as the object of the evening should be to promote sociability, it would
be well to have a number of interesting games in which all can join.
One of these might be a list of the presidents in anagram form, written
on a large blackboard; the names in parentheses, of course, are not
written out, thus:
1. L m jak pokes (James K. Polk)
2. Yatch lazy roar (Zachary Taylor)
3. Lord film rill a me (Millard Fillmore)
4. Knife lancer rip (Franklin Pierce)
5. Jamb haunce ans (James Buchanan)
6. Berth your she fad (Rutherford B. Hayes)
7. C H hurt a rare set (Chester A. Arthur)
8. Jasmine in horn bar (Benjamin Harrison)
9. Willie m mink clay (William McKinley)
10. O shogging rantwee (George Washington)
11. Jam nod has (John Adams)
12. Oft John fear mess (Thomas Jefferson)
13. Mard jess moan (James Madison)
14. Jo means more (James Monroe)
15. Jay chins Quon dam (John Quincy Adams)
16. Son rack and Jew (Andrew Jackson)
17. A rum Tannin verb (Martin Van Buren)
18. Harsh iron aim will (William H. Harrison)
19. If gales mead jar (James A. Garfield)
20. Carver delve long (Grover Cleveland)
21. Man in cab or hall (Abraham Lincoln)
22. Yes glass turns (Ulysses S. Grant)
23. Holy rent J (John Tyler)
At the end of half an hour present to the most successful guesser a
George Washington hat of violet candy, filled with red and white
bonbons.
But let the main feature of the evening be a small room fashioned into a
portrait-drawing studio, the lads and lassies in charge and everything
about the room having an old-time look.
Above the door have printed in the quaint spelling of long ago that all
who wish can have a silhouette picture of themselves for only five
cents, and doubtless a goodly sum will be realized, as people are
always interested, not only in their own, but in their friends'
physiognomy, and much fun will follow in exchanging shadow pictures.
Have ready a quantity of large sheets of paper, black on one side and
white on the other, also white cardboard; a sheet of paper is to be
fastened to the wall, white side out, and a lighted candle placed about
three feet from the paper. Then the one having his picture taken is
seated between the candle and wall, so that a strongly defined profile
falls upon the paper; the shadow is to be traced with a steady hand, cut
out, and then pasted on the cardboard, with the black side of the paper
out.
An old-fashioned candelabrum, surrounded by a wreath of blue violets and
red and white carnations, might grace the centre of the dining-table,
and at either end tall silver candlesticks with candles burning under
shades of a rosy hue might be placed.
Let the bonbons be held in boxes imitating the cocked hat of the
Continental Army; have sandwiches of different kinds and sorts, with
tiny silk flags bearing the name of the sandwich. Besides these the
eatables might consist of good old-fashioned gingerbread, crullers,
doughnuts, and coffee, followed by apples and nuts.
GIRLS' NAMES CONTEST
1. What an army would do if it found a river too deep to
ford. (Bridget)
2. An admirable quality in a young woman. (Grace)
3. The most prominent of Easter flowers. (Lily)
4. The time for violets. (May)
5. A gem. (Pearl)
6. What papa does with the baby. (Carrie)
7. How to write a postscript. (Adaline)
8. The flower of June. (Rose)
9. What a scissors-grinder and a locomotive have in common.
(Belle)
10. A virtue. (Patience)
11. An article. (Ann)
12. First steps in music. (Dora [do-re])
13. Two consecutive letters of the alphabet in transposed
order. (Effie [F-E])
14. The night before. (Eve)
15. A little valley. (Adelle)
The slips are to be collected and the one having the greatest number of
correct answers may be rewarded with some inexpensive souvenir.
GOLF LUNCHEON
When our golfing enthusiast desires to entertain her golfing friends,
she cannot do better than bid them to a luncheon set to the keynote of
their favorite sport.
Naturally, the table decorations will be red and green--deep red roses
or scarlet geraniums laid in flat bunches upon the "fair field" of snowy
cloth and encircling the dishes, caught together by "links" of smilax.
Perhaps, too, pale green candles, beneath ruby-hued shades, might still
further carry out the scheme of color.
