Friday, April 27, 2018

A to Z April Challenge: X is for X-tra Punch Cups


When my sister and I cleaned out our parents’ home, we had to make many decisions about what to do with all the stuff. Which things are truly “valuable” and which have only sentiment in their favor? Should we sell it, keep it, or throw it away? To help ensure a future for our family’s heirlooms, I plan to leave a booklet for my daughters telling the stories of what they will inherit one day. (Not TOO soon, I hope!) With this challenge I begin my book of Heirlooms.


is for X-tra punch cups. Not only do I have a punch bowl with matching cups, I have EXTRA punch cups. Yes, cups that do not match anything else.

I display my punch bowl in the dining room. The Jeannette Glass Feather pattern is a common one in the punch bowl world.  (This is the same pattern as my pink party plates featured on Day J, only clear.) Maybe that is why eBay has 2 complete punch bowl sets like mine (bowl and 10 cups) - one for $32 and one for $50. Meanwhile at Replacements, the bowl is $70 with cups selling for $8 each. Yeah, they’re dreaming!

Jeannette Feather punch bowl with Ice Blue Radiance on top https://jollettetc.blogspot.com

The 12 blue punch cups resting on top belonged to my paternal grandmother. The pattern is Radiance Ice Blue by New Martinsville.

Radiance Ice Blue by New Martinsville https://jollettetc.blogspot.com


The rest are odds and ends, mostly singletons, but no more than 2 or 3 of the same pattern. Some fit in the punch bowl but others are stored in a plastic bin to be called on as needed.

Column Thumbprints by Westmoreland
Column Thumbprints by Westmoreland https://jollettetc.blogspot.com

Cosmos by Imperial Glass
Cosmos by Imperial Glass https://jollettetc.blogspot.com

Fruit by Jeannette Glass
Fruit by Jeannette Glass https://jollettetc.blogspot.com

Shuttle by Indiana Glass
Shuttle by Indiana Glass https://jollettetc.blogspot.com

One unidentified

Unidentified https://jollettetc.blogspot.com

Most of the punch cups came from my grandaunt Violetta Davis Ryan, which means some might have belonged to her sister or mother. Equally possible is that someone just picked up individual cups at thrift stores or antique shops in order to have enough cups for some upcoming party. Punch was ALWAYS served at weddings, showers, retirement and birthday parties, right?

Wendy
© 2018, Wendy Mathias. All rights reserved.

16 comments:

  1. Yes, punch is always and was always served. You have a lovely and abundant collection of cups.

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  2. I've heard of them but have never seen any - other than the puches thrown at me in the boxing ring.

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    1. Yeah, I think you're suffering from some of those punches. LOL

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  3. I liked how you've displayed your punch bowl with the cups inside!

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  4. Love your punch bowl and cups. Lovely designs and colours. I like things that don't all match. I've got a good rum punch recipe for you... bottle ginger ale, bottle fruit juice, add rum. Taste. Add more rum. Taste. Add more Rum. Taste. Add rest of the bottle of rum... oh yeah!

    My A to Z Genealogy Challenges

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  5. The blue cups are the cutest. Love them. and punch bowls. We make good punch! LOL

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    1. They are cute - but they are tricky to hold without a hole in the handle to hook your finger through.

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  6. Quite an assortment of punch cups! I can't remember the last time I had punch from a punch bowl :) I know when we were going through hubby's parents' things, we found an assortment of punch cups but only one punch bowl with its own individual cups, so maybe you are right, an assortment purchased for when you had more guests than what the punch bowl set came with. Almost done with A/Z for this year!

    betty

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    1. I know - I guess punch bowls seem old fashioned. Now there are tricky containers with spigots. However, you can't do a slushy punch in one of those.

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  7. I so wish punch bowls and cups were back in style for weddings and special occasions. I have more than enough cups...all the same...for a big wedding, but no one wants to wash up afterwards. This disposable generation...sad! Love all your cup patterns and bunch bowl set. Good for you for having it out on display!

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    1. I know! People act like washing dishes is punishment. My mother-in-law did not have a dishwasher. After Sunday dinners, doing dishes with my sisters-in-law was a fun social time, believe it or not.

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  8. What an impressive use of the letter X!

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