Page 1:How to Plan and Give Parties with Personality
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To The Hostess
This book is for you, the woman who makes a house a home. You do an essential and creative job as you bring family and friends together in warm companionship. Your art is that fine art of hospitality. When you have captured it, guests love to accept your invitations and want to come back again and again. You know that hospitality need not upset the family budget, that the simplest food graciously served is as acceptable as the rarest delicacy. It is for you that we have planned this book. It offers multiple suggestions for party fun and food, and we have tried to make all of them practical. Use these suggestions as guides, and tailor them to fit your style. We hope that we have made a contribution to your successful entertaining.
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Table
Of
Contents
Page
To the Hostess........................................................................1
Introduction.........................................................................3
Come One, Come All....................................................................6
Whodunit?............................................................................8
Ladies Invited.......................................................................10
For Men Only.........................................................................12
Carnival Masquerade..................................................................14
Cook-out............................................................................16
Will You Take Pot Luck?..............................................................18
Parties for Patriots.................................................................20
Comedy of Errors ....................................................................22
Gathering of the Clan................................................................26
Planning Children's Parties..........................................................28
Many Happy Returns...................................................................30
Please Mend My Heart.................................................................32
Ride 'Em, Cowboy! ...................................................................34
Graduation Class Dance...............................................................36
Come Over for Bridge ................................................................38
Kiddie Party ........................................................................38
On with the Show.....................................................................39
Sunday Brunch .......................................................................39
Treasure Hunt........................................................................40
Going . . .Going . . .Gone...........................................................40
How to Do It.........................................................................41
Quick Tricks with U-All-No Mints and Other Candies........................46
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Introduction
Informality-keynote of modern entertaining
Today, as apartments and houses shrink, when the full-time maid is a rare gem, and budgets stretch to cover many things, entertainment has taken on a new look of informality. By informality we don't mean scrambled eggs in the kitchen (though that too can be fun, occasionally). Rather, modern informality takes the form of plain good fun and of simple food served attractively.
Choose your style of service
For the woman who has always served sit-down meals at parties, the serve-yourself buffet party is a revelation. She finds that she can entertain many more people with ease, that she too can enjoy her party, that buffets are penny-wise, because the main course can often be a casserole or stew made of inexpensive ingredients. All in all, it is no wonder that this style of service is outstripping all others at present-day parties.
Even at regular meals these days, serv-
ice is likely to be family-style-with guests helping themselves. Or some hostesses prefer the so-called English style, where the host serves the meat and dessert, the hostess dishes out vegetables and pours the coffee. For the limited-space house, a combination of sit-down and buffet is another idea. Guests serve themselves from the buffet, then find places at dining or card tables. Whatever the style of service, it is right today if it fits you.
Every good party starts with a plan
A complete outline for your party may be in your head or on paper, but it must be well organized to make sure that the show will get applause from the critics. Before you do anything else, decide on a theme for your party and form a plan.
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Choose your guest list carefully
First set a limit on the number you can entertain comfortably, then select people who will get on well together. And don't invite people indiscriminately just because feelings may be hurt if someone is left out.
Make your invitations detailed
In many instances your invitation will be no more than a telephone call, but do give all the details-date, time, place, appropriate clothes. If you plan special invitations in keeping with the theme of the party, try to be original, but don't overdo or be too cute.
Plan your menu - and write it down
When you know how many will be present, make up a marketing list of anything you have to buy-whether in food or decorative accessories-and check your recipes for proper amounts. At the same time check your linen, china, silver, etc. You want to be sure that anything you expect to use is clean and usable.
Prepare a day in advance
Leave yourself free on the day of the party to concentrate on last-minute details and on yourself. Be certain to allow time for a rest and a leisurely bath-and plenty of time for dressing.
The party shelf-a plan for the unplanned party
If you like to give parties on a moment's notice, or if people just naturally congregate at your house (the highest compliment), don't be caught with your apron string trailing. You probably keep on hand some cans and boxes of quick foods for that unexpected person at dinner. Well, set up another shelf for the unexpected party. Include some of the same things you keep regularly in reserve -biscuit, cake and cookie mixes; packaged puddings and gelatins; sandwich spreads; canned meats and fish. Add to these the special things that spell party- attractive garnishes like pimentos and pickles, maraschino cherries, a few delicacies such as anchovies, olives, salted nuts.
Be sure, too, to have a good assortment of Fine Candies-After Dinner Mint, Lime, Lemon, Wintergreen, Pastel Mints, Party Pillows, Party Patties, Party Jellies, Striped Peppermints. Besides being the kind of candy everyone likes, these daintily colored confections have a host of decorative and flavoring uses, from dressing up ice cream to coloring and flavoring milk shakes for children.
Add to your party shelf some of the other decorative items-crepe paper in various colors, pipe cleaners, balloons, florists' wire, cellophane. All can be used in quick decorations or centerpieces.
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All the menus we have suggested are based on simple recipes which appear in any standard cookbook. The real secret of good party fare is not complexity, but how good it all tastes and how attractive it looks. Price has also been carefully considered as menus were developed. Just one more thought-carry over some of your festive suggestions into family meals. Your own little gang will love being treated like company.
All of the plans on the following pages have been organized so that only the community parties call for extra help. You may use any one of these plans just as suggested, and you won't go wrong. If you want to vary food or fun, by all means do so. But one practical hint: work out a full market order and preparation check list before you start. Then you won't forget to chill the dessert in time or omit the salad.
Prepares ahead so that she can enjoy her guests and take part in the fun.
Calculates correctly the quantity of food needed, so that she does not come up short or find herself with a week's leftovers.
Serves good food which she has tried out on the family if the recipe is new to her.
Stays away from fancy foods-hard-to-do sauces, tricky souffles- unless she has someone in the kitchen to help.
Makes attractive arrangements with eye-catching color combinations in both food and setting, adds color accents in garnishes. Makes sure that each guest is introduced to the others (or at least to several compatible folk, if the group is large).
Keeps the conversational ball rolling.
Plans a few games, but relinquishes them if guests do not spark, or have other ideas.
Does not try to outdo her neighbor, then worry all evening about the bills which will follow.
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Open House
SUGGESTED MENU
BAKED HAM CRISP VEGETABLE PLATTER POTATO CHIPS BUTTERED ROLLS CALENDAR CAKE PUNCH COFFEE
PARTY JELLIES
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Keep part of your food supply in reserve so that the table can be replenished as new guests arrive.
• Use a decorated ice block or tinted ice cubes to keep punch cold (see page 47).
• Use paper napkins and plates, but if possible, serve punch in glasses to show the color.
• If you do not own a punch bowl and cannot borrow or rent one. cover any large container with silver foil to make a pretty bowl.
For joyous occasions of all kinds-birthdays, anniversaries, New Year's Day or Christmas Day-whenever you want to entertain a lot of people, an Open House will be your choice. This come-and-go affair gives you a chance to see family and friends, to repay many social obligations at one time, to mix everyone up in easy informality-while you sit back with little to do except keep glasses and plates replenished.
Invitations
For an Open House invitations are likely to be somewhat casual-given in person or by telephone. No matter how casual, set some kind of time limit, say from 2 to
6, else you may find yourself answering the doorbell till midnight. Be prepared to have uninvited guests appear, for invitees so often bring friends along to this kind of informal, come-and-go party.
