opinions on some points of history are different, but I felt quite viable, and caused me to think in terms of case and effect in the development of our perceived Christmas traditions. My mom wasn’t “crafty,” but loved the women’s magazines of the day. We loved the colorful pics and home interiors not to be had with military movers man-handling belongs through changes of duty station, and would wear out the magazines looking at them. Sarah has filled this book with many images which capture the feel of Christmas during those years. I might have liked to see more from other companies, but Reynolds, GE, Alcoa and Better Homes & Gardens were at the forefront, and have the more evocative images for the U.S. This book is a delight! Well written, wonderfully illustrated, and filled with “warm Christmas fuzzes” to last for months.

Great book for anyone who lived at the time or who wants to share the memories with others. The photos are well selected and the writing is interesting. We've shared it with other family members and it creates many nice conversations.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Will share with other baby boomers. Negative— the font is too fine especially when in red. As for the captions under the photos, get your magnifier out. What were the editors thinking!!!

This is a colorful book filled with treasured nostalgia for those of us who grew up from the 1950s through the 1970s. Some items shown were before my time, while other photos instantly brought back memories of Christmas past as a child. I enjoyed reading about the vintage glass ornaments by Corning Ware and how they evolved. Corning also made the Shiny Brite ornaments, which are now made in China by Christopher Radko. So if you can find some USA-made Shiny Brites from the 1950s-70s, you're in luck. The chapter on lighting is interesting in that I've seen some of those strings of lights in antique shops. I am partial to the old C6 lamps on trees; the small mini-lights of today do not compare to the colorful beauty of the larger lights, but they're much safer. The chapter on Aluminum trees is my favorite, because my grandmother used to have a silver one she'd decorate with red Shiny Brite ornaments. Viewing the chapter immediately brought me back to Christmas at my grandmother's apartment. And who could forget Lucy's love of aluminum trees in "A Charlie Brown Christmas"? Favorite Christmas toys are discussed, including the Slinky, which I had as a child and the Chemcraft Chemistry set! Since most women were housewives, DIY Christmas was big during the 1950s-60s; popular Christmas crafts and recipe books are featured. I recall my mother made a large ball out of recycled Christmas cards that was a popular project. Ms Archer left no stone unturned when it comes to MidCentury Christmas. I purchased the stocking stuffer edition as a present for my brother-in-law, but wanted the full-sized edition for myself and my young son. I was delighted to find an inexpensive used copy here on Amazon through a 3rd party seller. The full-sized edition is OOP, but the stocking stuffer edition is available on Amazon. If you want a trip down memory lane of your Christmas past, purchase this book and savor every page. It will make a great book for your holiday coffee table and quite a conversation-starter. It makes a wonderful gift for friends, your kids or grandkids. The younger generation can get a good idea of what Christmas was like for Baby Boomers. Happy Holidays!

Good book

I got it quickly. Packaged securely and in mint condition.

To me, the best part of this book was looking through all the wonderful retro ads and illustrations! But I don't want to take away from the interesting dialogue that accompanies them. I learned a lot about the origins of Christmas and all the glittering decorations that accompany the holiday season. Any Baby Boomer would appreciate going through this book - it would make a marvelous Christmas gift!

I gave this book at a blind gift exchange we have at an annual Christmas party. An attractive, splendidly designed tome of Christmas traditions from the mid-century, I found it to be a charming contribution to the festivities, and I know the recipient enjoyed going home with it at the end of the party.

I bought this to put out at Christmas. Looks great on the coffee table near my aluminum Xmas tree.

I would have thought that it was an extremely niche market - those of us who enjoy looking at images of vintage christmas stuff - however looking at the plethora of books available I see that I was wrong. This book fits neatly in the group of those that are a pleasure to read at any time of the year - well presented and the images are wonderful. For those of us who like this kind of stuff, this is the kind of stuff we like.