We wracked our brains to find the theme of all themes and decided on A Retro Fifties Housewife Bridal Shower.
See this girl? This is my daughter (affectionately known as Dotter). My little girl. She got married last year and her bridesmaids and I came together to create a memorable bridal shower – one that would make her laugh-cry. And that we did.
Dotter and I are big fans of Gilmore Girls and have now both fallen in love with Amy Sherman-Palladino’s latest show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Yes! “The Marvelous Mrs. Morcom” was the perfect theme.
It wasn’t long before I was online looking for everything fifties… thrift stores, online, my own craft room, Etsy… nothing was off-limits.
I came across this loverly couch. I tried not to look because I did not need an eleven-foot couch. But I couldn’t get it off my mind and to make a long story eleven-feet longer, the couch became mine and fit into our retro outdoor living room just right.
This stunning red diner chair was just the chair for Dotter.
Guests were greeted with mini martinis and this sign.
The Marvelous Mrs. Morcom banner was made using glitter cardstock and scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby. Our main fonts (all free) for the shower were: Fontdiner Swanky, Honey Script, Fontdinerdotcom Sparkly, Pizza Dude Stars, Edsel Font, Fontdinerdotcom Jazz Dark, Love Romance (for the lips)
Red and Tiffany blue with a touch of yellow for our colors.
Craft and party tip: Sometimes it’s helpful to narrow your themes down to 3 colors so everything goes together. I mean look at how many different straw patterns we had. Yet they all go well together.
Etsy did not disappoint. We found everything we needed to match, including this Pin the Tie on the Hubby game. After replacing the face with a picture of our groom and adding some kissy lip mark stickers it became even more fun.
We made sure everyone knew what hashtag to use and posted signs that were just a wee bit naughty all around for our guest’s enjoyment. Well, okay, maybe for our own giggles too.
Yes, we did, indeed serve tiny wieners and nuts.
A sign next to some milk bottles
An old ironing board for our desserts, a little window with curtains hung above the table, and we filled a Tiffany blue KitchenAid mixer with flowers to decorate.
Time to EAT!
Even more retro fun with our menu. American Chateau Napkins
Just Devilish Enough Eggs with a touch of red bell peppers for the horns.
A retro party isn’t a party without seven-layer salad and Brittany’s great grandmother’s scalloped potatoes.
(Of course, the oven died the morning of the shower, so we had to use crockpots and forgo anything becoming perfectly golden brown).
Makin’ Whoopie Pies.
Cherries because, well, beautiful and happy.
Oh-So-Retro Mini Cupcake Burgers.
Chips & DIp.
Fifties housewife hand-decorated cookies.
Fifties Housewife Cookie Cutters
Homemade ice creams served in little, retro cups.
Another fun game we played was trying to remember what was inside the laundry basket which, of course, included a T-Rex and pregnancy test. The basket full of goodies went home with the bride-to-be.
Everyone was asked to wear aprons and the best apron won a prize. Prizes were these fun necklaces especially made for our winners and some other retro-themed treats.
Fifties Housewife Illustrations
Keep the mini martinis
Let’s not forget the photo booth – a party must!
We made sure to have lotsa props so each picture was lots of fun and oh-so-unique. The old spices came from Brittany’s other great-grandmother’s cupboard.
Here are some other fun prop ideas for A Retro Fifties Housewife Bridal Shower:
Vintage pantry essentials
Tiny Hands 
Antique kitchen utensils
We placed our photo booth in front of a clothesline filled with vintage aprons, flour sack towels, and adorable Heart Boxers for the groom.
Do you have the Boomerang app? It’s a party pleaser for sure.
Everyone received a thank you for coming gift which was a mini cookbook of all the party recipes, pretty teacup candles made by Dotter-In-Law, and some naughty, little soaps.
Of course, the naughty little treats came in a naughty little bag.
How would I sum up the day? I’d sum it up with one photo. No, not the one above, this one…
So. Much. Fun.
And one last note. We learned the hard way to look at the size of the soaps you buy online lest they arrive and be very, very tiny. This may result in guests thinking they are candy and eating them. Size matters, after all, girls.