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Your buffet table will be the center of attraction, but dress up the rest of the house, too, with fresh greens or flowers. Pul away any precious breakables, incidentally, because with a large group, no matter how careful, accidents are likely to occur.
Buy or make a streamer with an appropriate greeting-"Happy New Year," "Happy Easter," etc.-and festoon it over the fireplace, over the sofa, or in a doorway. At strategic points around the
room-on end tables, coffee tables, mantelpiece, piano-put a number of appe-tite-tempting "Sugarplum Trees" studded with Party Jellies. You can buy little plastic trees at the
5-and-10-cent store. Incidentally, the trees can be used over and over again.
Party fare
With so many people coming and going all afternoon, it is impractical to serve hot food, and not many who come will
expect a full meal. As a substitute for baked ham, a beautifully roasted turkey is excellent. For assorted crisp relishes, choose carrot sticks, sweet gherkins, cauliflower pieces, celery, olives. A slice of your luscious cake, a glass of punch, and variflavored minty Party Jellies will satisfy those who prefer only a snack to your more substantial refreshments.
Activities
Conversation will keep most of the folks busy, and with a changing crowd, you are not likely to find your party lagging. You may wish to plan for some music during the afternoon, either records or some group singing around the piano, but try to keep it on the muted side so that those w'ho want to chat can do so.
Set up your buffet table in the dining room or at one end of the living room. If possible, use an auxiliary table to serve beverages. Cover the table with dark green cloth or crepe paper.
Your centerpiece, a huge calendar cake, will draw all eyes. See the diagram on page 43. If one 9-inch square cake is not enough, use two. Place side by side like the leaves of a book, with the date on one and your greetings on the other, spelled out with Candies. Set the cake on a slight incline by propping up the dish with a piece of modeling clay. You can use either white frosting with After Dinner Lime or Wintergreen, or chocolate frosting with After Dinner Mint or Lemon and your greeting will stand out for all to see.
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Party for Mystery Fans
SUGGESTED MENU
CRANBERRY JUICE INDIVIDUAL MEAT PASTIES GREEN BEANS PICKLED BEETS APPLE BETTY WITH CRUSHED AFTER DINNER MINTS
Since the days of Edgar Allan Poe, the mystery fans have been increasingly with us. So if you and your friends enjoy mystery stories and fancy yourselves amateurs in the art of sleuthing, give a crime party. This is a good entertainment for Halloween or All Fools' Day, or for any day when you want to do something a bit out of the ordinary. To give a costume party touch, ask each guest to wear or carry some object which will identify him with his favorite detective.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
• Keep this strictly informal, a sit-on -the-floor-if-you-wish party.
• Small tables (the fold-away kind) scattered around the room break the party into comfortable small groups.
• Coffee carafes on candle warmers are perfect on the buffet.
Invitations
Send out mysterious little notes to 10 or 12 of the best detectives you know, stating that a crime will take place at a certain hour of a particular day. Instead of giving your address, describe the location of your house. For example, you can say, "Go to the corner of Elm and Maple, turn north two blocks, east 50 paces, etc." Don't make it too difficult, else the gang may ring a stranger's bell.
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Keep the entrance to your home dark and mysterious, and decorate your living room as a "Black Museum"-the room in Scotland Yard where various crime weapons are kept. Around your living room place objects which might be murder weapons-kitchen knives, hammers, ropes, bottles labeled "Poison." With each item place a black-bordered card telling details of the crime in which it was involved.
Set up your food buffet-style, in another room if possible, or if space is short, plan your table at one end of the living room. Keep your arrangements simple-but serve by flickering candlelight, with all other lights turned off.
Party fare
Mystify your guests with individual golden-brown meat pasties which look and taste extra-special, but are actually only portions of stew baked in pastry. No need for potatoes or bread with these pasties, just some colorful vegetables. For dessert, try a hot apple betty, sprinkled with crushed After Dinner Mints, or if you prefer, serve mints with coffee. The minty sweetness of the candies and the tartness of the fruit are perfect complements.
Activities
As guests arrive in your dim hallway, have them "frisked" and fingerprinted. Use an ordinary stamp pad. When all the guests have assembled, give each a card
in a sealed envelope. Although really all cards are blank, announce that one is marked "Thief" and has instructions for stealing your valuable necklace some time during the evening. (Actually you are going to "steal" it yourself.) Serve dinner as if this were any ordinary party. Make sure, however, to talk with each guest separately so everyone has an opportunity to commit the "theft." Then suddenly say that your necklace has disappeared. The fun is on; every person present suspects the rest and attempts to solve the "crime." If no one succeeds in guessing what really happened to the necklace, you end the game by making a full confession.
Variations
Send each guest, along with the invitation, a copy of a mystery story with the last chapter cut out. Ask him to come and help solve it. When all are present, give each a chance to present his solution. Then pass out the missing pages and give everyone a chance to read the end of the story.
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SUGGESTED MENU
FRUIT JUICE COCKTAIL CHICKEN SALAD IN LETTUCE CUPS SLICED TOMATOES AND CUCUMBERS HOT MUFFINS BUTTER
PINEAPPLE CHIFFON PIE COFFEE
CANDY CORSAGES
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Serve fruit juice in the living room so guests can chat while you do last-minute jobs.
For more attractive service, prepare a separate plate of salad and vegetables for each guest.
As you serve coffee, let guests in on the secret that your centerpiece is made up of a "sweet favor" for each of them.
Into every woman's life comes a time when she wants to go all-out, just for the other girls. A hen party, if you will, but with a Hair that would be completely wasted on the men. Whatever the occasion, a luncheon on the elegant side is the perfect answer, and never more appropriate than as a surprise in honor of a blushing bride. Invite about six or eight intimate friends, and show off to the most critical audience you'll ever encounter.
Invitations
Write brief personal notes to each of the guests, giving date, time and place. Be sure to tell them the party is a surprise shower in honor of whoever-it-is, so they will know gifts are expected. And if you want those gifts to be a particular kind, specify that, too.
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Set your table with your nicest pastel or white cloth, your daintiest china and glass, your best flatware. As a gay centerpiece, fill your prettiest tray or shallow bowl with Candy corsages, one for each guest. A ribbon fastened to each corsage will let the guests pull out their favors as the luncheon ends. See directions for making on page 42. If your table is large enough, you can use a small parasol or child's umbrella to hold the favors and carry out your shower idea. Place gifts from guests in a decorated umbrella in the living room. Cover any umbrella with crepe or tissue paper, frill it with ruffles, and add some streamers to make a truly festive container.
Party fare
An all-feminine luncheon should be kept on the light side, but with everything pretty-pretty. If you prefer a hot main dish, serve the chicken creamed in patty shells. Stir some little button mushrooms sauteed in butter through the creamed chicken for a special party touch. Asparagus salad with anchovy dressing is festive to look at-and delicious. Garnish with radish roses. Plan color effects in your food as well as your table setting, and make sure that the dessert is lush to look at but not too long on calories. Angel food cake, a delicate Bavarian cream, or pale sherbets topped with crushed red berries ends any meal with a flourish.
