Boys + Girls

A Spool Party | Jack and Jill's Clown Party | Invite the Parents Too! | The First Boy-Girl Party | Entertaining the sub-Sub-Debs | The First Dancing Party | Invite the Gang In | A Roman Party | A Beach Party! | Midsummer Snow Party

A SPOOL PARTY

"Ooo Grandmother! Where did you ever get so many empty spools?" Bobby was kneeling in front of a drawer in Grandmother's sideboard.

"I've been saving them, Bobby, all winter long. I thought maybe you'd like to have a spool party this vaca­tion."

"A spool party?" Bobby's eyes opened wide in wonder. "I've never even heard of one."

"All the better," said Grandmother, as she reached into the drawer for a handful of spools. "These short fat spools would be good to write the invitations on. I'm sure there are enough for that."

Bobby was eager as he dug through the full drawer of spools his grandmother had accumulated. After several tries, Bobby and his grandmother printed in small letters around the middle of the short fat spools,

Come to my spool party Friday at three p.m.

Bobby Halverson.

It was lots of fun passing out these spool invitations to the neighboring children with whom Bobby played dur­ing his summer vacation at Grandmother's.

During the days before the party Bobby cut many strips of cardboard one-half inch wide and three- and four-inches long. These were to be used during the party for building material. Then Bobby picked four small spools of equal size; painted one red, one green, one yellow, and the other blue. These were the family autos.

Friday afternoon the boys and girls arrived anxious to discover what a spool party would be like. As soon as all the guests arrived Bobby showed them a spool dog that Grandmother had shown him how to make. The head was cut out of cardboard tapering into a long neck which fitted into one end of the spool. The face was drawn with black crayon. At the other end of the spool emerged a long curved tail that looked as if it would wag any minute.

Four cardboard legs were glued to the sides of the spool. He made a surprisingly good-looking dog.

When Bobby told the children that they could make any kind of animal they wanted to, there was much excite­ment. In every corner of the room dogs, cats, lambs and cows were being created. When the animals were all fin­ished, the youngsters built a spool pen by placing spools of equal size about three and one-half inches apart. The four-inch strips of cardboard were then put across the spools and held in place by small button-twist spools.

With the animals safely corralled, Grandmother ex­plained the next game while Bobby built a series of bridges. For piers he used tall slender spools joined at the top with strips of cardboard. These strips can be scotch-taped to the tops of the spools to hold them in place. The piers were placed just far enough apart for one of the painted spool cars to roll through.

Then each child was given four tries to get the four spool autos, one at a time, through any space between the bridge piers. The red spool counted five points, the blue four, the green three, and the yellow two. If a car in going through knocked down part of the bridge the driver lost two points. It kept Grandmother busy keeping score through the fun and excitement of the game.

Grandmother then had a surprise ready. She brought out a bunch of larger spools, one for each child, and showed the children how to make spool wind-up cars.

In addition to the spools each child was given a button (underwear-button size), a rubber band, some match sticks and some cellulose tape. Then she instructed them to thread the rubber band through one hole in the but­ton. It can be forced through with a pin if necessary. Then she put a match, with the head removed, through the loop so that the rubber band wouldn't slip out of the button. The other end of the rubber band was put through the spool and held there by a short piece of match stick. To keep this end from slipping Grandmother taped it to the end of the spool.

The car was all ready now to be wound up. The button served as a bearing. Soon each child discovered that if he twisted the crank or long match stick until the rubber band was tight and put the spool on the floor, the little car would run rapidly across the room. These were tops in fun, and much more exciting than the many commercial wind-up cars the children had bought.

While the youngsters were playing with their cars, Grandmother set the supper table. At each plate was a spool place-card and for a centerpiece Grandmother had transferred the spool animals, made earlier by the chil­dren, to the center of the table. To the boys and girls this was more attractive than the fanciest floral arrangement.

Supper consisted of baked potato, creamed chicken, and new peas. The dessert was the surprise. Grandmother had baked a big cake and decorated it to look like a huge spool.

At going-home time, the children gathered their ani­mals and wind-up cars, declaring that this spool party was lots of fun. The youngsters were sure that from here on they would be on the watch for all empty spools.

JACK AND JILL'S CLOWN PARTY

Parties for boys or for girls in the grades are not too hard to plan but woe to the mother of boy and girl twins. Her job to plan a birthday party for her Jack and Jill that will please them both takes a bit of doing.

Mrs. Grady faced this problem. She wanted a gay, happy party where the boys wouldn't spend their time teasing the girls, and the girls wouldn't tauntingly sing, "Jackie's got a girl friend, Jackie's got a girl friend."

Her solution was a clown party. All youngsters love a clown, and the twins were enthusiastic while they cut in­vitations in the shape of a clown's hat on which they printed:

A-clowning we will go At Jack and Jill's Friday after school.

When the boys and girls arrived bubbling with joy of anticipation, they were shown a large gay-looking carton which the twins had decorated with clown's faces and bright-colored balls. Their curiosity was intense and they were delighted to discover in this box a supply of wide ruffs of gay-colored crepe paper and tall white crepe pa­per hats with bright tassels—one for each guest.

Dressed in this attire each youngster caught the gay spirit of clowndom, and the party was on its way. The young clowns were seated around card tables on which was a supply of paper coffee cups with handles, some cone-shaped paper cups, and paper baking cups. Also paste, crayons and scissors. They were also shown a com­pleted puppet clown for a pattern and each one was asked to make one. The pattern had a face drawn on the coffee cup with an extra handle added for the other ear. The cone-shaped paper cup decorated with many colored dots made the hat. The pleated paper baking cup made the ruff.

The children were enthusiastic over their creations. They discovered that by sticking a hand in the paper cup the clowns could be made to turn their heads, bow and do other clownish maneuvers.

The boy and girl whose clowns were voted the funniest became captains for the next game.

After this bit of quiet activity the youngsters were ready for some exercise. Jack and Jill took their friends out­doors for a hoop-jumping contest. For this contest the twins had prepared beforehand a number of large hoops made of stout wire and covered with red tissue paper.

The captains chose their teams so that an even number were on each side. There was a hoop for each guest. The captains held the hoop tilted so that a child running from a given goal could easily jump through the hoop bursting the paper covering as he did so. The side going through the line first was declared the winner. This was a very exciting game, not too difficult but loads of fun.

