Going Retro for the Holidays

When you dream about Christmas, do visions of Sputniks dance in your head? Does Santa arrive at your chimney not riding a sleigh but a spaceship instead?

Then you might want to go completely retro with your holiday this year. And here’s how:

• First, send out ‘Have a Merry Eichler Xmas’ cards from retroliciousdesigns.com.

• For presents, do as folks did in the 1950s—visit a neighborhood store. From teak lamps to ‘Eames-era’ teacups, you’re sure to find something at your local retro shop to wrap up in 1950s-reproduction wrapping.

• And don’t forget that aluminum tree!

• Set your table with 1950s dinnerware—from Russel Wright classics to current pieces by Heath to Franciscan Pottery’s Starburst pattern—to stay with our Space-Age theme.

• After dinner, cozy up around the big screen with A Christmas Story, one of the most-fun-ever holiday flicks. It may have been made in 1983, but it’s set in a postwar small town and based on stories by that wonderful mid-century raconteur, Jean Shepherd.

• And when lights are low, finish up with the sultriest of all 1950s Christmas ballads—Eartha Kitt crooning ‘Santa Baby,’ urging the big boy to “hurry down my chimney tonight.”