The high spot of a shower, of course, comes when the guest of honor opens her gifts. Save this big moment until after luncheon, and then you won't care how long the oh's and ah's take. As a finale, pass around sheets of paper and pencils. Ask everyone present to write her recipe for a successful marriage. Then read each of the suggestions out loud. You'll have trouble stopping the lively discussion that will follow each plan.
Variations
1. You can use this same luncheon on many occasions-to introduce a new friend to old friends, to honor a visitor, as a farewell to someone who is going
away, as a preliminary to an important committee meeting, or just as an inexpensive yet dressed-up way of entertaining a group of friends.
2. If gift-giving or an organized meeting is not a part of your schedule, you might plan for bridge or canasta.
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SUGGESTED MENUS FOR MEN ONLY
CHILLI CON CARNE SOFT BUNS BUTTER
CARROT STICKS, CELERY HEARTS, OLIVES, PICKLES, ETC.
APPLE PIE COFFEE
SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE CRUSTY ROLLS GARLIC BUTTER CABBAGE AND SWEET PICKLE SLAW STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE COFFEE
GRILLED BURGERS ON TOASTED ROLLS POTATO CHIPS CELERY CURLS ICE CREAM WITH BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE COFFEE
NIBBLERS FOR THE EVENING:
AFTER DINNER MINTS SALTED NUTS PRETZELS
Mother gives luncheons for her friends, the teen-agers plan "coke" and record sessions for their crowd. Even the 5-year-old demands cookies and apples for his crew. But what about Pop? Must he always pay? Turn the tables and let Father have his friends over for an evening of cards and man talk.
Invitations
The man of the house will issue these to his particular pals with no help from anyone else and in whatever way he sees fit to do so.
Setting the scene
Men don't go in for fancy trimmings. All they ask for is a quiet room, plenty of light, big ashtrays, and no interruptions. Give them a small radio for background music if they wish, or news and sports broadcasts as the evening wears on.
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Party fare
When it comes to the eats, every last man will appreciate hearty, simple dishes, man-type food that is easy to serve. Suggest to Pop that he bring the savory, steaming chili in a large casserole or bowl right to the card table. Before you leave, be sure to set the plates, serving pieces and all silver that will be needed in plain sight-on the kitchen table, perhaps, or the sideboard. Provide paper napkins, dinner size. Make coffee in a big pot which can come to the table. And do remember to brew an extra batch of coffee for reheating. Second and third cups around are the usual thing, add so much to the mood of easy relaxed hospitality that men enjoy.
If Pop likes to show off his abilities as a cook, you might substitute spaghetti with a fine meat sauce for the chili. You, of course, have made your most delicious sauce during the day and it's all ready to heat and pour. But leave the cooking
of the spaghetti to the men themselves!
Hearty sandwiches are another aiways-acceptable idea. Plan desserts that are real party treats, but which you can fix yourself except for last minute touches at serving time. Since you won't be around to keep an eye on things, you might set an alarm clock to go off at 10:00 o'clock as a reminder that it's time to get the refreshments under way.
Activities
Pinochle, backgammon, bridge, canasta, black jack or dealer's choice-it all depends on what is popular with Pop and his friends. The less you try to plan this part of the evening entertainment, the better. But although card playing and conversation may be the major activity, remember men like to nibble. So don't forget to have pretzels, nuts, and a good supply of favorite beverages set out. An ample bowl of After Dinner Mints makes wonderful munching between drinks and smokes.
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Costume Dance for a Crowd
SUGGESTED MENU
BITE-SIZE SANDWICHES POTATO CHIPS PARTY PATTY SQUARES SPARKLING PUNCH COFFEE
AFTER DINNER CANDIES (MINT, LIME, LEMON, WINTERGREEN)
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Although guests will serve them-selves, it's wise to plan for hostesses to take turns at supervising.
Have a committee in charge of collecting used punch glasses, and of keeping plenty of clean ones at hand around the punch bowl.
Be sure that the punch bowl, and sandwich, cake and candy dishes are filled up from time to time.
For a gala evening to see the New Year in, for Shrove Tuesday or on Halloween, a masquerade is sure to be a big success. Since a costume dance is usually large- a club or community celebration-you will probably share the honors with other hostesses. This means plenty of hands to help. Everybody loves playing a part, so place no limitations on costumes. This is the kind of party, by the way, for which admission can be charged to cover expenses or to raise money.
Invitations
Unless you have plenty of enthusiastic assistance, have invitations printed. These bids to the ball might announce that the King of Mirth will hold court at the Club on whatever the date. Decorate
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invitations with little artists' palettes and paint brushes. Add a warning note that guests not in costume will be required to pay a forfeit.
Setting the scene
Whether the scene is a local hall, the school gym, or the lounge at the country club, plan it to be as gay as possible. Blue and silver are good colors to show off brilliant costumes. If possible, cover the walls with deep blue cloth or crepe paper. Or you can run yard-wide panels of paper liberally sprinkled with stars at intervals around the room. Cut stars all sizes from gummed silver paper. String cords overhead in every direction and hang stars and tinsel from them. At one end of the room, arrange a throne for the King of Mirth and his consort-on a platform if there is one. Use two wing chairs draped with the same silver-starred blue material.
Cover the buffet table in dark blue, borrow silver trays and dishes, or cover containers with aluminum foil. As a centerpiece, a huge artist's palette is easy to make and is a perfect help-yourself server for After Dinner Candies or Party Pillows. See page 45 for instructions.
Party fare
Refreshments are light for a party of this kind and should focus on food eaten with the fingers. Nobody wants to bother with plates. Tiny sandwiches, open or closed, can be made in fancy shapes from a variety of breads and fillings-cheese
spreads, liver paste, deviled ham, egg salad, sardine paste. As a change from cookies, try party patty squares-plain cake baked in thin flat sheets, frosted with confectioners' sugar icing, then cut into 1/2" squares. Before icing sets, decorate tops of squares with Party Patties. Vary the colors for a confetti look. With these foods, serve a sparkling punch. Let a food committee handle the whole job, and for the sake of freshness, prepare refreshments the morning of the party day.
Activities
Dancing, to an orchestra or records, will be the major planned activity, although all sorts of unplanned hi-jinks may occur. Provide confetti rolls and balloons so that dancers can pelt each other. You can arrange for a floor show with talented amateurs or professionals, if you feel the budget permits.
Work up to a grand promenade and judging of costumes at about 11:00 P.M. This will give plenty of time before midnight for the coronation of the King and Queen of Mirth (winning costumes). Prizes can be given for the funniest costume, the most beautiful, the most original, etc., or you may stop with picking just the two best. At midnight have a grand unmasking. Then let the party go on as long as you wish into the wee hours.