At the end of this game the hoops were used for a hoop-rolling contest. The boys competed against the girls. Each member of the winning team was given two bags of pop­corn, one of which he gave to a member of the losing team.

Now came a chance to show off a bit. The young clowns all sat in a circle and each one took a turn at clowning.

Each clown performed his funniest stunt while the young­sters applauded vigorously.

The boy and girl clown who won first place as "fun­niest" became the "twirler" in the old game of "Statue." The boy twirler grabbed the right hand of each boy and swung him around three times. The clowns held the po­sitions in which they landed. The twirler looked them over and picked the most interesting one to be the next twirler. The girl clown twirled all the girls and judged her group.

To have a quiet game before lunch the clowns seated themselves in a circle for a game of "Circus." The first clown started the game by saying, "I went to the circus to see an anteater." The next in line repeats, "I went to the circus to see an anteater," and adds an animal begin­ning with the letter "b" as "bear." The third in line might say, "I went to the circus and saw an anteater, a bear, and a clown." One who fails to think of an object beginning with the next letter of the alphabet goes to the center of the circle.

By the time only a few were left competing, lunch was ready. Jack and Jill led their guests to the dining room for refreshments. For place cards balloons were used. A balloon bearing the name of a guest was tied to the back of each chair. Shouts of laughter greeted this new idea while the guests scrambled for their seats.

The traditional ice cream became jolly clowns—a scoop of ice cream on a pineapple slice with bits of maraschino cherries for roguish eyes and mouth, and a whole cherry for a bulbous nose. Cone-shaped paper drinking cups with a red tassel on top perched on top of the clown face, added the last touch to the clownish appearance. Little frosted squares of white cake were dotted with tiny red candies.

The party guests were tired but happy. They gathered up their puppets to take home as favors. They were sure nothing could be more fun than such a jolly clown party.

INVITE THE PARENTS TOO!

The next time your small fry wants a party for his gang, don't be scared of a rough house. Just answer, "Certainly." Then make it an early eve­ning party, invite his friends and their parents. Include all small brothers and sisters. You'll have quite a crowd, we'll admit, but we can guarantee that if you plan your games right, you'll have a party that will be long remem­bered not only by your young son but his friends and their parents as well.

The secret of the success of such a party is, of course, to have games that all ages can enter into, and you'd be surprised how many such games there are.

A good opener for such a party is the "Nose Game." Hang an old sheet in an open doorway. Tacks stuck into the top of the doorjamb don't show and will hold a sub­stantial cord. Then fasten big safety pins into the top edge of the sheet and pin them over the cord. This makes a very satisfactory draw curtain. In the sheet make two slits, one big enough for an adult to stick his nose through, the other a suitable height for the shorter guests. (This curtain can be prepared ahead of time and drawn across the doorway for this one game.)

Gather all the women on the back side of the curtain. Then ask the men if they are sure they can recognize their own wives. They'll be very confident of their ability.

Warn the children not to help their Dads. Then have each woman take a turn at sticking her nose through the slit in the sheet. It is surprisingly difficult for a man, no matter how long he has been married, to recognize his wife by her nose. After the choosing is completed let the women join the men who have claimed them. Most of the men will have some other fellow's wife.

Then hustle the kids behind the sheet. Make the men pick their own kids—don't let the women help. Mothers have washed those faces so often they are better choosers than the men. One father of four children at a recent party of ours wound up with claiming only one of his four off­spring—the other three proved to belong to some of the other guests. But then no one had his own family intact.

A stunt that looks very easy but is really hard to do is called the "Broomstick Game." Lay a broomstick on the floor. Place your elbow next to the broom handle and measure the distance to your finger tips. Put an apple on that spot. Then kneel on the broomstick, keeping both hands on the stick, and pick up the apple with your teeth. Chances are you'll land on your nose first try. The kids love to see Mother and Dad try this one.

To find the richest person in the crowd, divide the group into two teams. Give each one a bowl of uncooked navy beans and a spoon. Each one stands in front of a mirror and takes a spoonful of beans and by looking into the mirror, tries to drop them into an empty milk bottle which he holds on top of his head. More beans will go on the floor and down the neck than into the bottle. Then each one counts the beans he has been successful in getting into the bottle. Each bean is worth $100,000. Keep the resulting figures from your income tax man—he'd be staggered at the worth of your guests.

Let the parents watch the kids in a bottle wrestle. It can be played in any living room and nothing will be damaged. Divide the kids into pairs, matching them ac­cording to size and weight. The partners face each other on opposite sides of a milk bottle which stands on the floor. They place their hands on each other's shoulders. Then each one tries by pushing and pulling to make his partner knock over the milk bottle. The one knocking over the bottle or losing his balance loses the match. This is a very strenuous game that takes a small space in which to play.

"In-betweeners" always like to play a trick on someone. "Fancy Stepping" answers this urge. A group of guests who do not know the stunt are assembled in one room. Then the host places four objects a little distance apart across the living-room floor. Good things to use are a whole raw egg, a plant, a cut glass vase, and a silver tea pot—the more fragile the things the better. Then a "victim" is brought into the room and told that he will be blindfolded and will have to step over the fragile objects without touching them. To help him gauge the distance, permit him to step over the articles with his eyes open. Much atmosphere is created by repeated cautionings as to the value and fragility of the objects. The victim is then blind­folded, spun around three times and started on his peril­ous course. While he is being spun the objects are quietly removed from the floor. The victim then starts out work­ing diligently to step over the things that are no longer there. It is terrifically funny to watch people stepping high, wide, and handsome over a bare spot on the floor.

A game that rates tops in hilarity is a "Costume Race." Choose two Dads to head the two teams. Have each team include some mothers as well as half the kids. Then pre­sent each captain with a suitcase of clothes. A skirt or loose beach slacks, a flower hat and a pair of mittens make a hilarious costume. The object of the game is to have each contestant dress in the clothes, then race out the front door around the house and in the back door carrying the suitcase. When he reaches the starting point he takes off the clothes and repacks them and passes the bag to the next man on the team. The excitement and hilarity in the dressing and packing reduces the onlookers to limp­ness from laughter.

Of course, the team completing the race first is the win­ner. At one of our recent parties one father, with tears of laughter running down his cheeks, remarked, "I thought this was a kids' party. I haven't had so much fun in years."

