Thursday, August 23, 2012

1974 Piñata Party!

The following were found in Mr. Kitsch's family photo albums. I just loooove these shots - the
remarkable piñata and the fabulous decor and fashions. Straight out of 1974.


Piñata standoff! 


I love those birthday paper goods with the cowboys on them. And that yellow rotary phone! 
And the drapes! And the little desk with cookbook storage. 
I think that 95% of homes had that dinette set in the 70's. 


High Fructose Corn Syrup never killed us. 
See the Mister's tiny little feet dangling from his high chair? 


That kid does not like the paparazzi. 

My in-laws got rid of this kitchen not long before I saw their home for the first time. Now they have a beautiful state-of-the-art kitchen with the dishwasher and fridge hidden behind cabinetry. I'm sure the kitchen shown above was completely dogged out with four kids and countless numbers of pets throughout the years but I sure do wish that I could go back in time and see it. And steal that refrigerator for my own use. And rescue Mr. Piñata as I'm sure that he was whacked to smithereens by corn syrup fueled youngsters before it was done!

Did any of you have piñatas at your parties as kids? I never did. I'm not sure that the people in my small South Carolina town knew what piñatas were! I'm making up for lost time as an adult though. I try to fit them into what ever occasions I can. And every time that we got to the local market, I beg the Mister to add one to our cart as they dangle and sway provocatively over our heads.


Until next time,
x's and o's,
Eartha

15 comments:

Sara In AZ said...

That party looks AMAZING!!! I LOVE all that cowboy stuff!!! And how adorable is Mr Kitsch, SO sweet!!!

My Grams went to Mexico when we lived in TN, and she managed to bring all of the grandkids back a Piñata. I remember being fascinated by it at the time but not understanding the whole concept of hitting it for candy. I refused to let my Piñata get smashed up, but you know what - I have no idea what happened to the poor thing now that I think about it. And oh yeah, mine was pink!

Nina said...

Wonderful photos.I laughed because now I want a piñata just for decoration.No I never had one as a kid either not that they weren't around but we didn't have parties.Well now I can have all I want but no destroying those artistic piñata lol
Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Ya know Eartha, after the apocalypse roaches and pinatas will be left. Those things never break. As kids we would beat the crap out of them with blind folds, then the blind folds came off, then my Dad laid the pinata on the ground and started beating it with a baseball bat!

SUZY8-TRACK said...

Loving how these kids all have surly expressions on their faces...its a party!!..where are the smiles? Sadly, I think most of the parties from my childhood look quite similar.

Rae - Say It Aint So said...

forget the pinata, look at that tablecloth! so cute! i like their scalloped light too. is he wearing little plaid pants? to perfect.
one year at christmas my grandaddy made us a pinata and i remember there being treasure trolls in it! my grandma did NOT like us waving a stick around her house though, so it was never repeated. haha. but they did fill the room with the tree with balloons every christmas morning! i was always surprised when santa didn't do that for other kids.

Dina@VintageAdvantage said...

My little brother and I were lucky enough to have pinatas at almost every party, that is, when we lived in Southern California. When we moved to North Carolina in 1976, my mom went looking for a pinata and the locals were mystified...they had no idea what she was talking about!
They had literally never heard of this mysterious object and looked at my poor mom like she was insane :-)

Looove that 70's kitchen with the "Harvest Gold" fridge...brings back the nicest memories!

xox
www.VintageAdvantage.blogspot.com

Betty2Tone said...

When my sister and I had pinatas, they always had to be the "non-cute" kind. I think my mom got tired of us picking out pinatas and then crying later because they were "too cute to destroy"

brigette b said...

I had one shaped like a mermaid, perfect for my Little Mermaid themed party. I whacked her head right off!

Dana@Mid2Mod said...

What a fun post! I never had a piñata as a kid. I'm sure people in East Texas in the 1950s were clueless about them. My daughter was born in 1978, and I made piñatas for her birthday parties to match the party theme. Yes, I was competing for Mother of the Century...LOL

chutti said...

May I suggest you get a pinata for your kitchen completion ceremony?
Not that you might have any reason for wanting to smack anything with a stick......

CA kid here. Pinatas are swell, but once you give blindfolded kids a stick, someone usually gets whacked. Which strangely is kind of part of the fun.

Best pinata ever-a dear friend and his wife had a pinata made of them for their anniversary. His mom thought it was so hysterical that I (actually his ex at one point) knocked both their heads off. It was the 'hit' of the party!

Go get yerself a good one, girl!

erin said...

when i was in second grade, i had a birthday party with all my little girlfriends...and my one little boyfriend. seriously, he was the only boy at the party. we had a pinata and when it was my turn, i put my blindfold on, took the plastic bat, and accidentally smacked my little boyfriend in the head. i was so embarrassed i ran upstairs to my room and cried. finally my little boyfriend came upstairs and told me he wasn't mad and everyone wanted me to come back down to the party, so i did.

poor kid.

Anonymous said...

We had pinatas. Traditionally, they are filled with candy and coins. My mom (a nurse) filled them with pocket change, little travel toothbrushes, plastic rings, pencils, tiny soaps, tiny toothpaste. Yes, we were a hygenic household, and she thought all that sugar was bad for you. If you do a pinata with kids, the trick is to do it outside, one at a time (so no one loses an eye) and have plenty of cake AFTER, not BEFORE. If you do it before, children become manic and mean and try to beat their neighbor. Kate H

Karen/Small Earth Vintage said...

Yes. I had a pinata, for at least one of my birthdays. This would have been circa 1977-78. I think I may have been the one to do the honor of breaking the thing open, and then ending up crying because all the other kids got to grab up all the candy first. Shame on me!

(Is it me, or is Blogger making the word verification thingies more impenetrable than ever?)

Unknown said...

Oh yeah, we had those chairs.

I'm having a rotary phone flashback. This is not a good place to go. You know how we look at these young uns nowadays and marvel at how they've never had to get off the couch to change a channel, they don't know how easy they have it, etc., (I didn't know what color Ernie and Burt was, until I was given a set of Sesame Street finger puppets, on tv they were all shades of grey). Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, rotary phone flashback. What these kids today don't know from is the terror of a phone number with a zero in it. How could anyone expect a six year old with fingers the width of drinking straws to be able to drag that dial all the way around to that metal thingie on the right? Always wound up stopping and starting halfway. Always wound up calling some stranger instead of granma. Always imagined it was some guy with a mustache in an undershirt smoking camels.Terrifying.

Adrienne said...

I love these old photos. Modern kitchens feel less real to me, if that makes any sense. I love these
vintage photos.

I went back to an older post of yours and watched the Pandas on Slides video, and it really made my day. It doesn't take much :)

Adrienne
What Lola Wants