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SUGGESTED MENUS
BACK YARD BARBECUE
BARBECUED STEAKS OR CHOPS SCALLOPED POTATO CASSEROLE TOSSED GREEN SALAD HOT BUTTERED ROLLS ICE CREAM COFFEE OR TEA
AFTER DINNER MINTS
BEACH PARTY
BROILED CHICKEN ROAST CORN OR POTATOES CUCUMBER, CELERY, CARROT STICKS CUP CAKES COFFEE
PARTY PILLOWS
PICNIC IN THE PARK
HAMBURGERS ON TOASTED BUNS TOMATO HALVES GREEN ONIONS FRESH FRUIT BROWNIES
COFFEE MILK
PARTY PATTIES
Call it a wienie roast, a clambake, a barbecue or a cook-out. The name is different, but the fun is the same. The outdoor affair, with everyone pitching in to help, a roaring fire, and lots to eat, is fast becoming a favorite form of partying. And the best thing about a cook-out, or whatever you call it, is its versatility. It can take place on the beach, at the edge of a lake, around tables in the local picnic grounds, or two steps away from your kitchen door, in patio or back yard.
Invitations
Phone your invitations and start planning for the extras, too. Six-year-old Jimmy is sure to invite a couple of pals along, and the nice couple down the street may have an unexpected visitor to bring.
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The only scenery will be the sky, and you can't compete with that. The only things you'll have to provide will be the food, the fire and the fun. Paper plates are the perfect answer. Buy the ones that are plastic coated so there is no danger of drip-through. Paper cups with handles make hot coffee a pleasure instead
of a hazard. If your cook-out is in your back yard, you can eat in comfort. Bring out a big table, cover with a paper cloth, and gather around. Or you can set up individual TV tables or card tables around the lawn. The beach or lakeside setting needs some kind of table for serving, too. Either one of these new aluminum collapsible tables or an old bridge table will do. In addition, since most people don't like balancing plates on their knees, you might take some lap boards along. They can be made easily and inexpensively out of beaver board. will last for years of outings. At most picnic grounds, unless those in your area are unusual, the tables are rather sad looking. So take a gay plastic cloth or a couple of lengths of checked gingham to cover the bare boards.
Your menu will be dictated by where you live, the foods you prefer, and how much you want to spend. But, most important, what you eat will depend upon your cooking facilities and the skills of your cook. You need a cook with know-how if you attempt a clambake at the shore. If you are entertaining on your patio, deck the man of the family in a chef's hat and let him do his stuff with the steaks and chops and a barbecue sauce. You can count on your kitchen oven and your refrigerator as well as the outdoor grill. For outdoor meals away from home, plan on a minimum of actual cooking, except for simple broiling jobs. Frankfurters, hamburgers, chicken or fish are easy to grill, but if you want something more elaborate, like a hearty stew or corned beef hash, prepare it at home, and just do a final heat-up over your open fire. Salad ingredients should be washed and chilled, but left whole until just before serving. Keep desserts simple, easy to eat with the fingers. Add an assortment of Candies to your outdoor menu, whether back yard or beach, for they are one thing everybody likes.
Activities
Food preparation and service are the major activities at a cook-out. Give everybody a job, and after the clean up. relax and talk or. if the mood is right, start group singing of the old songs. Let guests suggest their favorite tunes.
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SUGGESTED MENUS
BAKED BEANS (IN CASSEROLE WITH TOMATO SOUP)
BROILED BACON BROWN BREAD BUTTER
MIXED GREEN SALAD MIXED FRUIT SALAD CUP COOKIES COFFEE
QUICK CURRIED TUNA ON TOAST FROZEN PEAS SLICED TOMATO AND ONION RINGS ICE CREAM BROWNIES
COFFEE
AFTER DINNER MINTS
CANNED CLAM CHOWDER MELTED CHEESE SANDWICHES WESTERN SALAD BOWL APPLESAUCE WITH MERINGUE TOPPING COFFEE
PARTY PILLOWS
There is nothing like having a party when you are right in the mood for it- when your team has just won the big game, when someone has arrived in town unexpectedly, when a theater date calls for a final touch. Even your guests will tell you that spur-of-the-moment get-togethers are often the best. Those are the times when conversation swings along at a wonderful tempo, and you have to remind your guests to go home.
Invitations
Just pick up the phone, rap on the steam pipe, or ask the folks to stop at your house. And tell everyone to come just as he is, with no effort at dress-up. If you need a few extras to feed the mob, this is one time when it's entirely permissible to ask a guest to bring along a package of frozen peas, a can of crab meat, a quart of ice cream from the corner store.
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Since you've made no plans, take the whole crowd out to the kitchen, move onto the porch, or spread yourselves in deck chairs if it's a soft summer night. Use your everyday dishes, a checkered cloth, or place mats. Then treat the folks like the family.
Party fare
Loot the emergency shelf for this kind of casual hospitality, unless you have a meal in the making that can be stretched. Quick hot breads are wonderful for that. Just open a box of prepared mix, turn out muffins or biscuits in a jiffy, and get more applause than if you had worked all day over a hot stove. Pancakes, waffles and omelets are other sure-fire favorites- either with little sausages or a creamed mixture. Perhaps there's leftover roast in the refrigerator which can be mixed with fried rice and onions, Chinese style. Crackers and cheese, or fruit and your favorite
beverage make satisfying desserts for many such quickie meals. Or you may do the typical Saturday night New England baked bean meal which comes mostly out of cans. Add After Dinner Mints to the fruit salad cup for an unusual taste.
Activities
Whatever seems right at the moment. A talk fest, a favorite TV show, a swim at the beach before dinner, a hot debate on politics or problem parents. Since getting ready is so easy, you can concentrate on being a gay, relaxed hostess. Now is the perfect moment to remember the special talents of your friends. Does someone tell jokes specially well? Then get him started. Perhaps there is a piano player in the crowd, an amateur chef, a returned traveler. Let each one shine. You can be sure that when guests take over the party, they are having a really wonderful time.
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Hurrah for the Red, White and Blue!
SUGGESTED MENU
TOMATO BOUILLON FRIED CHICKEN CREAM GRAVY
MASHED POTATOES GREEN PEAS
TOSSED SALAD HOT BISCUITS
CAKE COFFEE
AFTER DINNER MINTS
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
• Make this a sit-down meal. Outdoor guests may help themselves from the service table.
• For more formal dinners, enlist the help of patriotic waitresses, wearing red, white and blue.
• To ease the waitress problem, bring soup to the table in the old-fashioned tureen.
• Make extra coffee and reheat as need be if you do not have a quantity coffee maker.
Everyone loves a holiday and everyone loves a party, so what can be better than combining the two. There are several prime days each year for a patriotic party-Washington's Birthday, Lincoln's Birthday, Decoration Day, Independence Day, Confederate Memorial Day, Lee's Birthday. Here are fine moments for a Legion dinner, a church or PTA affair, a DAR get-together. Usually these are big gatherings, so start with a well-organized share-the-work plan.
Invitations
Make an impressive scroll-type invitation by pasting a stick-the lollipop kind -to each end of a sheet of red or blue paper. Write your message in a contrasting color ink, roll the two ends towards the center, and tie with a piece of ribbon. Or you can make a simpler and most
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effective invitation by pasting silver stars on a light blue card and writing the message in bright red ink. If you like, add decorations to suit the holiday.
Setting the scene
The red, white and blue of our flag is an appropriate background for any all-American holiday. But each of these days has its own legends around which you can create effective decoration schemes. No need of prompting to tell you which holiday is brought to mind by such symbols as the cherry tree and hatchet, the log cabin, toy soldiers and a drum, or firecrackers and sparklers. The 5-and-10-cent store will offer a large selection of items from which you can make effective table decorations.