We seldom give prizes at any of our family parties. We have learned through experience that in games where everyone participates the fun of winning seems to satisfy without a prize. To avoid any unnecessary delays we al­ways make a list of games ahead of time and collect the props needed for each game. As our games do not call for expensive equipment, we only need to assemble from around the house the props needed. As each game is fin­ished we refer to our list, kept in a handy spot, for the next game. The youngsters soon spot the list and at the end of each game race to it to see "What's next?" As our list contains only the names of the games, it serves as a teaser.

Keep your refreshments simple and serve them buffet style. The children like to sit on the floor to eat and the parents enjoy eating from trays or plates held in their laps. The informality of it all will please everyone.

The advantages of the family parties are quite appar­ent. The kids have a rollicking good time. You, as hostess, get the cooperation of the parents in promoting the games and keeping the youngsters' exuberant spirits in check. And the kids themselves, besides the good times, learn how to be host and guest and learn the fellowship that comes from hospitality. With our family of growing boys we have had many such parties and every one of them has proved to be a howling success, and we do mean "Howl­ing."

Did you ever hear of block parties? Let us recom­mend them. They are something different in the way of parties. We live in a new district and, like many new districts, there are many children. In our block the children are all about the same age, and as a result the parents and children have become well acquainted.

Children have birthdays, and birthdays mean parties— first one home and then another. The novelty had worn off. Wasn't there something new and entirely different to do? We all got together to plan and the block-party idea was born.

Our house became Union Station for the evening. At six o'clock the travelers (children) arrived ready for the first part of their journey. Under the care of the Conduc­tor and Engineer (entertainment committee) all em­barked for Hawaii (a neighbor's house across the street). In true Hawaiian style each guest was presented with a paper flower lei to wear for travel. While the guests nib­bled slices of fresh pineapple and crackers the young host­ess, who belongs to a dancing class, entertained with a Hawaiian dance.

Next came the long trip to China. Here Chinese lan­terns were everywhere. By lantern light the travelers ate big plates of Chow-Mein on the spacious back porch. Then they hit the road again for Turkey, that land of romance and mystery. Entering the home of the Sultan, the travel­ers were cordially welcomed by the sons and daughters of the household, who were attractively dressed in Turkish costumes. A serving of date pudding completed the am­ple meal the travelers had gathered along the way.

Then followed an uneventful passage to America and incidentally a visit to an Indian village (another home). Here "Heap Big Chief" and his tribe gave their Indian dances, showed their wonderful rugs, beads and weapons, and for a finish served some of their native food, Popped Corn.

On the wing again—a flying trip to Union Station, point of departure—to play some games children in other countries enjoy.

First came a Chinese game called "Dragon's Tail." All the children lined up, hands on shoulders of the child ahead. The first child became the head of the dragon and the last the tail. The hostess called out, "One-two-three-go!" At the signal the head tried to catch the tail. In and out around the amusement room wove the dragon (line of youngsters), the head trying valiantly to tag the tail. The whole body moved with the head and remained un­broken. If the head caught the tail that child continued to be head. If the body broke first, he became the tail. The very minute someone let go, the Dragon died. This Chinese game was strenuous and hilarious.

After this exciting game it was good to sit quietly in a circle. Indian corn was used for this popular Indian game. One child hid the kernels of corn in one of his hands, and standing before another child in the circle said, "Guess how many?" He asked his question first of one child and then of another in the group until he had been all around the circle. Of course, the child who guessed the correct number, or the nearest correct, won, and became "IT" for the next game.

Next was a "Fish Game" commonly played in Denmark. Folding chairs were placed in pairs around the room. And the children grouped themselves into pairs. One couple became "IT" and were named "Whales." The other cou­ples seated themselves in these chairs. Each couple, other than the "Whales," secretly selected the name of a fish. The whales wandered about the room calling out from time to time the name of some fish. Each fish called left his chair and marched after the whales. If the whales called out, "The Ocean is calm," everyone left his chair and followed the whales. When the whales called out, "The Ocean is stormy," all the couples raced to get chairs. The left-over couple became whales. This Danish fish game proved to be popular with our young Americans.

Next we enjoyed a Mexican game called "Bread and Cheese." The Buyer stood in the center of the ring of children and asked Tommy, "Where do they sell bread and cheese?" Tommy pointing to Sally standing at the far side of the ring, said, "There it is very cheap." The Buyer then repeated his question of Sally. Meanwhile Tommy changed places with Mary who was directly op­posite him in the circle. The Buyer then tried to dash into one of the empty spaces before either Tommy or Mary could get there. If he reached the spot first, then the one left out became Buyer.

From Mexico we jumped to Alaska for an "Alaskan Guessing Game." John became "IT" and was given twenty small sticks of wood. The other children closed their eyes tightly while John arranged the sticks in a se­ries of groups on the ground. When John called "ready," the other players shouted out their guess as to the number of sticks on the ground. The one who first guessed the correct number of sticks became the next "IT."

Not to overlook our own country the children were next introduced to the good old American game of "Wall Ball." The players numbered off, and scattered about. Number one player tossed the ball against the cement wall and, after the ball left his hand, called a number. The player whose number was called had to catch the ball on the first bounce. If he was successful, he threw it and called a number—if he didn't catch the ball on the first bounce, the original thrower threw it again.

By this time the curfew was ringing and our neigh­borhood children returned home voting the "Block Party" the most fun of all.

THE FIRST BOY-GIRL PARTY

The first mixed party! This is a red letter day on any calendar and it must be something special to remember. Dropping clothespins in a bottle and pinning a tail on a donkey is small-fry stuff—and just doesn't make a party for teen-agers.

So why not invite these shy young swains and their gig­gling girl friends over for a Fun Frolic and plan the games so that for this night Fun is King.

Here is a good mixer to start the fun and get the young guests in a party mood.

When the girls have removed their wraps in one room, the boys in another, give each one a paper sack, No. 20, in which you have cut notches for eyes, nose and mouth, and crayoned a large number just below the chin. A few pencil marks in the right places make these masks smiling, gro­tesque, or what have you. Slip these sacks on over the head. When the fellows and gals return to the living room, pro­vide each with a card and pencil, offering a reward to the one who first identifies each paper head. Sounds easy—but you'd be surprised how long it takes to make such a list and how thoroughly it melts icy shyness. As a reward let the first gal and the first boy to complete the nearest cor­rect list be the first couple to try "Double Handcuffs."

