When Mother Lets Us Give A Party - free ebook by Elsie Duncan Yale

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When Mother Lets Us Give A Party

Elsie Duncan Yale

56 chapters

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56 chapters

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

There is nothing that is much more fun than a party, is there? Mother hasn’t forgotten the days when she set a little table in the attic with the dolls’ tea-set, and had cambric tea and jam sandwiches. As for a birthday party, why it doesn’t seem a bit like a birthday without a frosted cake and pink candles and ice cream in forms—but there! That was to be a surprise. Birthday parties only come once a year, of course, but there are other parties in between, afternoon teas on the piazza or in the

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INVITATIONS

INVITATIONS

First of all, for the invitations. Choose your prettiest note paper, and don’t forget to write very plainly the date of the party. If you are just going to have a little afternoon tea, you can simply write, “ Will you come to my house to tea on Friday afternoon, June sixth, at three o’ clock? I hope you can. “ Lovingly , “ Dorothy . Or if you are going to have a larger party, you can write: “ Miss Dorothy Manners requests the pleasure of your presence at her home on Friday afternoon, June sixth,

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GETTING READY

GETTING READY

If you are going to have many parties, there are quite a number of things which you can keep on hand, all ready to use when you need them. An old trunk or box, or barrel will be nice to have on purpose for “dress-up” clothes. Put away in this all the old hats, and dresses, and shawls, in which mother lets you dress up. Then they’ll be safe, so that no one will throw or give them away by mistake, and you’ll always know just where to find them. It is a good thing to have wooden picnic plates on ha

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PARTIES YOU CAN HAVE WITHOUT MOTHER’S HELP

PARTIES YOU CAN HAVE WITHOUT MOTHER’S HELP

Usually , when mother’s friends call on her in the afternoon, she serves them with tea and wafers or cakes. Perhaps she lets you help her. Now when your friends come to see you, very likely mother will sometimes be willing for you to make a pitcher of lemonade, or a few jam sandwiches, for them. Try to serve these very daintily on a tray, using the napkins which you have all ready. Here is a very valuable secret. When mother says, “No, I can’t let you get your refreshments ready yourself,” do yo

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FOR SANDWICHES

FOR SANDWICHES

Soften the butter a few minutes before you use it. Butter the bread before cutting off each slice, and cut very thin. Then lay the buttered slices neatly together and trim off the crusts. The sandwiches may be filled with jelly, jam, chopped hard boiled egg, chopped meat, or nuts....

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CANDY PULL

CANDY PULL

Of course you must have this party in the kitchen, and either ask your friends to bring gingham aprons, or provide aprons for them. Have nice bright tin pans ready for your candy, and get together everything that the recipe calls for. If mother is willing you can make two kinds of candy at once on the stove, one for “pulling” and one for “nut taffy.” Although you can easily make the candy yourself, mother had best be on hand when you are working over the fire. This is a good party for a rainy da

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FUDGE PARTY

FUDGE PARTY

For a fudge party, you will need aprons of course, and permission to use the stove, or perhaps your big sister’s chafing dish. Get your materials together, and when your friends come, you can have just as good a time as the girls do at college. “When Mother Lets Us Cook” will tell you just how to make your fudge, and then you will have one less thing to learn at college. This is a good party for a rainy day....

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POP CORN PARTY

POP CORN PARTY

For this you will need popping corn, and several poppers. If you only have one, maybe your guests will bring theirs. You can take turns rubbing the corn from the ears, and popping it. This is another rainy day party....

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SEWING BEE

SEWING BEE

Mother will approve of a sewing bee, you see if she doesn’t! It is a most industrious way to spend an afternoon! Invite your friends around, and ask them to bring their dolls, their work baskets, and material to work with. (Of course this is just a girls’ party! Boys are left out!) If it is warm weather, it will be pleasant to sew on the piazza or lawn, and if it is too cool for this, the playroom will be pleasant for your sewing bee. Of course the boys will say that you do more talking than sew

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PAPER DOLL PARTY

PAPER DOLL PARTY

For this party you will need as many paper dolls as you have invited friends, and of course this, too, is just a girls’ party. Boys are out of it! Beside the dolls, get colored tissue or crepe paper, scissors, and paste. Arrange a table, at which to work, and when all your guests have come, you can begin dressing the paper dolls. Let each choose her own materials for the dresses. If you like, you can give a prize for the best dressed doll, mother to be the judge. Then for refreshments lemonade,

