15 Family Traditions From the Sixties That Are Rare Today

History Nostalgia 5 days ago

The 1960s were a time in history when close-knit families, far simpler pleasures, and shared routines helped shape everyday life. From scenic Sunday drives that involved no ultimate destination in mind to sitting down for dinners every night without distractions fueled by our phones, these kinds of traditions brought many families together in ways that practically feel nostalgic today. We’ll now take a look at 15 family traditions from the sixties that are rare today.

1. Sunday Family Dinners at Grandma’s House

A woman in a floral apron stands in a vintage kitchen, smiling while stirring a pot on the stove. The room has a window with floral curtains, a wall-mounted phone, and various kitchen appliances in the background.
jkastnerphoto

Oh boy, those Sunday family dinners over at Grandpa and/or Grandpa’s house were something special for the lucky folks out there. There are plenty of kids who will have no problem telling you that they’d wait practically all week with mad excitement for those dinners to arrive.

2. Addressing Adults as “Mr.” and “Mrs.”

A woman in a blue turtleneck sits on a wicker chair, a man in a vest and collared shirt leans on the chair, and a smiling child in a green shirt and plaid pants stands beside them against a neutral background.
camdon

Yeah, this tradition certainly went out of style quickly. The kids of today’s much younger generations can seem to be quite, quite hard-pressed to get formal with their introductions around adults.

3. Sending Handwritten Letters or Cards

An aged envelope with handwritten cursive sits on a rustic wooden surface, surrounded by dried flowers. The envelope features a vintage stamp and is addressed to a location in Oxford.
anniespratt

There’s just something that makes a handwritten letter or card seem that much more emotionally impactful. It could be as simple as the fact that they can end up taking quite a bit more time to put together than a mere text or e-card.

4. Gathering Around the TV for a Family Show

A family from the mid-20th century watches a television together. The father points to the screen while the mother and three children, sitting on chairs and the floor, focus on the show. The TV displays a puppet show scene.
cashmere1977

Not only would the families of the sixties oftentimes excitedly gather around TVs for family shows, but they would do so over dinners often.

5. Gathering Around the Record Player as a Family

Four women in a retro room engage in leisure activities. One listens to a record on a player, another examines vinyl records. A third woman talks on a wall phone, and a fourth holds a plush toy near the door. The decor is vintage 1960s style.
jocke75

Record players have made a comeback, but they’re still not used nearly as often as they were back in the day. Families really loved to break out the records and make full-fledged evenings out of listening to them back in the day.

6. Home Movies With a Projector

A group of adults and children are gathered in a vintage living room. Some are seated on chairs and couches, while children are lying on pillows on the floor. A classic TV and decorative lamp are in the background, along with floral-patterned curtains.
anonymous

Breaking out the home movies with the help of projectors made for wildly fun times back in the day. Projectors are pretty much a cheat code when it comes to amplifying the effects of a movie that would already be entertaining to watch.

7. Board Game Nights

Four people are playing a game of Monopoly at a table, surrounded by game pieces and money. The room has patterned curtains and a window with blinds. One woman is reaching for the board, while three men are engaged in the game.
deleted

Who doesn’t love a proper board game night? Families and kids nowadays especially, are much more commonly known to throw their energy and time into virtualized games, as opposed to actually learning the rules to a new board game.

8. Sunday Drives with No Destination

A vintage car drives on a highway with a large fireworks advertisement in the background. Signs indicate directions to Nashville and Interstate 24. The scene captures a retro roadside with vibrant signage.
lonesomedrivin

This is one of those old traditions that possesses its own kind of timeless beauty. However, it seemed like it was just easier to accomplish back in the sixties when one wasn’t vulnerable to being overtaken by so many distractions all vying for ultimate attention.

9. Picnics at the Park

A group of people are having a picnic in a park. A shirtless man is holding a yellow towel, while a woman prepares drinks. Various snacks and drinks are on the table. In the background, two children are playing, and cars are parked nearby.
deleted

Picnics at the park were a wonderful way that the families of the sixties would bond and manage to get outside in the process.

10. Going to the Drive-In Theater

A crowded drive-in theater at dusk with numerous parked cars facing a large screen showing a scene with a robed figure holding a staff. The city lights and silhouetted mountains are visible in the background.
anonymous

Drive-in theaters certainly made something of a comeback over more recent years, but they’re still nowhere where they used to be. It seemed like every other family that someone knew during the sixties was hatching plans to get everyone out to a drive-in theater.

11. Family Road Trips Without Devices

A woman and a toddler stand beside a parked, vintage black car with its trunk open. The scene is set in front of a Stuckey's shop with a Texaco sign. The woman is holding a bag, and the toddler is in pink. A variety of items are visible in the store's window.

While this was a tradition upheld by plenty of families during the sixties, it certainly tested kids’ willpower when it came to not completely losing their minds without having a multitude of convenient distractions.

12. Reading the Newspaper Together at the Breakfast Table

A group of young people, mostly seated on steps, are engrossed in reading comic strips. They are dressed in 1940s attire, and the scene appears to be outdoors with a building in the background.

Seriously though, there are so many exceptional nostalgic pictures of families gathered around the kitchen table while they power through all the pages of newspapers that they can get their eager hands on. Those times have certainly passed us by.

13. Telling Bedtime Stories Without Books

A young child peacefully sleeping in bed, surrounded by pillows and blankets with gray and white stripes and polka dots. The child is wearing a gray long-sleeve shirt, with eyes closed and lying on their side.
unsplash

The imaginations of the olden days almost seem like they could be (not always) a bit more rampant and developed. Those bedtime stories back in the sixties didn’t need the help of books or iPads. No, they were all just fully dreamt up.

14. Homemade Halloween Costumes

Four children in vintage Halloween costumes stand in a row. They wear masks and outfits with whimsical designs. The black-and-white photo captures a nostalgic, playful atmosphere.

Not only was this a more economically viable option back during the sixties, but people also tended toward getting that much more creative with their Halloween costume fits.

15. Lining Up For Weekly Haircuts

A woman in a checkered dress gives a young boy a haircut outdoors. The boy, seated with a checkered cloth draped over him, gazes forward while the woman focuses on trimming his hair. Trees and a building are visible in the background.

Haircuts from home could make for quite a fun time. That goes without saying that there were plenty of family members that really shouldn’t have been giving out haircuts in the first place.

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