The table may be arranged with a "putting green" in the centre made of a
square of sponge cake frosted with pistachio. A little hole should be
cut in the centre. Miniature caddy bags made of red satin and filled
with red geraniums and ferns are pretty decorations. A little golf ball
for the "putting green" can be made by covering a preserved cherry with
white icing. "Bunkers" can be made across the corners of the table by
using fine wire netting. At each place a small caddy bag can hold the
knives, forks, and spoons of the service, and in the bottom of the bag
can be placed a "Jackson ball"--one of those hard, striped red and
white, old-fashioned candies.
The bread sticks and cheese straws should be fashioned like golfing
sticks, and the ices be in the form of balls, small and white. Lastly,
with the coffee and bonbons, are passed souvenir cards on which are
daintily painted bags of golfing implements, heads of pretty girls in
outing hats, or bits of rural landscape.
GOLF PLAYERS' GUESSING CONTEST
1. A coachman. (Driver)
2. An oriental herb. (Tee)
3. A receptacle for the herb. (Caddie)
4. What an impudent fellow is apt to be. (Brassie)
5. A rustic expression for aimless working. (Putter)
6. A bazaar, and a color. (Fair-green)
7. The point of a pen and a lap of the tongue. (Niblic)
8. To crush and two letters. (Mashie)
9. A chance. (Hazard)
10. A large social function. (Ball)
11. A definite and an indefinite number. (Foursome)
12. Parts of a chain. (Links)
13. A bed and to mistake. (Bunker)
14. Number twenty. (Score)
15. Little pits. (Holes)
The two who, within a given time, answer the most of these fifteen
questions should be rewarded with appropriate prizes, as one of the
handy little score books to be slipped upon the belt, containing the
official score; a picture of the typical golf girl; or some volume on
the popular and fascinating game.
GOOD LUCK PARTY
This was given by a clever maiden to a departing girl friend, but the
idea could be utilized in various ways.
Each invitation took the form of a cordial note which was written on
white note-paper bordered with pen-and-ink sketches of horseshoes,
wishbones and four-leaf clovers.
Enclosed with each invitation was a guest card with the name of the
person receiving it written in gilt at the top. Below this was a row of
horseshoes, also done in gilt. Each guest was requested to write on this
card a toast, in rhyme, to the departing friend, and to bring it to the
party on the appointed evening.
The decorations of the rooms upon the evening of the party were
appropriate to the occasion. Horseshoes gilded or covered with tin-foil
hung over the folding doors and window-curtains, and depended from the
chandeliers, which were draped with festoons of ribbon ornamented with
wishbones and horseshoes of all sizes cut from gilt paper.
A large screen standing in front of the dining-room doors was decorated
with artificial clover blossoms. In the dining-room similar decorations
prevailed. In the centre of the dining-table, upon a centrepiece
embroidered with the emblems of good luck, stood a candelabra bearing
green and white candles. Encircling the centrepiece was a large
horseshoe of cardboard covered with green paper. Outside the horseshoe
outlining it were small glasses resting on green paper clover leaves.
At each corner of the table was placed a plate of delicious sugar
cookies baked in the shape of four-leaf clovers; each one was topped
with a gilded wish-bone.
The chairs were arranged around the room in the form of a horseshoe.
The main feature of the evening was the hunt for four-leaf clovers.
These leaves, which were cut out of green glacé paper, had been hidden
by the hostess in every nook and corner of the down-stairs rooms, and
much amusement was afforded the young people as they eagerly sought
them. At the conclusion of a given time the signal to stop hunting was
given and each guest counted the leaves he or she had found. The one
having the greatest number was presented with a dainty stick-pin in the
shape of a four-leaf clover.
The refreshments consisted only of ginger ale and cookies, and as her
guests partook of them the hostess read aloud the toasts which had been
handed to her. She presented them at the conclusion of the evening to
the guest of honor.
Each guest was next asked to tell "the biggest piece of good luck which
ever came to you." The numerous recitals given created no end of fun.
When the party broke up and the good-nights were said each guest carried
away as a souvenir of the occasion a bright new penny for a "luck
piece."
GYPSY FORTUNE-TELLING
Added to the charm and mystery of having one's fortune told is the great
pleasure which may be derived from having it told by a gypsy, even
though she may be an amateur.