If the occasion is very special, and you like the feel of linen, collect large white damask cloths from hostesses who are sure to have them tucked away. Mass red and white carnations at the base of blue candles placed at intervals along the table. Put blue streamers across your tablecloth. See to it that small dishes of After Dinner Mints are placed conveniently down the table. They add that finishing touch to a good meal, help stimulate after dinner conversation.
Party fare
The menu suggested for this affair is a favorite from coast to coast, and it lends itself perfectly to quantity cookery. The big party, like hotel service, demands
foods that will keep hot, stand without suffering in quality. A have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too centerpiece adds a very festive note. On Washington's Birthday make large open-faced cherry pies. Cut a piece of pastry in the shape of a hatchet and place on top of each pie. Thickly frosted chocolate cakes, baked in the shape of a square and decorated with thin lines of icing to simulate logs, are reminiscent of Lincoln. On Memorial Day or the 4th of July, cake is again indicated-cake with a fluffy white frosting. Decorate with tiny flags, and make sure that as you slice, each guest receives a flag in his piece of cake.
Variations
The thump of the local band, playing loudly if not well, flags waving, long tables set up under the trees, speeches by local dignitaries, all this is part of the American scene. If your patriotic party comes in the hot-weather months, cold fried chicken is the ticket. Potato salad, celery and radishes are other foods that are easy to manage from a paper plate. And ice cream is a must at a picnic.
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What's Wrong with This Picture?
comedy of errors
SUGGESTED MENU
VEGETABLE JUICE COCKTAIL TAMALE PIE TOSSED GREEN SALAD BREAD STICKS
MOLDED FRUIT GELATIN WHIPPED CREAM COFFEE
PARTY PATTIES
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
• Set up card tables for informal sit-down service after guests help themselves from the buffet. Men in particular hate to balance a plate.
• A wide, shallow pottery casserole is right for the tamale pie-a wooden bowl for the salad.
Serve the gelatin in individual molds with a swirl of whipped cream on top.
For years, young and old have played the what's-wrong-with-this-picture game. Proving just how observant you are or aren't is a popular indoor sport, so why not steal the idea and put on a party that is sure to be a success.
Invitations
Keep your invitations to this party completely normal-simple telephone calls or brief notes. Don't give away the secret of your entertainment beforehand, but just ask about 8 to 12 friends to a buffet dinner some evening.
Setting the scene
You can forget about fancy decorations for this occasion. Have your home at its shiny best, and then scramble things up. Put one lamp under a table, remove the bulbs from another. Place ashtrays in
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improbable places, turn the pictures upside down or sideways, turn a chair to the wall. Do the same sort of thing to yourself-bedroom slippers instead of shoes, mismatched earrings, different nail polish on each hand. Make a list of everything you scramble. Carry out the comedy-of-errors theme in your food service, too, by putting foods in improbable containers. For example, serve vegetable juice from a coffee or teapot, put spoons instead of forks on the table for the main course. Fill a wide-mouthed glass vase with Candies. If possible, set your buffet in an adjoining room or screen it from view until all the guests have ar-
rived and know the object of the party. Use a bedsheet or bedspread instead of a tablecloth, and, as your centerpiece, a wastebasket filled with greens.
Party fare
Don't carry your comedy of errors into the menu. No matter how willing to be amused they may be, people are particular about their food. In the midst of this zany atmosphere, serve a substantial meal
which will provide sustenance for the rest of the evening. A casserole is always an excellent idea, for it gets around that problem of keeping food hot. After a filling casserole (a tamale pie made with chopped beef, green pepper, onions in tomato sauce and with a golden corn bread crust), choose a light dessert, coffee and Party Patties.
Activities
Start the party off with a bang by greeting your guests in a dressing gown (you can slip one on over your dress) with your hair wrapped in a bandanna. Act appropriately flustered-pretend that you have forgotten all about having a party. Then tell them to come on in anyhow; you will get things straightened out. After everyone has arrived you can give up the pretense and explain that the evening is to be a "comedy of errors." Their part in the game is to discover every small or large detail that is out of order. Give everyone a pencil and paper on which he can write down all the wrong things he is able to find. You can count on a surge of high spirits and gaiety while the crowd looks around. Call a halt on the search for mistakes when the time comes to have dinner. Caution each guest to keep his list to himself. After a leisurely meal, allow a certain amount of time in which the lists must be completed. At the end of the evening bring out your list and read it off while guests score themselves. High score, of course, gets a prize.
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Festive Favors
Gay favors, bright and colorful
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You'll find directions for making the the merry holiday mood that adds so much to the fun of any party. Favors shown here in the how-to-do-it section at the back of the book.
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Party for the Family
Gathering of the Clan
SUGGESTED MENU
GRAPEFRUIT AND ORANGE SECTIONS
ROAST BEEF PAN-BROWNED POTATOES MOLDED TOMATO ASPIC GREEN BEANS
HOT APPLE PIE MINTED HARD SAUCE COFFEE MILK FOR CHILDREN
PARTY PATTIES AND PARTY PILLOWS
ASSORTED NUTS
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
• This is a sit-down meal, of course, with the best china, glass and silver.
• If group is very large, duplicate platters at either end of the table will make serving easier.
• Serve coffee, Mints, and nuts in the living room for a relaxed after-dinner session.
A dinner for the whole family can be the gayest party you give all year, or it can be a chore that leaves you saying "Never again." So when your turn rolls round to do the honors, plan the kind of meal that you can enjoy along with the rest of the folks. You may find yourself elected more often in the future, but you won't mind this in the least.
Invitations
For a family party, "please come's" are sure to be in person or via the phone. Just be sure everyone knows you want him to arrive at least a half hour before you plan to serve dinner. Then, even the perennial latecomers will be on time.
Setting the scene
Decorations for your family party will depend upon the occasion and the season.
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For Thanksgiving, try a harvest motif with autumn leaves and cornstalks. Christmas calls for evergreens, red bows, tinsel and glitter. Birthday parties, anniversaries, and other strictly in-the-family events set their own themes.
Whatever your decorations, the center of interest will be your dinner table, festive with food that's good to look at, good to eat. Try to arrange things so that everyone has ample room at the table, even if it means setting up a separate small table for the children. (Incidentally, the youngsters often enjoy eating by themselves.) Keep your setting a bit on the formal side, with a damask or linen cloth, your best tableware. Place cards will obviate some of the confusion of getting seated and will give you a better balanced seating arrangement, with husbands and wives, sisters and brothers separated or together as you deem best. Add to the party look by attaching the place cards with glue or ribbon to the handles of little plastic or crepe paper baskets-decorated to suit the season and filled with a mixture of Party Patties and Party Pillows. Then you have candy and place card holders in one.
Party fare
A family dinner is traditionally a big meal, but you can avoid the overstuffed feeling by surrounding your main course with colorful fruits and vegetables that are on the light side. Give your imagination a free hand when it comes to gar-
nishes. A bright cherry atop the fruit cup, a few sprigs of parsley, a ring of glazed apricots around the roast-these are the gay caterer touches that turn a meal into an occasion. If your family prefers turkey or roast pork to the beef we suggest, you can switch to baked sweet potatoes. Serve the aspic clear, or add to it chopped raw vegetables, such as carrots, green peppers or cabbage. Small individual molds will make a lovely garnish for your roast. You'll find directions for minted hard sauce in the "Quick Tricks with U-All-No Mints" section in the back. Apple pie with a flavor of mint is wonderful.