Be ready with two strings forty inches long. Tie each end of one of the strings around the boy's wrists. The second string is passed between the boy's string and his body and the ends of it tied to each of the girl's wrists, thus link­ing the two together. The object is for the couple to free themselves without breaking or untying the strings. It's loads of fun to watch the couple struggle to get free, step­ping through the loop, putting it over their heads, and the like.

Satisfy the crowd's urge to try it by handcuffing each lad and lass together. Sooner or later some bright young­ster will discover the trick, and the gang will be much dis­concerted with its simplicity. The handcuffed boy picks up his string, puts it under the string on the inside of the girl's wrist, over her hand, down the back of her hand and under the string. Presto, the couple is free, although the strings are unbroken and still fastened to the wrists.

When the excitement from this game has died down, announce "How Green you are." One person leaves the room. While he is gone the gang decides what he is to do when he is called back. It might be decided that he is to smell a flower on the table, or take off his shoes, or turn out a light. As soon as he responds to the call "ready," the crowd sings "How Green you are" to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne" while he is trying to discover what is expected of him. When he gets nearer the object involved the crowd sings louder, when he gets farther away the singing grows softer. This stunt is loads of fun. It is amazing how com­plicated the stunts can be and still be accomplished.

A game that is ridiculous to watch as well as do is called "Cotton Bowl." Place a large empty glass bowl in the cen­ter of a small table—a card table will do. Scatter around the bowl a quantity of cotton balls—they can be purchased at a drug store. Blindfold each contestant, whirl him around three times and then hand him a large wooden spoon, announcing that he will have one minute to see how many cotton balls he can spoon into the bowl. Since the balls have no weight, many times the contestant will spoon furiously with nothing in his spoon. Let a score-keeper count the total number of balls the girls get into the bowl and the number the boys get into it. The side with the greatest number wins the game.

Almost everyone is familiar with tit tat toe, the game in which two players, using a drawn block of nine squares, compete to finish a line of Os or Xs before the opponent blocks the line. Here is a game of human tit tat toe that is fun for teen-agers. Place three chairs in a row—three chairs directly behind each of the first three chairs to make a sec­ond row. Complete the square by putting three more chairs directly behind the first two rows. You now have a tit-tat-toe square made of nine chairs. The first girl player sits in any chair of her choice. A boy player takes a chair of his choice, keeping in mind that he must sit so as to keep the girls from completing a row of three girls. The next girl tries to sit so as to continue the girls' line and block the boys. Boys and girls alternate taking seats until either the girls or boys complete an unbroken line of three or, as is sometimes the case, all lines are blocked. Then the cat gets that game. The boys and girls will want to play this game over several times especially if the score is in favor of first one and then the other.

By this time the crowd will be ready for a lively circle game called "Face to Face." The partners stand facing each other in one large circle. One odd player stands in the center and calls, "Face to face," "Back to back," "Face to face," "Back to back," the players taking their positions accordingly. When he calls, "All change," the players must take new partners. The center player tries to get one too. If he succeeds, the person left without a partner must go into the center and give the commands.

About now announce that lunch is ready and the couples facing each other in the preceding game automatically become partners for lunch, which will be ready to eat buf­fet style. A substantial menu for these insatiable appetites can be sandwiches made with tuna-fish salad in Parker House rolls, crisp potato chips, dill pickles, with heaping dishes of ice cream, and generous slices of devil's-food cake. Be sure your supply of food is adequate because the guys at this party, if not the gals, will be back for seconds and maybe thirds.

Before they leave, these young sprouts will be asking when they can come again for another such get-together.

ENTERTAINING THE SUB-SUB-DEBS

"Mother, can I have a party?" "Certainly," I answered our young son. Then I hesitated. Parties—we'd always had plenty of them. But now with the young son in High School, this wouldn't be any little boy affair.

"What kind of a party would you like?" I asked very casually.

"Oh there're about six fellows I'd like to invite," he said, and added slowly, "and about six girls."

This couldn't be a dance because many of this crowd were not yet accomplished dancers, neither did they care much about bridge. But we can try anything once so I told him to invite the youngsters and we'd plan games for their entertainment. Now I look back and wonder why all the dither. Just in case some of you are up against the same proposition let me tell you how it worked out.

John invited the girls by telephone and when each girl accepted he told her one of the boys would call for her. Then he invited the boys and asked each one to see that a certain girl arrived safely. This plan settled the couple problem to the satisfaction of all concerned.

The first game of the evening was "Amnesia." Before­hand we had written on slips of paper the names of famous people; movie stars, radio comedians, comic-strip char­acters, and the like. One of these slips was pinned on the back of each guest. The name on the slip was unknown to the one wearing it. According to the game, each guest had lost his memory and was to learn his identity himself. He was forbidden to remove the paper from his back or to look into a mirror. He could ask questions of the other guests, but only questions that could be answered by "yes" or "no." With everyone asking questions of everyone else the ice was soon broken. From then on the evening was a gay affair.

The next game proved to be so much fun, they asked to play it a second time. The players were all seated in a circle. John started a three-beat rhythm and everyone joined in. On the count of one, hands were all clapped on knees; on the count of two, hands were clapped together in front; and on the three, all snapped their fingers with arms outstretched parallel to their shoulders. At the count of three John named a common noun such as "elephant." Without breaking the one, two, three rhythm the girl next gave a noun beginning with "t" such as "teacher." The new word had to begin with "t" because that was the last letter of the previous word mentioned. The noun must be given on the third beat of the rhythm. The one who couldn't think of a noun quick enough dropped out of the game until the winner was finally determined.

"Progressive Fortunes" is a lot of fun especially with a crowd of boys and girls. The guests were all seated in a circle. Each one was given a long piece of paper and a pen­cil. The strips of paper were cut beforehand of uniform size. Each guest wrote his name at the top of the paper and folded it over far enough to conceal the name.

He then passed it to his right-hand neighbor who in turn wrote out a four-word description of his past life. This caused a lot of merriment and, of course, the youngsters loved to make it wicked. This, in turn, was again folded over so that the writing was covered and it was again passed to the right.

Then John asked the crowd to write a four-word de­scription of the one he or she liked best. Some of these turned out to be quite "flowery" while others were sar­castic depending upon the nature of the writer.

After folding over these were passed to the right and each participant stated in four words what he thought of himself. There was much hilarity among the youngsters as they described themselves.