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CLOTHES PIN PARTY

CLOTHES PIN PARTY

For a Clothespin Party you will need a couple of dozen clothespins, and plenty of colored tissue or crepe paper. In one corner of the invitation you can draw a clothespin. The clothespin party is very much like the paper doll party, except that you dress clothespins up for dolls, in the colored paper. You will be surprised to see what pretty dolls you can make. Mother can decide who has dressed the prettiest dolls, and give a little prize. Your friends will enjoy playing with the dolls they have

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INDOOR GARDEN PARTY

INDOOR GARDEN PARTY

For the indoor garden party, you will need a large sheet for a screen, and plenty of pictures cut from magazines and catalogues. These pictures must be of houses, barns, stables, trees, animals, anything that will have place in an outdoor scene. You will also need a paper of pins, some large sheets of white paper, and, if you like, a couple of little gifts for prizes, such as a box of crayons or a box of paints. After your friends have come, arrange the sheet in place, and pin in the center a la

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CHRISTMAS SUNSHINE PARTY

CHRISTMAS SUNSHINE PARTY

This is really the very nicest kind of a party to give. Just try it and see for yourself! For this you will need plenty of narrow, red (or red and green ribbon) holly seals, nice white wrapping paper, and any other things which make holiday packages look “Christmas-y.” Be sure not to forget a jar of paste. Buy some of the beautiful copies of famous paintings, which are sold at a cent a piece, and cards on which to mount them, at two cents each. If mother can let you have some colored cambric-pin

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EASTER SUNSHINE PARTY

EASTER SUNSHINE PARTY

This is very much like a Christmas Sunshine Party, except that you will need a number of little baskets, candy Easter eggs, lavender or yellow ribbon, lily or violet napkins, and little chickens or rabbits which you can buy for a cent a piece. Then you can make little Easter gifts for other children and have a good time while you are doing it. Tie up the candy in the Easter napkins just as you did in the Christmas napkins, and let the children arrange pretty Easter baskets. This is a good party

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DOLL’S CHRISTMAS TREE PARTY

DOLL’S CHRISTMAS TREE PARTY

This is also a Christmas holiday party. For this you will need either small evergreen branches for the Christmas tree, or better yet, the little dwarf trees in pots. Ask mother to let you have some of the ornaments from your own tree, and have plenty of colored paper, paste, scissors, also popcorn, needles and thread, and tree hooks. If you can have a little netting, some colored worsted, and candy, you can find use for them. After your friends have come, make the ornaments for your trees, such

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A CHRISTMAS SEWING BEE

A CHRISTMAS SEWING BEE

A Christmas sewing bee is very much like any other sewing bee, except that instead of making dolls’ clothes, you make Christmas presents. Ask the other girls to bring whatever gifts they are working on, and you can spend a busy afternoon together. Christmas time always comes more quickly than you think it will, and it is a good plan to have your presents ready early. So I’m sure mother will approve of a Christmas sewing bee....

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INDOOR PICNIC

INDOOR PICNIC

This is a nice party to give during Christmas week, when the Christmas greens are still up, and you have so many new toys that you want to show your friends. For this party you will need evergreens, an old covering like a “drugget” for the floor, large baskets, wooden plates, and refreshments such as you have at a picnic. Before the children come, fill the baskets with sandwiches, devilled eggs, cookies, fruit, and cake, and whatever else you like to take when you go on a picnic. Trim the playro

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INDOOR PICNIC FOR DOLLS

INDOOR PICNIC FOR DOLLS

You can have this same kind of a picnic for your dolls. It will be great fun to make swings, see-saws and slides for them, but be careful not to let the dolls play too roughly, for they might get hurt! Then of course you must get out your little china tea-set for your refreshments, and serve “cambric” tea and jam sandwiches....