Activities
Handling a large group may call for a little reorganization in your living room. If weather permits, get the children outdoors or set aside a place indoors with games and toys to keep them occupied. If possible, delegate a couple of teenagers to keep things moving smoothly with the younger set. For the adults, put the TV where it can be viewed by those who wish, and yet where it will not be a disturbance to those not interested.
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CHILDRENS PARTIES
Planning parries for children presents special problems. At different ages, children like different things, and sometimes even children of the same age have reached different levels of development. There is one unbreakable rule-don't even try to give a real party for a child under the age of four. If you want to celebrate Junior's second birthday, let him have ice cream with a couple of little friends, and then throw a party for your own friends after your infant is tucked into bed. Tiny children are too busy growing and learning more essential things than how to behave like perfect hosts. You'll have all the years from 4 to 12 or so to help your offspring plan their fun.
Strictly for the young fry
Tots from four to six require careful handling to insure a good time for all. At this age they are still not completely
social human beings. You have probably heard about a child bringing a birthday present and then insisting on keeping it. It happens every day. But there is a recipe for good fun which will make you mistress of the situation.
1. Limit the number of guests to no more than eight. And choose the eight carefully.
2. Make it clear to the mothers that they are to bring and pick up their youngsters, but that you do not plan to entertain them as well. This leaves you with only one party, not two, to think about. It also leaves you as the single voice of authority, and it is surprising how well some children will behave when mother isn't around to watch.
3. Limit the party to no more than three hours or so.
4. Time your food service so that it
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comes midway between regular meals or takes the place of lunch.
5. Prepare wholesome, easy-to-eat foods -things that can be handled with forks, spoons or fingers.
6. Take complete charge of the activities, suggest the games and organize them. At this age, children need direction. Even so, some 4-year-olds may be happier playing independently for a while, eating their food and going home. The 5- and 6-year-olds will join in group activities.
7. Don't keep any game going so long that the children become bored.
8. Alternate active games with quiet ones to keep the youngsters from becoming too tired.
9. Be sure that each child has something to take home-a bag of candy or a candy favor, a paper hat, a noise-maker or toy.
"Now I am seven"
From seven to the teens, boys and girls really enjoy all the things that mother can do to make a party successful. At this point children begin to appreciate decorations, fancy dress, favors, all kinds of group activity. And they want plenty of action. Fortunately, from seven up, children can be kept outdoors for at least part of the time, even with only one person to supervise. They can also be kept interested by TV, movies or paper-and-pencil games to provide that quiet break little folks need.
Food for the slightly older child will not differ much from what you would serve to little ones, but, of course, portions should be larger. Regular meal patterns should still be observed. Watch out for the child who may stuff himself with everything in sight and be sorry afterwards. Incidentally, let your own heir apparent help as much as possible in planning his party. Even quite young children can help with invitations and decorations, and in picking games they like to play.
Parties for the teens
With the advent of the teens, mother finds herself more in the background, where parties are concerned. This is as it should be, and teen-agers should be allowed to plan their own parties. Also they should be expected to do the major part of the work involved in decorations, food preparation and service, and in clearing up afterwards. It is your role to act as adviser, to have the final say on menu, expenses, activities. Of course you will be there with a helping hand for your young grown-up, but after you have said "Hello," retire to another part of the house. Teen-agers should have an adult somewhere around, but not underfoot.
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A Birthday Party for Little Folks
SUGGESTED MENU
TOMATO JUICE COCKTAIL BROILED LAMB PATTIES MASHED POTATOES GREEN BEANS
RAW CARROT STICKS SMALL BUTTERED ROLLS BIRTHDAY CAKE ICE CREAM
CANDY POSIES
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
• Omit tomato juice for the very little folks.
• Keep portions small to leave room for cake and ice cream.
• Save gifts until after the meal. When the birthday child has opened his packages, let the guests pull the ribbons on the Jack Horner pie to capture their candy and trinkets.
A birthday party is probably the big occasion of the year to most youngsters. On Christmas, everyone gets gifts, but on a birthday, there is just one lucky one, for a whole 24 hours. Often too, a young child's birthday parties are his first steps on the road to becoming a gracious host. So set the scene with care, have your youngster invite 10 or 12 of his chosen friends, and let tradition carry on from there.
Invitations
Party invitations may be bought or made by the child himself. Even a 6-year-old can paint some bright-colored balloons on a card and print the simple invitation "Please come to my birthday party." Be sure to say in the invitation that there will be food to take the place of the child's regular meal. This can be a P.S.
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to mothers, such as "We will have our lunch at 1 P.M." or "Supper at 5:30." It's wise, also, to mention a definite time at which the party will end.
Setting the scene
Clear the living room for semiactive games and be sure to put away the breakables. Concentrate your decorations on the dining table, where they can be fully admired while the guests are at least partially quiet. Use a medium-green cloth or crepe paper to cover the table. In the center put a Jack Horner pie- a giant-sized flower pot, foil or paper-covered. Fill the pot with tiny gifts, one for each guest, and attach to every little package a bright candy posy on a long stem. (See page 41 for complete instructions on how to make these with Candies.) At each place put a miniature flower pot marked with the guest's name into which is stuck another posy. If you fill the pots with After Dinner Mints and cover the tops with cellophane before you stick the posies in, these little favors can be taken home intact-unless the pretty mints prove too enticing. Keep extra posies on hand for the children who can't resist eating theirs. The birthday cake should be brought in with the ice cream. And don't forget to darken the room so that the candles shine. Use a chocolate cake with a fluffy white frosting, and surround each candle with Party Patties arranged to look like little flower petals.
Party fare
Food at a little tot's birthday party should be simple and light. Choose foods like those suggested in the menu which do not call for knives and can be handled by the very young. Of course, the important things are the birthday cake, ice cream and candy. Don't fret if children skip some of the rest of the meal in anticipation. Mothers, incidentally, will be delighted with a party that features a well-balanced meal for the youngsters.
Activities
Let the old tried-and-true games hold sway. Going to Jerusalem (if you don't have enough chairs, use sofa cushions), pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, buzz, blind man's buff, button-button. Children have always played them, and each new generation greets them with joy. For the slightly older children, ages 10 to 12, square dancing and charades may take the place of some of the more childish activities. Try to alternate active games with fairly quiet ones. Plan some games for before eating and some for after the feast. Keep a couple of guessing games on tap in case the silence grows oppressive at the table.
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In Honor of St. Valentine
SUGGESTED MENU
FRUIT JUICE COCKTAILS
CRISPY CRACKERS
CREAMED CHICKEN AND PEAS ON TOAST HEARTS
WHOLE CRANBERRY JELLY
VALENTINE CAKE
WITH WINTERGREEN PARTY PILLOWS
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
• For age groups 10 to 12. serve fruit juice cocktails and crackers in the living room. This is good training for the young host or hostess.
• Before serving little tots, give them gay coveralls, big crepe paper squares cut poncho style which can be slipped over party clothes.