Once again the papers were folded and passed to the right. Plans for his future were now written in four words by each guest, and the papers were passed to the right-hand neighbor who kept it. Then each youngster took turns reading aloud the paper he held which was supposed to be the fortune of the one whose name appeared at the top of each sheet. Of course, these fortunes, being the prod­uct of many minds, were extremely funny.

Before we realized it was time for refreshments. Be­lieving that no boy or girl has ever quite had his fill of ice-cream sundaes, we decided to let each guest make his own—as many as he could hold. On the dining-room table were all the "makings" for the sundaes. There were two large bowls of bulk ice cream—vanilla and chocolate; a quantity of quartered bananas for banana splits, pitchers of chocolate and butterscotch syrup; dishes of preserved cherry and strawberry sauces; two dishes of nuts, pecans and cashews; a bowl of whipped cream and a dish of mara­schino cherries for trimming. There were also assorted homemade cookies. Card tables were provided at which the guests sat while enjoying their sundaes.

The youngsters had a grand time concocting their own sundaes, some of which, needless to say, were very original. When the evening was over many of the guests had four sundaes to their credit.

Don't hesitate to let your "fourteeners" have a party. It's lots of fun for the parents as well as the youngsters.

THE FIRST DANCING PARTY

The very first dancing party! What a thrill or a heartbreak! It can be either and is as often a heartbreak as a thrill unless a wise hostess plans her party so that every guest has fun.

As a rule young girls will be very excited and thrilled over the affair but the young swains will group in a cor­ner, laughing overloud at each other's jokes and generally acting like wrestlers at a pink tea. But once everyone is drawn into the fun the success of the party will be as­sured and others will venture to give dances in their homes.

The best ice breaker and partner-chooser for this first dance is a Grand March. The boys and girls form separate lines on opposite sides of the room, facing the leader. The boys stand at the leader's left, the girls at his right. March music is played or a good marching song can be sung.

1. The lines march forward, then toward each other, the boys passing behind the leader and outside the line of girls while the girls go in front of the leader and inside the line of boys. When the lines meet at the opposite end of the room, the marchers come up the center in twos with arms locked.
   
   
2. The first couple goes to the right, the second to the left, the third to the right, and so on, continuing around the room until the lines meet and the marchers come up in fours.
   
   
3. The leader divides the fours into couples and again sends the lines around as in 2. When they meet at the other end of the hall, each couple in the left line joins hands and raises them to form a bridge. The right line passes under the bridges. Both lines continue to march during this figure. When the lines meet at the upper end of the room, the right line forms bridges and the left passes under.
   
   
4. When the lines meet at the lower end of the room, the first couple in the left line makes a bridge, while the first couple from the right line goes under. The second right couple makes a bridge under which the first couple from the left passes. Thus the couples alternately make bridges or go under them. The figure should be repeated at the other end of the room. This rather difficult step is very popular after the group has become accustomed to
   marching.
   
   
5. At the end of the bridge making, the marchers come up from the lower end of the room in fours with arms locked. The first four go to the right, the second to the left. They return in eights.
   
   
6. Each player in the eight takes the hand of his neighbor on each side. The player on the left end of each line looks back of him to the player at the right end of the line behind—whose hand he will presently take. This continues until the whole group is one long winding line, which then is led into a single circle. The serpentine trick leaves each player standing beside the partner with whom he has marched. This partner can be his partner for the
   succeeding dance.

By the time the Grand March is over everyone will feel sufficiently "in" and will not retire to a corner, but just to avoid that possibility it is well to suggest a "Virginia Reel"—an old-fashioned country dance that is easily ex­plained.

The players stand well apart in lines or sets of about six couples facing each other. The boys' line is at the left of the girls when they turn to march. All the couples go through the figures at the same time. While the music is being played or sung the leader should call the figures as follows:

FORWARD AND BOW RIGHT HAND SWING

LEFT HAND SWING: BOTH HANDS SWING DO SI DO RIGHT:

DO SI DO LEFT:

ARM RIGHT:

ARM LEFT:

HEAD COUPLES LEAD

Each player advances three steps, bows to part­ner and returns to place.

Partners advance, join right hands, and turn each other.

Partners join left hands and turn.

Partners join both hands and turn.

Partners fold arms and walk around each other, passing on the right and walking backward to place.

Partners fold arms and walk around, passing on the left and walking backward to place. Partners hook right arms and swing around. Partners hook left arms and swing around.

YOUR LINES AWAY: The girl in the first couple turns to the right and the boy to the left, and the others follow: They march down outside their respective lines, clapping hands in time to the music. When the first couple meet at the foot of the lines, they join hands and form a bridge. As the fol­lowing couples meet they march under the bridge to their places, the sec­ond couple thus becom­ing the first. The game is continued until each cou­ple has acted as first cou-pie.

At the conclusion of this dance the youngsters will have lost all shyness and be ready to dance the social dances. To add variety to the evening choose two boys and give each a brush, and give two girls each a lemon. A boy may step up to any lad and brush him off with his brush. The lad being brushed must relinquish his girl to the brusher and accept the brush. Then is his chance to brush off some other fellow.

The girls with the lemons in the meantime may step up to any dancing girl and hand her a lemon. That girl must accept the lemon and relinquish her partner to the first girl. This takes away the formality of too stiff a dance and prevents any one person from being stuck with a poor dancer.

A further variation to the program may be added by circle dances in which the couples all dance around a circle and at a given signal the boys step forward to the next girl and the girls backward to the boy behind. This is lots of fun and can be used with any conventional dance step such as the waltz, the two-step, the schottische or fox trot.

For this informal dance, a paper-bag supper will provide informal refreshments for informal appetites. Let the girls take one of the brown paper sacks, which contains lunch for two, and pick a lad to eat with her. These bags can con­tain two paper cups, each filled with chicken salad and wrapped in waxed paper. Two deviled eggs will be quickly devoured (use a bright canape stick in each to hold the halves together). Tiny cakes, cookies, or ice-cream sand­wiches (put in the bag just before serving) will do nicely for the sweet tooth.

We guarantee that this very first dance will be long remembered for its fun and thrills, without a trace of heartbreak for even the shyest.

INVITE THE GANG IN

Have you an extremist in your home—a budding teen-ager extremely shy one minute and ex­tremely bold the next—who wants to have a group of his fellow extremists in for a party?