An hour of amusement may be passed very delightfully in this way,
provided the hostess can make the necessary arrangements with some
quick-witted, bright young girl, who will be willing to take the part of
the gypsy. Several days before the evening's entertainment the hostess
should give her friend a list of the expected guests, with a few notes
concerning their traits of character, environment, etc., and these
suggestions, in addition to the knowledge of the persons which she
possesses, and her own inventiveness, will give her an excellent
opportunity apparently to look back in the past, and forward to the
future--especially if she happen to discover that any engaged couples
are to be present. The gypsy should arrive at the house of the hostess a
little early on the evening of the entertainment, and be shown to an
up-stairs room to don her gypsy attire. She should then descend to the
dimly-lighted parlor and seat herself in readiness for the guests when
they shall arrive.
As the guests arrive and remove their wraps they should be received and
greeted in the library or reception-room, and the hostess should then
announce that a gypsy is in the parlor. Having learned in some way that
there was to be a large party there, she has begged the privilege of
coming in to tell fortunes for the pretty ladies, so that she might earn
a few pennies. The guests repair to the dimly-lighted parlor, where the
gypsy is seated. As each guest advances and seats himself, the gypsy
takes the extended right hand and reads the lines--improvising as she
does so in broken English.
HALLOWE'EN BOX CAKE
The newest fashion in Hallowe'en supper-table decoration is a cake made
of white pasteboard boxes, in shape like pieces of pie, which fit
together and give the appearance of a large cake. Each one of the boxes
is covered with a white paper which resembles frosting. At the close of
the feast the pieces are distributed, each box containing some little
souvenir suitable to Hallowe'en. One box, of course, contains a ring,
another a thimble, a third a piece of silver, a fourth a mitten, a fifth
a fool's cap, and so on. Much fun is created as the boxes are opened,
and the person who secures the ring is heartily congratulated. The
unlucky individual who gets the fool's cap must wear it for the evening.
HALLOWE'EN GAMES
Have a card and a candle for each guest, the candles in as many
different colors as possible, and one corner of each card turned down
and tied with baby ribbon--one color for ladies, and another for
gentlemen. On the cards have couplets written foretelling future events,
such as:
Who gets the candle colored red
Will have long life, but never wed.
If you choose the candle green
You'll have the prettiest wife e'er seen.
For you the kind fates have a plan
Whereby you sure _will_ get a man.
Let each guest take a card and a candle (if the base of the candle is
warmed it will stick to the card), read the couplet aloud, then light
the candle, and holding it at arm's length blow it out. If it is blown
out upon the first trial the person will be married within a year; if
upon the second trial, within two years, etc.
Write rhymes of four or six lines on thin paper, and place in chestnut
shells. Tie together with ribbon, the ladies' in one color, the
gentlemen's in another. If there are personal hits in the rhymes, tie
the name of the person for whom each one is intended on the outside of
the shell.
Hide a ring, a thimble and a penny in the room. To the one who finds the
ring speedy marriage is assured; the thimble denotes a life of single
blessedness; the penny promises wealth.
Have one of the young ladies who knows a little palmistry be the witch
of the evening. A short, bright-hued skirt, a gay plaid shawl crossed
over her shoulders, a scarf bound about her head, will make a very
striking costume, and, with the aid of a little paint and powder, quite
an effective disguise. If she is enough acquainted with the guests to
give some personal history she can produce some very "telling" fortunes.
After the witch has exhausted her ingenuity as palmist, let her offer to
disclose the name of the future bride or groom of each one present, by
means of the fairy mirror. The room she uses should be dimly lighted.
She writes the name on a mirror with French chalk, rubs it off lightly
with a silk handkerchief, and calls in the person for whom the name is
written.
Prepare a basket of rosy cheeked apples, each with the initials of a
name pricked in the skin, which names must be used in counting the apple
seeds.
After the supper table has been cleared of all except the decorations
and candles, have a large dish filled with burning alcohol and salt
brought in and placed in the centre. Seated around this ghostly fire,
all other lights except the candles having been extinguished, let the
guests tell stirring stories rigmarole fashion; that is, some one
starting the story and stopping short at its most exciting point and
letting his neighbor continue it, etc., each one trying to make it as
interesting as possible.
HALLOWE'EN PARTY
All formality must be dispensed with on Hallowe'en. Not only will quaint
customs and mystic tricks be in order, but the decorations and
refreshments, and even the place of meeting, must be as strange and
mystifying as possible.