St. Valentine's Day has special meaning at different ages. At 60 it's the occasion for flowers, candy and memories of the days gone by. At f 6 it's more apt to be a flippant card from the heart throb of the moment. But to the pigtail crowd-
6 to 12-St. Valentine's Day means lots and lots of cards, and more especially it means a party.
Invitations
Either buy or make invitations in the form of big red hearts. Cut each one in half, in an irregular fashion, so that no two cards are alike. Send each guest half a heart and invite him or her to mend a heart and match for a partner. If your group are 8-year-olds or younger, include a note to mother telling exactly when the party is to start and also what time it will end, so she will know when to expect her youngster home.
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Hearts are the theme of this day, so be lavish with them. Big ones, little ones, lacy ones, and broken ones. Pin a big heart to the front door, suspend dozens on wires from the ceiling, or tape them to the walls. On the table, use a white crepe paper cloth with heart-shaped place mats cut out of red paper. At each place setting put a separate candy-filled heart as a take-home place card. Instructions for making these are on page 42.
Party fare
Make this a Saturday party to finish with a supper-the Saturday nearest St. Valentine's Day. Substitute veal or lamb for chicken, if you wish, and add green peas to the creamed mixture for color. Cut toast hearts with a cookie cutter. Of course the show piece of this party is the cake, the prettiest cake you can dream up. Bake the layers in heart-shaped pans. These are available in most hardware or variety stores, but if you can't locate them, use your regular round tins and, using a pattern, trim cake to form a heart. Pile the layers high, top with a fluffy white frosting, then outline the edge of the cake in pink with Wintergreen Party Pillows. Place the cake on a large platter and use it as the centerpiece on your table.
Activities
Suit activities to the age of your group. Little folks will enjoy a hunt for hidden hearts. For the 8 to 10 gang, plan a
valentine-making contest. Provide a paste pot, scissors-the safe kind-lots of red and white paper, lace paper doilies, and white crayons. Let each guest make the most beautiful valentine possible-to give to his or her party partner. For added interest, you can suggest that the children sign their names in a secret code. A small prize for the best valentine is sure to be appreciated, too. Give the junior teens a thrill with a "fortune teller" who reads the future, or get them going on lines from old songs that mention the heart. Ask for the name of the song as well as the line, and you'll start a lively guessing-game on its rounds.
Variations
With a simple switch from red to green, and a change in motif from hearts to shamrocks, the Valentine Party can become a St. Patrick's Day celebration.
Again, have your cake double as a centerpiece. Bake a white cake in a large pan. Trim to shamrock shape, frost in white, and edge the cake with Lime Party Pillows. Make shamrock place cards the same way as the valentine hearts, but fill with After Dinner Lime candies.
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GRILLED FRANKFURTERS ON BUNS ROASTED POTATOES OR SWEET CORN COLE SLAW CUP CAKES APPLE JUICE
PARTY PILLOWS
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Have youngsters form a chow-line and move from plates on the left of the table to food on the right. If the crowd is big, work with squads of four until every guest is served.
Prepare for a second time around on franks.
Provide hot-pad mitts and barbecue skewers to avoid accidents.
Prepare a bowl of melted butter for the corn, and let youngsters brush it on with pastry brushes.
Clear the table before serving cup cakes and apple juice.
group from 8 to 12. This is an easy-on-the-hostess party, for the guests stay outdoors the entire time, leaving your house free of confusion. What's more, the kids are sure to have a wonderful, carefree time. Let them come in costume if they wish, or if not full costume, neckerchiefs and hats for the girls, shootin' irons for the rough-ridin' boys.
Invitations
Sheriffs' notices will set the pace for a Western-style romp. Get a snapshot of each of the guests and paste it on a piece of paper. Print over it the word "Wanted," and below write in the date, time and place of the party. Specify the reward as "Lots of Fun" and let your child sign it as "Sheriff."
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A campfire or charcoal grill in one corner of the yard is the perfect set-up for the youngsters to toast their own frankfurters. Nearby construct a miniature chuck wagon. Use a child's express wagon or a shallow wooden box, over which stretch a canvas on a wire frame (like a small covered wagon). Around it, on a low plank table, lay out all the makin's for the meal. Use paper plates, cups, forks, napkins, so that the clean-up can be a burn-up.
On the cups, paint cattle brands with nailpolish-the Running M, the Bar T, and so on-a different brand for each guest, so cups won't get mixed. Arrange other areas of the yard for feature events -a couple of sawhorses for bronco riding, a target shooting range with pistols that shoot rubber-tipped sticks, a center area for plain and fancy roping.
Party fare
The simpler the better is the right note for all informal out-of-door parties. Since the cooks are young, make everything easy. Hamburgers can be substituted for franks, if you are using a grill, and Mother, Dad. or older sister should be in charge to see that no fingers are burned.
Activities
This is a party where activities can really be active. Depending on time and space, you can also arrange for some relay
races-a 3-legged race or a potato race. If the boys and girls are old enough to enjoy it, suggest some square dancing.
Plan also for a quiet session of guessing games or story-telling around the campfire to follow the eats.
Give each child a saddlebag filled with Party Pillows as a grubstake for the "long" trip home. Make the saddlebags of clear plastic material in a simple envelope shape about 4" x 6", with a loop at the top to slip over the belt.
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SUGGESTED MENU
SPARKLING PUNCH LITTLE ICED CAKES
CANDIES
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Arrange little iced cakes in center of serving tray, surround with assortment of Candies-Party Patties, Party Pillows, After Dinner Mints.
Freeze maraschino cherries in individual ice cubes, serve one in each cup of punch.
Ask the boys to serve the girls. This, too, will encourage the mixing so important to sub-teen parties.
"Firsts" are important, never-to-be-forgotten days. The first day at school, the first date, the first love, the first job. Among these many "firsts" in a lifetime, you can surely remember the day you were graduated from grade school, that exciting day when the old childhood crowd split up and you all felt very grown up. To make this commencement an even more memorable occasion--plan a dance for the entire class under the sponsorship of the PTA.
Invitations
Make your invitations look like miniature diplomas. Just cut sheets of heavy white paper, write the invitation, roll up and tie with ribbons in the school or class colors. Specify what the young folks are to wear. Graduation dresses or street-length white for the girls, dark suits and
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white shirts for the boys. To forestall any attempt by the boys to buy flowers for the girls, add a note to the effect that corsages and boutonnieres will be given to all at the door.
Setting the scene
Since graduation usually takes place in late spring, ask the local garden club for contributions of their prettiest flowers to decorate the school gymnasium. Garland the walls with leaves or flower chains, festoon the basket ball boards with gay streamers, and get a few of the fathers to install some colored spotlights.
Party fare
At this first real dance, refreshments must be served with all the sophistication possible. The PTA or Women's Club will be able to lend sufficient white cloths to cover the tables, the Home
Economics Department cake plates and small serving dishes. And someone in the community must own a large glass punch bowl complete with cups and a ladle. Tall candelabra, flickering with soft light, will add the final romantic touch. All
the food preparations can be done at the school. The menu should be simple- a fancy punch sparked with ginger ale, floating a decorated ice block; a variety of small cakes like fig bars, brownies or petits fours; bowls of Candies to munch between dances.