If so don't stop him. Give him all the help you can, for he is bound to benefit by frequent social contacts. These contacts will eventually whittle down his extremes to a comfortable-to-live-with pattern that'll be much easier on the family.

As a rule the thirteen- or fourteen-year-old is too young to like bridge or ball-room dancing, while a program of children's games are much beneath his interests. How­ever, games that recognize the youngster's interest in the opposite sex usually appeal to the shy boy and the boy-conscious girl.

A party with a theme always arouses anticipation and interest. "Shipwrecked" is such a party and we found it a lot of fun. The guests were invited to come dressed in clothes they had grabbed at three a.m. when the U.S.S. "Romance" was sinking. When the castaways arrived at our desert island they were garbed in everything from bath­robes to raincoats.

In keeping with the party theme we decorated the walls to represent a desert island. Huge pieces of wrapping pa­per painted with palm trees, tropical plants and birds and a wild tangle of weird tropical flowers covered the walls. Twisted green crepe paper hanging from the ceil­ing changed our living room into a semi-darkened jungle.

The unusual costumes and unusual jungle atmosphere immediately absorbed the attention of the youngsters and prevented that "stiff before the party starts" moment dreaded by most young people. As soon as the guests had gathered, the young host handed each guest a blank card. On it the guests had to write the color of the eyes of each one present. The girls were thrilled to have the boys take such particular notice of their eyes. This proved to be an excellent mixer.

To pick partners for the next game we tried this stunt. The boys gathered in one room and the girls in an adjoin­ing room. A sheet curtained the doorway between the two rooms. The boys' room was darkened. In the other room we turned on bright lights directly back of the sheet. Then each girl walked between the light and the sheet. The boys chose their partners from the shadow on the sheet.

Because the shipwrecked people had lost their ward­robes, each boy was given several newspapers and a sup­ply of pins. Then each boy made a dress for the partner he had chosen. He chose his own style of dress, tore the papers at will, and pinned a dress of paper on his lady.

Of course the girls were ready with plenty of sugges­tions. You'd be amazed at some of the newspaper creations turned out by these male dressmakers. A prize was awarded for the most attractive, the most unusual and the most skillful.

Very appropriate on a desert island was the hunt for the lost lover. Guests were seated in a circle with "IT" blindfolded in the center. "IT" groped about in search of a seated guest, then dropped to his knees and said to the one seated, "Are you my lost lover?" The victim answered with a disguised voice. He was asked to bark like a dog, meow like a cat, groan, etc., as "IT" tried to recognize who he was. One guess was allowed. If it was correct the victim took "IT"s place. If not, "IT" tried again.

Youngsters of this age are always very news conscious, so it was fun to tell them that the morning papers wished to carry a full account of their party. We requested each one to answer in full the questions asked on the slip of paper handed him. However, each question was to be answered with two words beginning with the writer's first and last initials. We allowed five minutes for answering questions. The slips were then passed to the neighbor on the right who read them aloud. Good questions for this game are:

1. Where born?	8. Type of sweetheart you like?
2. What did father say?
3. Your first words?	9. Your opinion of this party?
4. Favorite sport?
5. Favorite food?	10. Your opinion of your host or hostess?
6. Pet peeve?
7. Secret ambition?

After this we asked the youngsters if they would like to do a bit of spooning. Lacking any volunteers we picked three couples. The partners were seated on opposite sides of the table and each was given a spoon. The spoons were tied together with about eight inches of string. Then each contestant was given a dish of ice cream. The object of the game was to see which couple could finish their ice cream without breaking the string. At a signal the race began. A broken string disqualified a cou­ple. Winners were awarded wooden spoons purchased at the dime store.

All young people love to have their fortunes told. They liked the "Yarn of the Future." We had prepared for this beforehand by tying a written fortune every two feet on a ball of yarn. Then we rewound the ball adding extra yarn so that the paper fortunes wouldn't show. The host tossed the ball to a guest who unwound until he came to the first paper. He took it off then threw the ball to someone else. This continued until each guest had a paper. Then they took turns reading aloud. Here are some fortune sug­gestions that the teen-agers enjoyed:

1. Never get married on the thirty-second day of the month.
   
   
2. Don't get killed in the dark of the moon—it's fatal.
   
   
3. You'll soon be dead—dead wrong.
   
   
4. Don't watch the clock so closely—it may strike.
   
   
5. It's unlucky for you to drown on Friday the thirteenth.
   
   
6. You'll shine in society—if you don't powder your nose.
   
   
7. Don't cultivate a taking way—your friends may miss things.
   
   
8. Beware of courtships—they often sink.
   
   
9. Your rich relatives will soon leave you—but they won't leave you much.
   
   
10. If you're looking for love see "1" in the dic­tionary.

If you want to have some fun at refreshment time ar­range an ice-cream bar. It's easy to do. On the dining-room table we put several bowls filled with balls of ice cream —one vanilla, one chocolate, and the other peppermint. We had one pitcher of chocolate sauce, another of butter­scotch and a third of marshmallow cream. A dish of nuts and one of maraschino cherries completed the supplies. At the other end of the table we put a supply of sherbet glasses, spoons and napkins.

Each one became his own soda jerker. There's something in each of us that craves to mix fancy sundaes. You'll be surprised at the concoctions teen-agers will mix and also at the number they are able to consume. It solves the refreshment problem delightfully for all concerned.

A ROMAN PARTY

"I think the Romans had the right idea. Why should we sit up to eat our meals?" This remark by Hal to his fellow Latin class members started the ball rolling for a really different party.

The girls in the crowd got together and dreamed up the party. They made invitations out of stiff Manila pa­per to represent a Roman scroll and sent the following proclamation to their classmates:

Oh Noble Lords: We your slaves ask you to dine while you recline in truly Roman fashion, At the home of Ginny Reynolds on Saturday at six o'clock. Please dress in togas and sandals.

The night of the dinner the arriving guests were indeed a sight for astonished eyes. Their togas, upon close inspec­tion, turned out to be cleverly draped bed sheets. Their sandals smacked of beach wear. The school's football captain bound his crew-cut hair with a Roman headband.

The dinner was served on folded card tables placed flat on the floor. Plate doilies were used and the place cards were tiny Roman scrolls wound on toothpicks. Blankets were spread along the tables upon which the guests re­clined. The dining room was candle lighted.

