Party Time in the Village

We have already talked about Sunday music in the air .  There were other musical sounds, too, like the singing of Happy Birthday. The Village met its own needs. It did not need to go out of it and get all fancy with its parties. They were homespun, relaxing, inexpensive and made for terrific memories. Today folks spend hundreds of dollars on elaborate and competitive birthday parties.
                                               
                                                Hands down, I bet ours were more fun.

Birthday parties were a staple of get togethers for kids.  We learned early on to socialize with our little friends from the comaraderie of grownups around us and their willingness to celebrate birthdays. First Communions and so forth.  Remember pin-the-tail on the donkey,
and waiting for the ice cream and cake?

        

                                                          Photo from the Internet

Below is a  1944 photo of a birthday party in my Aunt Mary and Uncle Joe Souza's kitchen.
The birthday girl is the little girl, mu cousin Carolyn, in the middle.
The doll was her birthday present and it had wandered from her lap.

 How many kids can you fit on top of a table....a whole lot!
 I am third in from top row looking at my sister Kathy...I think. My late cousin,
Jack Bernadino is bottom left. Cousins and friends.
We were a parcel of cousins so that made a party all on its own.  Here friends were invited, too.

My family was a party family.  Cynthia says she recently came upon a note she had written:"I was invited to a party at Sandra's.  I won a prize."  That would have been in the 40's so kudos to you Cynthia for keeping that moment!

See some folks you recognize in the photo below?

 Must have been a Christmas thing as three of us

                        are wearing velvet which was the thing for little girls in that season.

circa late 1940's

             

 Finally, as we got older, the parties got a little more sophisticated....

but still took place at home.

  My Aunt Alveda in the background, my Aunt Eleanor making the calls
for this Square dancing party:

myself top left with Anthony Butler, Elaine Farinha far right...
My Mom and aunts had removed all the furniture from my parent's bedroom on Blinn's Ct.
to make room for this one.  You can bet that there were lots of homemade goodies, too.  

No need for clowns and pony rides...who could afford that anyway?

Like I said.....homespun.

What kind of parties do you remember ?