Learn how women in WW2 would have community building parties to connect with others during a trying time and how you still can do the same today.
During WWII many brands made little pamphlets. They of course advertised their brand but also offered helpful tips for homemakers.
One brand I’ve seen several times is Betty Crocker. These usually focused a lot on recipes and meal plans that worked with rationing and helped homemakers to stretch food and budgets. Often they also contained general homemaking advice.
Recently I was reading one of these pamphlets, it’s was titled Your Share: How to Prepare Appetizing, Healthful Meals With Foods Available Today. The publish date was 1943. And one of the sections I found interesting was on community building with fun little parties.
A lot of the advice is still useful so I wanted to share some of it with you today and highlight ways we can used that advice now.
How to Have Community Building Parties Like a Women in WW2
In hard times community because extra important, that’s why it was something talked about a lot during WWII. Communities came together to support each other and the war effort.
Now we can use communities to keep each other safe and also to help us avoid supporting as many big corporations. So let’s talk about some of the ideas from this WWII information pamphlet.
“In war-time, more than at any other time, we need friendly get-togethers to keep up our morale, give us refreshment and relaxation. But cooperation and simplicity in entertaining are necessary now.”
Victory Garden Supper
Victory gardens were encouraged to help make sure families were fed while a lot of food went to troops.
With rising food costs, victory gardens are again looking like a great option for many. There are also a lot of environmental benefits to growing some of your own food.
If you have a few friends that are also gardening this year a victory garden supper can be a lot of fun.
Betty Crocker recommended making a centerpiece out of things found around the yard and setting up tables “picnic style” or in nice weather eating outside in the yard or on the porch.
A very cute suggestion is to make tiny bouquets of flowers from your yard for the women and boutonnières for the men. They suggested veggies could be used instead of flowers with suggestions like radish roses, carrot curls, and using green vegetable foliage like carrot tops.
They also suggested people wear their gardening clothes to the party and play fun outdoor games for entertainment.
The suggested menu was:
- Victory Garden Salad: veggies found in the garden along with hard-cooked eggs and pieces of ham or chicken with French dressing.
- Fresh Green Peas or Beans
- Hot Muffins (my suggestion: bacon cornbread muffins)
- Fresh Fruit or Berry Cobbler
- Beverage (my suggestion: berry punch)
A Basket Social Fundraiser
This was a party suggested to help raise funds for the Red Cross or other war-time service organizations. Now it would be great for raising mutual aid funds or helping organizations that are important to you and your community.
The suggestion was for each woman to bring a “lunch for two” in a basket to be auctioned off. They encouraged people to decorate the baskets and make them look pretty and inviting.
They also suggested old-time square dances and a spelling match for the evening entertainment. I’m going to say you can likely skip those suggestions these days.
The Walking Supper Table
This is a funny suggestion to read in the modern day. The idea was the “height of informality.” It was considered ideal for Sunday suppers and for family only, no company.
The idea was that everyone made their own tray in the kitchen and carried it to their favorite spot. Suggestions included in the summer eating outside, during the winter eating by the fire, or you could eat in your easy chair with a book.
Considering how few families eat at a table now maybe the opposite of this would be the move. Instead everyone sits at the table with their phones put away so you can all connect.
A Barbecue Supper
Entertaining during rationing was hard because rations weren’t designed to be able to feed more than your own family. That means you had to get creative to have meals with others. This gathering suggestion was one way to combat that issue.
They suggested the host would write invitations on a paper bag and suggest what each guest should bring in their bag. Things like their own hamburger patties or hot dogs.
While we don’t have rationing, I still see it from time to time. Bring your own main to grill and the host provides some sides and things to go with the meat. This idea is great for your budget and also allows everyone to get the main dish they want.
The suggested menu was:
- Homemade Tomato Juice Cocktail
- Creese Crackers or Cheese Biscuits (my suggestion: homemade cheddar biscuits)
- Hamburgers and Hot Dogs
- Buns
- Tray of Fresh Vegetables
- Corn on the cob or a Bowl of Potato Chips
- Fresh Fruit
- Coffee
- Coffee Cake (my suggestion: lemon coffee cake)
A Neighborhood Party
This is a fun idea to get to know your neighborhood better but the name they used is less than politically correct, they called it a hobo party and suggested you ask for “hand-outs.” Let’s not do that!
Instead have a big potluck or everyone can even bring their own meals and just join together to eat.
It could be fun to follow some of the more appropriate suggestions like having an area for everyone to gather and find their own camping spots for basically little picnics.
They suggest setting up a fake fire but if safe a fire pit could be fun and people could even bring ingredients for s’mores or roosting hot dogs.
They suggest after eating everyone sitting around and telling stories and singing campfire songs.
Building Community Online
While having a local community is helpful it’s not always accessible and not always enough even when you have one. Online communities can also help give you that sense of community that is needed in hard times.
That’s why I started the Retro Homemaker’s Club back in 2021. We are still going strong and it’s a really great way to have that sense of community no matter where you are.
We meet once a month on Zoom, have a private Facebook group, and it comes with a lot of great benefits.
If you think it could be a good fit for you, learn more on the Retro Homemaker’s Club page. We’d love to have you!
More Vintage Resources
Want to learn more from the women during WWII? These are some articles you may enjoy.
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