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AN AFTERNOON IN HOLLAND

AN AFTERNOON IN HOLLAND

This is a party which your friends will be sure to enjoy. Write your invitations on paper decorated with Delft scenes, or else upon cards cut in the shape of a Dutch shoe. Ask mother to please make you a Dutch cap of lawn, and then with a red or blue dress and a kerchief you’ll be a young Hollander. Have ready as many Dutch post cards as you have invited guests, also scissors, and a wooden shoe apiece. First play “Going to Amsterdam,” which is the same as your old friend “Going to Jerusalem.” Th

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JAPANESE TEA

JAPANESE TEA

This may be given indoors or on the piazza, according to the season of the year. Send your invitations on note paper with a Japanese decoration in the corner, and address each friend by some Japanese name such as Wistaria, Chrysanthemum or Cherry Blossom. If this is to be an indoor tea, arrange one room to look as much like Japan as possible, and this can be done by taking the furniture out! Place straw mats on the floor to be used for chairs. Little bamboo plant stands, and footstools will do v

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JAPANESE TEA (Outdoors)

JAPANESE TEA (Outdoors)

For a Japanese Tea on the lawn you will need the same costumes as for an indoor tea. The refreshments, too, are the same, and the piazza can be easily arranged in Japanese style. If you are fortunate enough to have plenty of room for your party, a kite-playing contest will be great fun, and you must be sure to get the queer “bird” kites that the children of Japan love. Puss-in-the-corner is a Japanese game (did you know it before?) and so is Blindman’s Buff. Japanese girls and boys enjoy battled

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HIAWATHA PARTY

HIAWATHA PARTY

This is a party for the country, and though it sounds like a boys’ party, the girls will enjoy it, too. For this you will need a target, one of the new guns which shoots rubber-tipped arrows, several boxes of beads, a set of quoits, boomerangs (which you can buy for twenty-five cents at a toy store), a football, and a number of prizes. These may be Indian baskets, birch bark canoes, or anything that is Indian. For your costume you can buy a “Hiawatha” or “Minnehaha” suit from a dollar up, or for

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DAFFODIL PARTY

DAFFODIL PARTY

Plenty of “daffy-down-dillies” will be used for this party, also materials for making them of paper (you can buy this already prepared), brown tissue paper, yellow and green crepe paper, clothes pins, yellow baby ribbon, and as many little gifts as you have invited guests. Get a shallow wooden box about two feet long and one foot wide and fill it with sawdust. Wrap your gifts in the brown tissue paper, so that they will look like bulbs. Now fasten each to the stem of a daffodil (you may use pape

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BUTTERCUP PARTY

BUTTERCUP PARTY

This is just the party for the country when the buttercups seem to be nodding their yellow heads to you and saying, “Come and pick us!” The invitations for this party may be neatly printed with gilt paint upon a white card, or else written on note paper which has a buttercup decoration. You will need to have ready a number of little yellow baskets—as many as you have invited children—two or three pounds of “buttercup” candies, and a sheet on which mother has drawn in yellow crayon, a large butte

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TULIP TEA

TULIP TEA

As tulips are the national flower of Holland, a tulip tea is only another form of a Dutch party. The Dutch games may be played, and for a surprise, a tulip bed should be arranged, just as the daffodil bed was. The same refreshments may be served at your “Tulip Tea,” as you had for your afternoon in Holland, but your table decorations will need to be different. The very prettiest centerpiece you can have would be gay red and yellow tulips in a Japanese flower-holder. If you do not own one of thes

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CLOVER PARTY

CLOVER PARTY

Perhaps you have near your house a clover patch where four-leaved clovers are whispering “Come and find me!” Then of course you must have a clover party! Press as many clover leaves as you have invited guests, and decorate each invitation card with one of the pressed leaves. Write the invitations in green ink. There isn’t a great deal to get ready for this party. Ask mother for a sheet, and either you or she can draw in green crayon a large, four-leaved clover. Cut from green cardboard four leav

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ROSE PARTY

ROSE PARTY

In June, when the roses are blooming in the garden, or climbing over the piazza, you must be sure to have a rose party! Give it on the lawn, if you are fortunate enough to have one, or else on the piazza. If you do not mail your invitations but have them left at your friends’ homes, tie each note with pink ribbon to the stem of a pink rose. For your party you will need to have ready “Rose Ring Toss.” If you have a set of “ring toss,” wind the hoops with pink paper, and if you have not a set, you

