1960’s era cocktail parties were popular with guests and a welcome change for hostesses from the labor intensive dinner parties of just a decade earlier. The relaxed and casual atmospheres of cocktail parties with their fun themes, along with plenty of alcohol and buffets filled with bacon wrapped canapés, cheese balls, crackers and crudités, were a welcome diversion during a busy work week. Etiquette for hosts and hostesses emphasized a careful guest selection process, a stylish presentation of foods and a mix of classic and newly created cocktails. Guests could relax without seeing the planning behind the party and could make an appearance for as brief as 30 minutes or longer, without feeling obligated to stay from start to finish.
DEAR MISS VANDERBILT: Recently I was invited to my employer's house for cocktails. The invitation said “Cocktails between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.” Were we expected to stay the entire time? — Mrs, R.Q., San Francisco.
MRS. R.Q.: No. About half-an hour between those hours would have been appropriate.
— Amy Vanderbilt in the Oakland Tribune, 1965
🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia
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