Today, I came across this fun milk glass set, which I assumed was a Christmas mixing bowl and some mugs. I wondered why it would have Tom and Jerry written on it.
It turns out it's a Hazel Atlas punch bowl and cups, specifically made for eggnog. A Tom and Jerry is an eggnog recipe traditionally served between Christmas and New Years.
Pierce Egan, wrote a book called "Life of London: or Days and Nights of Jerry Hawthorne and His Elegant Friend Corinthina Tom" in the early 1820's. To publicize his book, Mr. Egan concocted a variation of egg-nog he called "Tom and Jerry".
I even found recipes online, like this one on AllRecipes for Tom and Jerry Eggnog. The original was fortified with rum and brandy.
There are a number of different patterns for this series. The one I have is called Christmas Cheer, but some refer to it as Top Hats. There are a number of other Tom and Jerry patterns. They all look very similar, but the pictures are a little different. Sometimes the writing is red and pictures green or vice versa. Other patterns include Auld Lang Syne, Currier and Ives, and Colonial. You can see more of these on Ebay.
What I have not been able to do is find out if the different patterns correspond to different dates or what year/s my set might have been made. If anyone out there has more info, please let me know!