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DAISY PARTY

DAISY PARTY

When the fields are full of daisies, and they are growing in the parks, too, ask mother to allow you to go and gather some, and then you’ll be ready for a daisy party. Of course this is an outdoor party! When you write your invitations, sketch a daisy in the corner (a daisy isn’t hard to draw!) and color it with your crayons. For your party you will need a sheet like you had for your buttercup party, except that a daisy is drawn, instead of a buttercup. Daisy ring toss is like rose ring toss, to

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SOAP BUBBLE PARTY

SOAP BUBBLE PARTY

This is either an outdoor or an indoor party, but if the weather is warm, very likely mother would prefer that you gave it out doors. Mother Nature’s green carpet isn’t easily spoiled. For this party you will need gingham aprons, pipes, bowls, soap, and small tables, as well as several prizes. You can blow bubbles with a penny clay pipe, but nowadays there are fascinating “bubble” sets which cost twenty-five cents. With these you can blow the most remarkable bubbles, and with each set are direct

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CHRYSANTHEMUM PARTY

CHRYSANTHEMUM PARTY

This is just the same as a Japanese tea, except that since it is in chrysanthemum time, it must be an indoor party. Decorate your rooms with chrysanthemums instead of artificial cherry blossoms, and be sure to wear a chrysanthemum in your hair, tucked over your ear. Play the games described for the Japanese tea, and serve the same refreshments....

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VALENTINE PARTY

VALENTINE PARTY

Valentine’s Day is an ideal day for a party, and if mother says “yes,” why, send out your invitations right away. Use heart-shaped cards, and seal the envelopes with tiny “heart” seals. Of course your preparations for the party will depend on how much money you have to spend, but here are some ideas that have been tried, and are a great deal of fun. When you are sure of the number of guests, buy heart-shaped boxes, large red cardboard hearts, gifts, and make small red bags, enough for each child

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GEORGE WASHINGTON PARTY

GEORGE WASHINGTON PARTY

Very probably George Washington never had a birthday party, as he lived in the days when children were “seen and not heard.” So it would be a good idea to have a party in his honor on his birthday. Of course you will need old-fashioned costumes, and these will probably be found by ransacking the garret. But if, like Mother Hubbard’s cupboard, the garret is bare, you can easily borrow a skirt of mother’s, fasten it under your arms, tie a sash in Empire style, put on a kerchief, and there you are!

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ST. PATRICK’S PARTY

ST. PATRICK’S PARTY

As St. Patrick’s Day draws near you will see so many fascinating little souvenirs in the stores that you really can’t help asking mother to let you have a St. Patrick’s party. I hope she will say “Yes!” In the corner of your invitations should be a shamrock or an Irish hat, and you can buy these cards just before St. Patrick’s Day. For your party you will need two pounds of candy “shamrocks,” as many small baskets tied with green ribbon as you have invited guests, a sheet upon which a shamrock h

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EASTER PARTY

EASTER PARTY

There may be “Blue Mondays,” but surely Easter Monday is one of the brightest, happiest days that ever dawned. Of course you are anxious for your friends to see the Easter gifts which you have received, so if mother is willing, send out your invitations for an Easter party, not forgetting to seal them with a lily seal. For your party you will need colored tissue paper (as many different colors as you will have guests), also a small basket apiece, and plenty of little rabbits, chickens and eggs.

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RABBIT PARTY

RABBIT PARTY

Your older sister will tell you that she knows all about rabbit parties, and that for this festivity you will require cheese and a chafing dish. But she’s very much mistaken, even if she has been to college. What you must have for your rabbit party is a sheet with a rabbit drawn on it, and a pair of cloth ears to pin on the rabbit. You’ll also need a small candy rabbit, some modeling clay (and aprons!) and three prizes, but these are all, for this isn’t a college party. Of course your invitation

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MAY DAY PARTY (Outdoors)

MAY DAY PARTY (Outdoors)

It does seem as if May Day ought to be spent in the woods and fields, under bright blue skies. So if the weather man will be so very obliging as to prophesy a mild May Day, why then let’s off to the woods for a May Day party. Ask your guests to bring baskets for gathering flowers, and it would be a good plan to have a trowel with you to dig up ferns and plants. If you can have your May party near a brook, a boat race would be a great deal of fun, and you can provide boats for your guests. “Still