The girls, acting as Roman slaves, served the reclining Lords their dinner. The first course consisted of deviled eggs on lettuce, stuffed celery, olives and crackers. There were no knives, forks or spoons. Everything was eaten with the fingers.

The main course consisted of cold meat, string beans, carrots, and buttered buns. Grapejuice and lemon punch was served with the dinner. Dessert was individual pump­kin pies. Trays of dried prunes, apricots, figs and raisins were passed.

At the close of the meal the Roman custom of freeing the slaves for the day and crowning one of them King was observed, only in this case the slaves were all girls, so the Lords crowned a Queen. Immediately the ex-slave Queen ordered all the Lords to Hades to receive judgment for the way they had bossed the slaves during dinner. Each Lord chose an ex-slave lady to accompany him.

To reach Hades it was necessary, of course, for each one to cross the river Styx which was well guarded, accord­ing to Roman mythology, by Cerberus, the three-headed dog. The river Styx was a strip of floor covered solidly with twigs and sticks. Three boys under one blanket, ex­cept for their heads, impersonated the dog. The three heads made considerable noise with their barking.

When all had crossed the dangerous river each victim paid obeisance to Pluto, king of the underworld. Then each Lord or Lady appeared before three judges to plead his or her cause. The three judges were chosen from the erstwhile slaves. If the judges decided that the prisoner's lordly manner at dinner was natural and not acquired, he was sent to the Elysian fields. But alas and alack, few were found to be without fault, and the guilty were promptly condemned to Hades. They were, however, given a chance to redeem themselves. Each was ordered to do a stunt which would meet the approval of Pluto.

Some of the stunts assigned to the guilty would do credit to a truth-or-consequence program. Two of the most studi­ous lads were blindfolded and given bean bags to throw at each other. Each lad to succeed in placating Pluto must hit another lad with the bean bag before he could be released from Hades.

One husky baritone was required to sing a Roman song. He racked his brain and those of his teen-age companions long and hard before they remembered that the familiar "Adeste Fideles" was of Roman origin.

Two stalwart fellows were blindfolded and had to join their right hands. In each left hand was placed a rolled newspaper. These men were right-handed. They were then told to take turns swatting each other. The first would ask, "Are you there, Caesar?" Caesar, of course, would answer "No," and immediately duck to avoid the wild swing of his blindfolded partner. When each had landed five swats he was considered chaste enough to enter the Elysian fields. Caesar and his pal had the crowd in gales of laughter before the stunt was over.

When all the Lords and partners had worked their way out of Hades they insisted that the Queen had overstepped her privileges and must work her way to the Elysian fields. After much raillery she submitted to their demands. She was seated in a chair and blindfolded. One of the Lords handed her a potato and asked her what it was. After feel­ing it over carefully she named it. Then she was given a cup which she also named correctly. After that came an egg. The second she said "egg," another Lord cracked an egg on her hair. The howling queen was horrified at a raw egg being broken over her head. She was much re­lieved to discover that the egg had previously been blown out and partly filled with water and that she was now restored to the Elysian fields.

At the conclusion of the evening, after all the criminals had been released from Hades and all the slaves given their freedom, the teen-age Lords and Ladies agreed that Roman parties were fun and very different.

A BEACH PARTY!

When the lads and lassies of Lake Harriet's Jun­ior Yacht Club decided to have a get-together they didn't reckon on the ingenuity of the girls in the crowd. After much speculation and planning the girls concluded that in spite of the frozen lake, the howl­ing of the Minnesota winds and the drifting snow they would stage a beach party as nearly as possible like the beach parties of the summer vacation days.

The invitations aroused plenty of curiosity and anticipa­tion. The girls cut circles of construction paper and col­ored them to represent beach balls. On these were the printed invitations:

Beach party at 2121 Harriet Avenue

January 10th at 6:30 p.m.

Come loll on the beach, forget the ice and snow and relive our summer fun.

"What are those crazy girls up to?" the boys wondered, while the girls, buzzing with secrecy, transferred the at­mosphere of last summer's beach into Jane's comfortable amusement room. By using tempera paint (because tem­pera paint washes off), one wall of the room became a stretch of sandy beach with an occasional fir tree in the background.

On the opposite wall a couple of C and X sailboats floated gracefully on the blue waters. Upon the arrival of the guests the hostesses were in for a surprise. When the guests removed their overcoats and galoshes it was dis­covered they were wearing bright-colored play clothes and gay summer togs.

The picnic meal was set out buffet style on an outdoor table sheltered by a bright-colored marquee. The meal itself smacked of good old summertime—fried chicken, crisp potato chips, fresh fruit salad, followed with a des­sert of ice-cream cones.

With such a setting it was only natural that during the meal the conversation drifted to the funny events of last summer—how Scott rammed a hole in Bob's boat and was dubbed the poorest helmsman—how Sally rammed the dock instead of leaving it astern and heading up to make a landing—how many times Dale tipped over and who won the regatta trophy.

After the meal the girls brought out the summer sports. First was a game of "Beach Ball." The guests formed a circle and were numbered i, 2, 1, 2, and so on around the circle. The players numbered 1 became one team and had a blue beach ball; those numbered 2 were the opposing team and were given a red ball. Jane explained that the balls were to be passed to team members only. This meant that each player threw the ball past the person standing next to him and into the hands of his own team mate im­mediately beyond.

At a signal the balls were started off in opposite direc­tions. The balls had to make three complete trips around the circle to finish one race. The balls changed directions after each race; that is, the team of players after passing its ball three times around to the right for the first race, passed it three times around to the left for the second race, and around to the right again for the last. The team winning two out of three races was declared champion.

Large colored balloons can be substituted for beach balls. This game is lots of fun whether played on a beach or at a beach party in your amusement room.

A game of "Horseshoe" is always good on the beach. In place of driving stakes into the sand the girls used a child's game of horseshoe, with the stakes on metal standards and hard rubber horseshoes. These rubber shoes are really much harder to throw than the kind Old Dobbin wore. Nevertheless, the same rules applied—game was fifty points. Ringing the stake counted three points. If the player made a ringer with both shoes he was credited with six points. Points were awarded also for position. The nearest one to the stake scored one point. If both nearest belonged to the same player he got two points. A combi­nation of one ringer and one shoe nearest the stake counted four points. Only one player scored in a turn. If both players made ringers each canceled the other. If the horse­shoes of opponents were equidistant from the stake no points were awarded for either of the players. First play in the next turn was given to the member of the winning team at the opposite stake.