For the country or suburban home a roomy barn is decidedly the best
accommodation that can be provided. If this is not practicable, a large
attic, running the entire length of the house, is the next choice; but
if this also is denied the ambitious hostess, let the kitchen be the
place of meeting and of mystery, with the dining-room, cleared of its
usual furniture and decorated suitably for the occasion, reserved for
the refreshments.
The light should be supplied only by Jack-o'-lanterns hung here and
there about the kitchen, with candles in the dining-room.
The decorations need not be expensive to be charming, no matter how
large the room. Large vases of ferns and chrysanthemums and umbrella
stands of fluffy grasses will be desirable; but if these cannot be
readily obtained, quantities of gayly tinted autumn leaves will be quite
as appropriate. Festoons of nuts, bunches of wheat or oats, and strings
of cranberries may also help to brighten the wall decorations, and the
nuts and cranberries will be useful in many odd arrangements for
ornamenting the refreshment table.
Have the table long enough (even if it must be extended with boards the
whole length of the barn or attic) to accommodate all the guests at
once. Arrange huge platters of gingerbread at each corner, with dishes
of plain candies and nuts here and there, and pyramids of fruit that
will be quickly demolished when the guests are grouped about the table.
No formal waiting will be desirable.
HALLOWE'EN SUGGESTIONS
Have mirrors everywhere: big mirrors, medium-sized mirrors, and little,
wee mirrors, all reflecting and multiplying countless candles that burn
in candlesticks of every description (most novel are those made from
long-necked gourds and tiny squashes).
Across the top and down the sides of each doorway hang festoons of
yellow and white corn and turn the husks back to show the firm,
glistening kernels. Each window can be garlanded in like manner as well
as the tops of mantels and picture frames. Clusters of red ears may
depend from the chandeliers. Here and there, in the most unexpected
corners, can be placed Jack-o'-lanterns, smiling or gnashing their
teeth, amid great shocks of corn. The great hall and stairway can be
draped with fish-nets through the meshes of which are thrust many ears
of corn. A stately Jack must point the guests up the stairs where two
other individuals will usher them to the dressing-rooms.
Drape one doorway with a portière of apples--apples strung on strings of
varying lengths. As the guests pass through, the tallest stoop for those
suspended on the longest strings and the shortest reach for those on the
short strings. Those who succeed in throwing three tiny apples through
the horseshoe, which is hung in the midst of these apples, are assured
of phenomenal luck for the ensuing year.
In another doorway hang a big pear-shaped pumpkin, on whose shining
surface all the letters of the alphabet have been burned with a hot
poker. Keep this rapidly twirling while the guests, in turn, try to stab
some letter with long meat-skewers. The letter that is hit will
establish beyond question the initial letter of one's fate.
Place in a tub of water red, yellow and green apples. Provide each guest
with a toy bow and arrow. The young man or maiden who succeeds in firing
an arrow into a red apple will be assured of good health; plenty of
money is in store for those shooting arrows into yellow ones; and good
luck is in store for those hitting the green ones.
Blindfold each girl present and, presenting her with a wand, lead her to
a table on which have been placed flags of the different men's colleges.
The flag her wand happens to touch will indicate the college of her
future husband.
Browning nuts, popping corn, roasting apples, and toasting marshmallows
will add a great deal to the pleasure of the evening.
The dining-table should be draped in pale green crepe paper, the lights
above being shrouded in gorgeous orange. Pumpkins of various sizes
should be scooped and scraped to a hollow shell and, lined with waxed
paper and filled with good things to eat, should be placed in the centre
of the table. Lighted candles and quaint oriental lanterns will add
greatly to the decorations.
The menu should include bannocks, scones, and other Scotch dainties. If
desired, droning bagpipes might accompany the feast.
After listening to ghostly tales related by white-draped figures, the
guests may receive all sorts of amusing souvenirs from a large pumpkin
placed on a table at the door.
HANDKERCHIEF BAZAAR
Of all our friends, both far and near,
We beg the kind attention;
So please to lend us now your ear,
While we a subject mention.
To carry on our C. E. work,
In the country and the city,
We need more money very bad,
And hope you'll help us with it.
The committee intend to hold
On a day not distant far
A sale for both the young and old,--
A handkerchief bazaar.
So this, then, is our plea in brief:
To aid our enterprise
We beg of you a handkerchief,
Of any kind or size.