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MAY DAY

MAY DAY

May Day always makes us think of a May pole, and May dance, and a pretty queen crowned with flowers. But May Day is apt to be chilly and disagreeable, so you couldn’t very well think of tripping around the May pole with your winter coat and your overshoes on. But how about a Sunshine May party for your Sunday-school class? If mother is willing, invite your teacher, the girls (for this is a girls’ party. We’re sorry, boys, but you really wouldn’t enjoy this!) Buy some colored crepe paper and a co

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FOURTH OF JULY PARTY

FOURTH OF JULY PARTY

Mother will highly approve of a Fourth of July without fireworks, and when you ask to have a Fourth of July lawn party she will be quite sure to say “Yes.” If you haven’t note paper with a firecracker in the corner, why, you can get out your box of paints and do the decorating yourself. A red firecracker isn’t hard to draw and paint. For this party you will need two dozen tiny flags (the paper ones will do nicely), two tape measures, three shallow baskets, of different sizes, three red, three wh

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HALLOWE’EN PARTY

HALLOWE’EN PARTY

Although mother says that you are not old enough to stay up late for a Hallowe’en frolic, very likely she’ll let you have a party in the afternoon. You can darken the rooms and have just as good a time as if it were an evening party. Now’s the time to go to your “dress-up” trunk or barrel and get out all the treasures you have put away there. Buy masks, so that each of your friends will have one, for it wouldn’t be Hallowe’en without “dressing up,” would it? Have ready a rather shallow box (abou

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COLONIAL GARDEN PARTY

COLONIAL GARDEN PARTY

This is a girls’ party, and perhaps your Sunday-school class would enjoy giving it on the church lawn. You will need quaint, old-fashioned costumes, and very likely you can find them in the attic, in great-grandmother’s trunk. Ask mother to dress your hair high and powder it. You and your classmates can serve old-time refreshments, such as frozen custard and pound cake, or “election” cake, fruit punch (which you can make like fruit lemonade) and ices. Arrange a program of old-fashioned music, su

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THANKSGIVING

THANKSGIVING

After the Thanksgiving dinner, it will be a good plan to have some lively games for the whole family. Otherwise it’s more than likely that you’ll get into some mischief, at least, the boys will. So here are some games which you’ll all enjoy: First of all, suppose you try “It.” This is just as foolish as it sounds, but it makes a great deal of fun for all. Choose some person for “It.” He must leave the room, and when he comes in again, must do his best to make the others laugh. They, on their par

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A HOLLY LUNCHEON

A HOLLY LUNCHEON

Wouldn’t it be lovely if mother let you give a luncheon during the holidays? It would be quite “grown up.” A holly luncheon would be just the thing for Christmas week, and your friends would enjoy seeing all your pretty Christmas gifts. You can help mother decorate the table with holly. Have a large bowl of it in the center and a pretty spray at each place. Use holly napkins, of course. Here is a good menu for you:...

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ADDITIONAL GAMES—MENAGERIE

ADDITIONAL GAMES—MENAGERIE

A new game which you will enjoy playing is called “Menagerie.” Choose one of the children for “keeper” and blindfold him. After he is blindfolded, each of the others must choose the name of some animal. The “animals” then form a circle around the keeper and march about him till he gives the order to “halt.” Then he calls for an animal to come into the “cage” (the circle), such as “bear.” The bear enters the circle and, standing near the keeper, growls. The keeper must guess the name of the child

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CRITICISM

CRITICISM

To play criticism, choose one of the children to be criticised. Now let another child take pencil and paper and ask each one to whisper something about the child who was chosen, writing the remark down so as to remember it. Then he must read these sayings and the one who is criticised must guess who said them. For instance, Jack has asked every one to say something about Marjorie. When he has finished he turns to Marjorie. “Some one says you have pretty curls.” Marjorie guesses Edna. Jack: “No,

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MUSICAL NEIGHBORS

MUSICAL NEIGHBORS

This is an old-fashioned game which you will be sure to enjoy. Divide the company into two groups and blindfold one group. The blindfolded children must then be seated so that there is a vacant chair beside each of them. Then others must quietly sit down, so that beside each blindfolded child sits one who is not blindfolded. A chord is played on the piano and then a familiar tune, such as “Yankee Doodle.” All the children who are not blindfolded must sing and the blindfolded ones must guess from

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HUNT THE RING

HUNT THE RING

Stand in a circle and hold a cord whose ends are joined together, having first slipped a ring on the cord. Choose some child to stand in the center of the circle. The ring is slipped from one to another, always keeping it hidden by the hands, and the one in the middle must catch hold of the hands of whoever has the ring. If he can catch a child with the ring really in his hands then that one must go in the center of the circle. Of course the ring must be slipped from one to another very quickly.

