This is the third year that Mr. Lemon and I have hosted a New Year’s Eve Party and it has become one of my favorite holiday traditions! This year, we decided to couple my 30th birthday party on the same night as well (when your birthday is right before Christmas, it’s difficult to ever celebrate on the actual day!). When it came to deciding a theme, it didn’t take me long to settle on Mad Men. We’ve only recently begun watching the series (I know, I know…we’re WAY behind the times), but I’m simply in love with the sets, the clothes, the ads…the everything. Why did it take me so long to realize how much I absolutely adore the 1960s design aesthetic??? Regardless, I’m in love. Our home is definitely in danger of getting some 1960s furniture!
In our dining room, I wanted to convey the feeling of Sterling Cooper and perhaps what Peggy’s office would look like if she decided to throw a cocktail party in there. I created a desk bar complete with the mixings for Tom Collins, Martinis, and Vodka Gimlets. For snacking, there was no way I couldn’t include shrimp cocktail and the infamous Chip and Dip! Above the desk, I framed three vintage ads targeted at women – two that Peggy could have created and one that she did create on the show for Belle Jolie. Also in our dining room, we had a desk-scape with a newly acquired vintage typewriter (Craigslist is phenomenal!), borrowed vintage phone, and even a vintage copy of Sex and the Single Girl. There were blank pages for guests to type up a New Year or Birthday note.
The kitchen was styled more with Betty in mind! Here, I included mini pineapple upside-down cakes, deviled eggs, a cheeseball and crackers, bacon wrapped cocktail wienies, and of course, birthday cake! For a bit of a laugh, I included candy cigarettes in a vintage pyrex bowl – because everyone in the 60s smokes everywhere! A few of my own vintage pieces plus some antique store and estate sale finds completed the red and aqua color scheme going on here! And let me tell you, that may have been one of the best cakes I’ve ever had! Mirabella Confections created the exact cake I had in mind and it tasted fantastic as well! I should have taken a picture of the inside – three layers of filling, including raspberry and cheesecake! Oh.my.word. YUM. I also had our kitchen chalkboard ready for people to write in their 2012 Resolutions – I’m partial to the “Eat less dog food” resolution (and I’m going to call out my friend Kate to make sure she stays true on that one!).
In the living room, I created a mini-bar with Blue Hawaiian frozen drinks, more candy cigarettes with the infamous Mad Men “They’re toasted” Luckies ad, and more framed vintage ads, including the iconic Lemon ad from Volkswagen (how could I miss the opportunity to use this?), a Coco-cola ad in an office, and a suggestive Chiquita banana ad.
Quite a few of our guests dressed for the 1960s, which I loved! And of course, we had a pirate :) Doesn’t everyone have pirates help cut their cake? No? Weird. The only thing I regretted leaving out was a photo booth – I have so many more pictures of people at our party last year and I know that is because we had a photo backdrop with props to get people in the picture taking spirit! Even so, we had a fantastic time ringing in the new year AND celebrating my 30th birthday!
This Nest is Best 
Rebecca this is awesome! I love that show! You are so talented!
Fantastic party, Rebecca! Great drinks, great company, and it was a treat to see your talent for event design in person. I can vouch for how tasty that cake was, too. :)
Pingback: Inspired by…Mad Men Season 6 Bikini | This Nest is Best