If you are studying modern history, you might want to throw a 1950’s party! You will want to grab some poodle skirts from a local costume shop (or at a yard sale!) Match those pink poodle skirts with white or pink shirts, and you will have a 1950’s look. The men can wear white T-shirts and jeans. They can slick back their hair with jell, while the women can wear a pony tail or two. Ribbons can be wrapped around the pony tails.
If you have a 1950’s diner where you live, you can go out for a hamburger and a malt. Back when I lived in California, I took my dad to the local 1950’s malt shop. Unfortunately Eastern Washington does not have a 1950’s diner, but you could create a similar ambience in your home.
If you want to make your dining room into a malt shop, that can be fun. Back when I was in college, my friends threw a 1950’s-themed murder mystery party, and the entire downstairs was transformed. Use your imagination.
How to Make a 1950’s Jukebox Cake
If you are throwing a 1950’s birthday party, you will want to have a cake. My dad loved the 1950’s, so I made him a jukebox cake for his birthday. I started with a long rectangular pan, and I baked a chocolate cake. I rounded the top part of the cake, and I frosted it with chocolate frosting.
Next I mixed some white vanilla frosting with some food coloring to make yellow, red, and gray frosting. I put each in a ziplock bag and cut off a hole in the corner to place the icing where I wanted it. I make an outer arc of red and an inner arc of yellow. I flattened it out with a table knife.
I made a red rectangle with yellow bars across it for the speaker. Then I used gray frosting for the bottom of the arcs and the bottom part of the jukebox. I cut two Peppermint Patties to place on the top and middle of the cake in the configuration shown in the picture. I used red M&M’s as embellishments.
When we lit the candles, it looked like the jukebox was lit up from the inside!
1950’s Music
You can find plenty of 1950’s music on YouTube, and you can play it in the background of your 1950’s party. One of the most famous songs of the 1950’s was “Rock Around the Clock” by Haley and the Comets. Watch the fun 1950’s dancing and the styles of clothing back then:
Have fun throwing your very own 1950’s party!
Tags: 1950's, cake, history, Homeschooling, modern history, party
My dad would play 1950’s music around the house as I was growing up, so I have a special place in my heart for this era!
My dad did, too! It was his favorite music.
Friends of ours had a 1950’s wedding reception. All the guys had white shirts and cuffed jeans while the girls had poodle skirts and scarves tied around their necks. It was fun!
Oh how fun! What a great idea for a wedding theme!
So cute. I made poodle skirts for my daughters and for their dolls! We had a blast when they were younger.
What a great idea to make 1950’s doll clothes!
This looks so fun! We are doing American history, but we aren’t to this century, yet!
There are so few hands-on activities for modern history. I decided to do parties for different decades so that my kids could experience the culture during each time period.
What a fun way to study history! I know my kids would love it.
We had a blast!
This is such a fun idea – I am definitely going to do this when my Littles are bigger. Love the poodle skirts!
Thanks! We had a fun time with this theme.
More fun here, Susan! The kids probably loved it! The jukebox cake is a cute idea too!
Thanks. My dad loved it, especially all lit up!
Learning can be fun when we do it together! Love how you interact with your children to teach them in lessons that will stick forever.
We bond as a family when we learn this way!
How fun! I love that you dive head first into history!
We definitely splash into each time period and live it!
My parents used to play the 50’s music when I was little. I love your pictures! Your outfit is so adorable! ❤
Thank you! I found the poodle skirts at a second-hand shop around Halloween. We really enjoyed the theme.
This looks like you all had so much fun and that cake looks so good!
We had a blast!
Heya. We recently did a 1950s themed event recently in order to raise money for Comic Relief. We had a real nineteen fifties diner going and served food that matched the event theme. We hired a old school car too and took lots of photos. The ladies were all dressed in pink. It was a lot of fun. We had pink wigs.
Pink wigs? How fun!