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SLIP THE RULER

SLIP THE RULER

This is very much like “Hunt the Ring,” except that instead of standing in a circle you must sit down in a row. One child must stand in front of the row, while the others pass a ruler from hand to hand in regular order up and down the line. He must try and catch the ruler, and whoever is caught with it in his hands must exchange places with the other....

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BEAST, BIRD OR FISH

BEAST, BIRD OR FISH

This is a game in which you must think quickly. The leader of this game says, “Beast, bird or fish,” then quickly pointing to one child calls, “Fish! one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!” While he is counting ten the other must name some kind of a fish, and if he fails the leader has another chance. If he succeeds he becomes leader....

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SHOUTING PROVERBS

SHOUTING PROVERBS

This is a game which makes plenty of noise. Send one child from the room and choose some proverb, such as “A stitch in time saves nine.” Give each player one word of the proverb and call the “outsider” in. When he gives the signal you must each say your word, altogether. If he doesn’t guess from the noise what the proverb is, you must repeat it twice more for him. If he can’t guess then, he must go out again, and you choose another proverb....

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BEANS

BEANS

Divide the children in two companies, standing in line, facing each other (like a spelling match). The leader of each line has a handful of beans, and when the signal is given the beans are passed down the line from one to the other. The last player places his in a bowl, and whichever side has the most, wins, for beans that have been dropped are not counted....

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WHAT IS MY THOUGHT LIKE

WHAT IS MY THOUGHT LIKE

Probably grandmother played this game when she was your age, for it is very old. To begin the game, the leader asks each child in turn, “What is my thought like?” and each in turn mentions some object, such as a rose, a book, an orange, etc. Then the leader says, “I was thinking of Ethel.” Turning to the first child he says, “You said my thought was like a rose. Why is Ethel like a rose?” The answer might be, “Because she is pretty.” The next is asked: “Why is she like an orange?” “Because I am

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POST

POST

To play Post arrange the chairs in a large circle, while one child, chosen for postman, stands blindfolded in the center of the circle. Each of the others must now take a name of some city or town. When ready to begin the postman calls, “A letter is going from Washington to London,” and the children who have chosen these names must change places, while the postman tries to catch one. Whoever is caught must be postman and give up his place to the former postman. If the postman calls, “All the let

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CHARADES

CHARADES

These are always a great deal of fun, for they mean “dressing up,” and who doesn’t enjoy that. Some good words for charades are car-pet, pilgrim-age, tea-sing, in-dolent (inn-dough-lent) and child-hood. Of course you will need mother’s help when you play charades....

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HOW, WHEN AND WHERE

HOW, WHEN AND WHERE

Send one player from the room and then choose some object, such as a flower. Call him in again and let him try to guess what you have chosen. So he must ask each player in turn, “How do you like it?” The first may answer, “I like it pink.” The next, “I like it fresh,” etc. The guesser then asks each in turn, “When do you like it?” and the others reply, “When I am going to a party,” “When I am sick,” “When I am going to make bread,” This last will be puzzling because it means another kind of flou

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PEANUT GRAB

PEANUT GRAB

For this game place a pile of peanuts on a table. Now form in line and all march around it. Each one, as he passes the pile of peanuts, takes a handful, and when all have marched past they can count to see who has been able to hold the most in his hand....

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FEATHERS

FEATHERS

This is a game in which you have to “pay attention,” and perhaps you have played it at school. You must all sit in a circle and let your hands hang down from the wrists. The leader of this game begins, “Cats have feathers, dogs have feathers, rabbits have feathers, geese have feathers.” The minute he names something that really has feathers, you must all raise your hands and wave them. Whoever doesn’t do this must pay a forfeit. As the leader must speak very, very quickly, it is easy to be “caug

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