For the golf enthusiasts the next game on the program was "Clock Golf." Jane drew on the floor, with chalk, a circle fifteen feet in diameter, and numbered it around its circumference like a clock face. She then placed a tin can, about four inches in diameter, in the center of the circle. So that the balls would roll into the can she fitted a wide sloping cardboard collar around the can. Then she gave each guest a golf stick and let him or her choose a posi­tion at some number on the clock face. The winner was the one who "holed out" in the smallest number of strokes.

After this, everyone except one of the girls seated them­selves in a circle. This one girl left the room. While she was gone someone paid her a compliment. Upon her re­turn to the room, Jane told her, "Mary, someone has said that you were a very excellent skipper. Who was it?" Mary had three guesses to learn the identity of her admirer. If she guessed correctly, that one left the room. If she didn't guess her admirer, she chose someone else to leave. After this game of "Compliments," the club members had a good old songfest, remembering particularly the songs they had sung together last summer on the beach.

At going-home time it was almost hard to remember to don storm coats and galoshes, the illusion of a summer beach party had been so strong.

MIDSUMMER SNOW PARTY

"To think I ever kicked about winter weather." Jean sat in the shade fanning herself lazily. "I just haven't pep enough to even think."

"Oh, forget the heat," laughed Nancy. "It could be worse. Besides we've got to plan a party for the crowd. It's our turn to entertain."

Jean looked at Nancy disgustedly. "I suppose you want me to dream about snow drifts and ice."

Nancy looked thoughtful. "I believe you've got some­thing there. Let's give a snow party!"

"In July!" exclaimed Jean. And after a moment—"It'd be different."

Thus it came about that Nancy and Jean had the crowd in for a July snow party.

The invitations were cut from white cardboard to rep­resent a snowman. Colored crayons marked the features and round black buttons down the front of his coat. Be­tween the buttons was this invitation:

Come cool off At our snow party July 8, at 7 p.m.

Jean and Nancy.

In preparation for the party the girls hung myriads of sparkling snowflakes from the ceiling of the living room and stuck large ones a foot in diameter on the walls. (The snowflakes were made from folded paper cut many times, dotted and smeared with glue and then sprinkled with metallic flakes.) They were hung with threads, then Scotch-taped to the ceiling. At the front door stood an enor­mous thermometer indicating below zero. Electric fans created a breeze from every corner of the room.

Their invitation backfired on the girls, however, for when the night of the party came, although it was a siz­zling hot evening, the guests arrived wearing ear muffs, mittens, scarves, and galoshes. Even their sense of humor couldn't force them into winter coats.

Of course, this bit of horse-play started the evening off with hilarity. As soon as the guests had doffed their winter accessories, which we guarantee they did quickly, the girls passed out squares of white tissue paper, and told the crowd the best snowflakes would win a prize. Fortunately for the crowd, some of them remembered way back when they used to fold a square of tissue first into halves, then quarters, and then eighths and then proceed to snip off here and there a corner of the folded tissue. When un­folded, the result looked like an intricate snowflake pat­tern. It was fascinating to do on a hot night, and soon each individual had four or five unusual snowflakes to his credit. The girls then handed out sheets of colored construction paper on which to stick the flakes. The winner was awarded a snowball.

This snowball was an apple wrapped in cotton and tied with a red ribbon at the stem. When the crowd put up a howl that they were being cheated and that their snow-flakes were superior to the winner's, Nancy gave each of the guests a snowball apple. She had intended to anyway.

For the next game the girls had torn off the monthly sheets of an old calendar—large size. On each sheet they had crossed off fifteen or sixteen different days so that each sheet had fifteen days remaining. Then they cut an­other month into individual dates which they put into a box. Before starting this game the girls passed out small favors to each guest. Each package was wrapped in Christ­mas paper and tied with fancy ribbon. The boys got combs, key chains, and pencils. The girls received bows, bobby pins, and combs. When the presents were undone they were laid in a row on the table.

Jean then handed out navy beans to be used as mark­ers. The game then proceeded like bingo. When Nancy drew a number from the box, everyone having that number on his calendar (the crossed-out ones didn't count) put a bean on it. The first one to have all the numbers on his sheet covered sang out "Snowman." He then was permitted to take his choice of all the favors on the table, regardless of ownership. Of course, this created a great deal of joshing, but every man had his turn until all the gifts were disposed of.

After this hilarious game, the crowd divided into two teams and the girls brought out two storm windows covered with frost (Bon Ami). One window stood in the living room, the other in the adjoining dining room. A captain from each team left the room, and both were told to draw in the frost on the window the same picture, with­out telling what they were drawing. Each team had to guess what picture its captain was drawing. The team guessing first was the winner.

The first picture to be drawn was that of a sleigh; sec­ond, a boy sliding down hill; the third was to depict "Snowbound." The game was fascinating, as none of these young people were artists—which made it all the funnier. After one team had won three times straight, the other team insisted on a change of captains, which started the game off anew.

At this time a game of "Ice" was the order of the day.

The girls handed out slips of paper with questions on them to be answered with a word containing ice. Some of the questions were:

Answers

1. A 4-letter ice the world would be better without Vice
   
   
2. A 6-letter ice that occurs three times Thrice
   
   
3. A 5-letter ice fixed by the merchant . Price
   
   
4. A dainty four-letter ice......... Nice
   
   
5. A 4-letter ice feared by the gals . . Mice
   
   
6. A 5-letter ice that is cut........ Slice
   
   
7. A 5-letter ice used in pickles . . . Spice
   
   
8. A 5-letter ice that repeats itself . . . Twice
   
   
9. A 4-letter ice seen at weddings . . . Rice
   
   
10. A 6-letter ice that is easier to give than to take Advice

The dining-room table carried out the same winter scene. The centerpiece was a wreath of small pine branches, tied with silver bows and decorated with bright-colored Christmas-tree balls and large pine cones. Tall red candles added the grand touch. All the refreshments were served buffet style, with a sprig of fir tied with a red bow on each tray. Tuna-fish salad with hot buns, and iced tea, and for dessert snowballs of ice cream and cookies with frosting snowman faces completed the meal.

The guests claimed they had actually forgotten the heat in the chilly party and donned ear muffs and galoshes be­fore saying a warm farewell.

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