How do you celebrate a milestone birthday when the birthday girl doesn’t want the milestone announced? Have a 1960s cocktail party instead, and see if anyone clues in that’s the decade when she was born. 
I knew Cyd had seen some fun cake boxes showing tie-dye and other wild colors, but her favorite is angel food cake, so I decide to try a Psychedelic 60s Tie-Dye Angel Food Cake, plus my co-hostesses scrounged the internet for more fun ideas, like classic cocktails and a Vintage 1960s Pineapple Cheese Ball I couldn’t resist making!
We all got out our family heirloom fondue pots and used them for Mary’s mom’s vintage meatball in sauce recipe, cheese fondue, and smokey nitrates a la orange, one of Cyd’s favorites, all at the “warm food” side of the buffet. Mary’s delicious deviled eggs and Robin’s asparagus spears in blankets were in the middle, then Joan’s 60s green salad dripping in mayo dressing, chopped eggs & bacon, some cookie cigarettes, and my Vintage 
Pineapple Cheese ball and the tie-dye birthday cake held down the other end of the buffet. We had a ton of food for our cozy group, and we all enjoyed it!
The bar was in the other room, stocked by yours truly, the portable party! To keep the bottle juggling to a minimum, we decided on Mai Tais in honor of the pineapple cheese ball and the popularity of tiki bars in the 60s, which gave me the chance to use my tiki ice cube tray, my new Disney tiki souvenirs, and my tiny teal tiki shot glass from Hawaii. 
Here’s what I printed on the 
recipe card:
There’s an age-old argument regarding who was the original inventor of the Mai Tai. Some say Don the Beachcomber and some say Trader Vic. We’d rather drop all the drama and get to the part where we make this time-honored drink using Trader Vic’s recipe.
This classic cocktail was invented by Trader Vic at the original Trader Vic’s restaurant back in 1944, when he decided to create the world’s finest rum drink. While he was mixing ingredients, some friends from Tahiti happened to come in. They 
tried the results, and declared “Mai tai – ro aé!” which is Tahitian for “Out of this world – the best!” And that’s how the drink got its name.
Trader Vic’s Famous Mai Tai
4 oz Trader Vic’s Mai Tai Mix from the pitcher
2 oz dark rum
Pour over ice into an old fashioned glass. Stir well and garnish with cherry, mint and lime.
To make a Honi Honi (Hawaiian for “kisses”) substitute fine bourbon for the rum.
For our other classic cocktail, we chose the old fashioned, featured the past few years as Don Draper’s favorite on Mad Men. However, I never knew until researching that the classic old-fashioned cocktail has such controversy and rabid opinions surrounding it! I brought bitters, sugar cubes, maraschino cherries & orange slices, plus a rye whiskey, Canadian whiskey, and a bourbon for everyone to try their own combinations based on the various old fashioned rules. Since I knew the birthday girl had been wanting to try St Germain liqueur in new drinks, I added the Dolled Up Old Fashioned too. Here are the full instructions for both, plus the birthday girl’s snazzy 60s dress and homemade fur-trim coat!
The old fashioned has been the old-fashioned way to make a cocktail for about 130 years, during which time it has been in and out of fashion. Rye whiskey, bourbon or blended Canadian whiskey have all been popular. There is also a bone of contention whether the fruit should be muddled into the drink or only served as garnish. Mix your own variety and decide which you like best!
whiskey of your choice
orange slices
maraschino cherries
bitters
sugar cube
Place a sugar cube into an old fashioned glass with a splash of bitters. Add an orange slice and maraschino cherry if you like. Muddle together until the fruit is mush, or until the sugar is dissolved. Pour in your choice of whiskey and stir well. Taste and add more sugar or bitters if you prefer. Add ice, then garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry. Serve immediately and drink slowly.
Dolled Up Old Fashioned
2 shots whiskey
1 splash St Germain
2 splashes bitters
1 splash sour mix
Combine all ingredients in an old fashioned glass and stir well. Serve with ice and an orange slice.
We all enjoyed the lovely April evening around the fire pit, then decided it was time for cake! I had ordered these crazy lotus petal multi-candles from China online, and they were supposed to rotate while they petals opened, revealing several small candles already lighted, plus it was supposed to play the Happy Birthday song. Here’s what it looked like before we started…
…but first, we were laughing so hard at the poor translation on the box instructions that Robin had to read them aloud as poetry!
I lighted the center wick with one hand with my phone ready to record video with the other…whoosh, the center flame lighted immediately and they weren’t kidding to stay back 40cm! After the big flame subsided a little, the whole candle 
started rotating slowly and opening its petals. What I bought was supposed to have 14 candles and only had 8 inside, but it was still fun to watch…but it never sang! We waited watching it a bit, but still no singing, so we sang so Cyd could make her wish and blow out the candles!
We cut the cake, with everyone enjoying how the tie-dye showed through the entire cake, and I piped a bunch more whipped cream frosting on each slice for serving. Very tasty and the birthday girl loved it! After a game of Yahtzee – classic 60s party game! – we cleaned up and went our separate ways…but at 1am Cyd texted me that the candle had started singing from inside the garbage can! Hahaha….and it kept singing all night well into the morning! Better late than never I guess?
Don’t forget to read the full instructions for the Psychedelic 60s Tie-Dye Angel Food Cake and the Vintage 1960s Pineapple Cheese Ball, and you can see all the party photos in the gallery below. Hope you are inspired to host your own 1960s cocktail party someday!
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