_Please send by mail before April 5th to_
The above invitation, which should be printed on a neat card, explains
itself. The details of the bazaar may be arranged as desired.
HATCHET PARTY
If the Hatchet Party is given at home appropriate invitations can be
issued in the form of a hatchet, bearing the words in quaint letters:
"_Ye Young Women's Christian Temperance Union extends ye
invitation to meete ye Hatchet Familie of ye anciente tyme at
ye home of Miss May Caspel, 236 Bell Avenue, on Wednesday
evening, ye 22d of Februarie of ye year of our Lorde 1905, at
eight of ye clock._"
The decorations should conform to the spirit of the evening. A large
hatchet covered with white curled tissue paper may be hung in the hall.
Plaques of little red, white and blue hatchets may take the place of
flowers, and in the hall or reception room there should be a little
table of "Souvenirs." These should be little bronze hatchets with the
letters Y. W. C. T. U. on one side. Their handles should be tied with
narrow ribbon--red, white and blue--and each guest should be allowed to
select his color. Thus everybody has the opportunity offered to him of
becoming a member by selecting the white ribbon, and in this way
everybody is compelled to "show his colors."
If simple refreshments are served, let the Japanese napkins have a big
hatchet gilded on them, and let there be some plates of hatchet cookies,
formed by the cutter that any tinsmith will make from a pattern.
Have old-fashioned candy--peppermint, wintergreen, sassafras and
molasses--instead of bonbons. Play the old games--hunt the slipper,
blind man's buff, hide and seek.
Names for the members of the Hatchet Family who are to receive the
guests:
Johanna Adams Hatchet,
Tomazine Jefferson Hatchet,
Jamesina Madison Hatchet,
Jemima Monroe Hatchet,
J. Quinciana Adams Hatchet,
Andrewsia Jackson Hatchet,
Wilhemina Henrietta Harrison Hatchet,
Johnesetta Tyler Hatchet,
Marty Van Buren Hatchet,
Jinny Keturah Polk Hatchet,
Zacherina Taylor Hatchet,
Millarella Fillmore Hatchet.
Ask the girls who impersonate these characters to come in Martha
Washington dress, a flowered chintz or silk overdress, opening in front
to show a silk or sateen skirt of a plain color, which may be quilted if
desired. The waist is made to open over a white neckerchief and has
elbow sleeves. A little round mob cap of muslin or lace, with a frill, a
band of ribbon around it, and a coquettish bow complete the costume.
ICE FESTIVAL
To step from midsummer into winter was a surprise, when the admission
ticket was dropped in the box at the door on the night of the festival
and its erstwhile owner passed into the hall. Small tables stood by pine
and cedar trees that were covered with alum icicles and sifted over with
diamond dust. Here groups of friends ate their cream and cake together,
served by snow spirits in white tarletan gowns that sparkled with
diamond dust, or ice fays whose white costumes glittered with glass
beads. On the stage, white canton flannel and diamond dust, heavy gray
wrapping paper folded into rocks, trees and a rustic bridge made a
realistic representation of a snowclad landscape. The pleasing program
consisted of dainty dances by children dressed as snowflakes, a pretty
ball game played with snowballs, recitations and songs appropriate to
the winter season. Another novelty was a tree covered with raw cotton
snowballs, with numbers attached. These were sold for twenty-five
cents--each purchaser choosing a number--and contained the small fancy
articles usually sold at fairs--pincushions, needle-books, cups and
saucers, etc. The windows were all screened and electric fans hidden by
evergreens kept the hall from getting overheated. In one corner was a
large pond, made of a shallow wooden tank surrounded by more gray paper
rocks and white cotton snow, in which real cakes of ice were floating,
and from which any one was at liberty to dip as much ice water as he
cared to drink. This festival was a great success.
INAUGURATION DAY LUNCH
The guests at this luncheon are to represent the Vice-President and the
eight members of the Cabinet, but if the hostess wishes to entertain a
larger number, she can introduce one or two of the foreign Ambassadors.
Give to each guest, as she arrives, a card bearing the title of one of
the Cabinet, as the Secretary of State, the Attorney-General, and, if
necessary, the English Ambassador. While waiting for luncheon, each one
must guess the name of the man she represents, in order to know her
place at the table, where only the proper names, not the titles, will be
used. It will be surprising to discover how few of the members of the
Cabinet are known by name to the majority of persons.