Activities
This may be the last time students will all be together, so make every activity worthy of a place in the memory book. If your community has a good school band, press it into service. If not, a juke box can be rented or borrowed for the evening. A receiving line will give a formal air to this really dressed-up celebration. Besides, it will provide good practice for all the dances to come. In order to avoid a cluster of giggling boys and a row of wallflowers, arrange a grand march to start the dancing off. Line up the girls and boys on opposite sides of the gymnasium. As they march forward, they will meet their partners for the first dance.
Variations
Your basement playroom, or living room with the rugs rolled up, can serve for a smaller version of this dance, if you can't organize a community-wide school affair. In that case, plan a few games to alternate with the dancing. Your presence as chaperon will be necessary, but be discreet about it and don't put a damper on the doings.
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COME OVER FOR BRIDGE
KIDDIE
PARTY
Canasta came, gin rummy went, but bridge goes on forever. Two tables of bridge calls for no more preparation than fresh decks of cards, score pads and pencils, plenty of ashtrays, and eight people who like to play the game. Provide coasters for your favorite drink, and dishes of After Dinner Mints and nuts. Incidentally, After Dinner Mints are particularly good for during-the-game tidbits. They are not sticky, will not mess the cards.
Remember that bridge awakens the appetite as well as the spirit, so plan some simple refreshments over which you can rehash the last hand. Make your preparations in advance and leave only the coffee to be brewed at the last minute. Serve an assortment of cheese spreads, thinly sliced salty rye bread, and cookies right at the bridge tables. Be sure there's plenty of extra coffee.
Everyone yearns at times for the carefree, untrammeled days of childhood. So send out the call for a trip in the time machine back to the sunny hours of youth-give a kiddie party with all the nursery atmosphere you can muster. Use your children's, or borrow stuffed toys, wooden blocks, picture books, nursery furniture for your living room. Make it a costume party, search your memory for the childhood games which were most fun. If memory is too short, turn to the children's parties in this book and brush up on the details. Give a prize for the best costume. Dress yourself as a Victorian-era governess, and be sure to make the kiddies behave. Serve a sit-down or buffet meal, and for dessert, feature candy-decorated ice cream cones, which take but a moment to put together. See page 47 for directions.
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ON WITH THE SHOW
A movie party at home is always a hit with the younger set. Quite small folks enjoy Hopalong Cassidy or nonsense cartoons; older youngsters are delighted with Disney shows and the early Deanna Durbin films. Movie parties are a boon to mothers -no games or decorations, no supervised activities, no torn-up house. The guests sit entranced, devour simple refreshments-sandwiches and milk shakes or ice cream, cookies and simple candies like Party Jellies; romp actively out of doors; and go home. Full-length films can be rented inexpensively from film libraries, located across the country. Projectors are usually available in every community. Often they can be borrowed from schools or community center, or perhaps a friend has a home-size projector. If you like the idea of a home movie show, get in touch with some film library for catalogs, prices and distribution centers.
SUNDAY
BRUNCH
Don't overlook brunch in your hospitality plans. A breakfast party has a quality all its own; a leisurely pace, an intimacy that is not found in other entertaining. Keep the party small. Choose a lazy Saturday or Sunday date. Set the hour around 11:00, and serve a meal that is almost lunch, but has a hint of breakfast. Many foods fit this picture: French toast and thin ham slices, crisp Philadelphia scrapple and apple rings, corned beef hash topped with poached eggs-the list is endless. Don't forget a sweet touch-honey buns, spicy sweet apples, Party Pillows. Brunch is a fine teen-age party as a starter for a matinee, a skating date, a football game. Here is a form of hospitality the young hostess can handle all alone.
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TREASURE
HUNT
Sometimes the nicest moment at a children's party is when all the guests go out to play. The combination of a houseful of exuberant youngsters, activity to be planned, and one lone mother can be quite harassing. So, if you would like to please your guests and ease the job of hostess, plan a treasure hunt. Depending on their ages, send your crowd far afield or confine them to your own back yard. The clues, too, can be suited to the group. Give each child a list of clues and start him searching. But to make sure that everybody gets back in time, hide the treasures close to home base. Have the refreshments substantial. Cheeseburgers on toasted English muffins, relishes, hot cocoa, and ice cream sundaes topped with Pastel Mints will please appetites sharpened by the hunt.
GOING...GOING... GONE...
Everyone loves a bargain, and every community has some project which needs money. So combine the two in an old-fashioned country auction. Make this a town-wide affair with each family contributing merchandise to be sold to the highest bidder. But be sure that each item has value-is not just some old stuff nobody wants. If you have an auctioneer in town, persuade him to contribute his services. Or ask the best salesman you know to officiate. The school gym, community house, or Grange Hall will be the locale. Enlist the help of the youngsters in town to decorate with leaves, balloons and crepe paper. Pick the best spot in the hall and mass all the goods to be sold there. Simple refreshments, such as plates of cookies, salted nuts and Candies with something to drink, will keep the customers happy without making too large a dent in the profits.
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Party Posy
4. Cover joining with florists' tape and continue winding tape down wire, joining leaf spray about two inches below base of flower.
5. Loop end of wire and tape to center of cardboard round. Fasten base with tape to center of 6 1/4" square of crepe paper. Bring paper up over base, gathering evenly. Fasten tightly with No. 2 wire as close to base as possible.
6. Stretch corners of crepe paper slightly over finger for leaf effect.
Variations
You need (for each flower)
10 After Dinner Mint. Lime, Lemon or Wintergreen Candies
6-inch square clear cellophane 10 inches No. 7 florists' wire Florists' tape or green cellulose tape
5-inch square crepe paper for petals Spray artificial leaves
3-inch round of cardboard (3 in. dia.)
6 1/4-inch square crepe paper for base 3 inches No. 2 spool wire
1. Wrap candies in cellophane, twisting ends of paper tightly.
2. Fold 5-inch square crepe paper in half against grain. Clip open edge with scissors to form petals.
3. Wrap folded edge around twist of cellophane and fasten with one end of No.
7 florists' wire.
a. Use four Party Patties stacked, for center of posy.
b. Crepe paper leaves may be used instead of ready-made sprays.
c. Petals may be cut in a variety of ways. (See illustration.)
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Corsage
Variations
6. Push ends of pipe cleaners through center of doily. Cover with tape or foil. Form loop so corsage may be carried.
You need (for each corsage)
15 Party Patties (3 each flavor)
Four 6-inch squares clear cellophane One 5-inch square clear cellophane Five 6-inch green pipe cleaners Florists' tape or green cellulose tape or aluminum foil
6-inch lace-paper doily
1. On each 6-inch square of cellophane place three Party Patties (keep flavors separate.)
2. Keeping patties flat, bring edges of paper together and twist tightly.
3. Wrap three remaining patties stacked in 5-inch square of cellophane.
4. Twist end of pipe cleaner around each twist of cellophane. Cover joining with tape or foil.
Twist together all 5 pipe cleaners, keeping stack of patties in center of arrangement.
Instead of flat packets of Party Patties, use three small packets of After Dinner Mint, Lemon, Lime or Wintergreen Candies (10 candies in each) and one stack of Partv Patties.
Heart Shamrock Diamond, etc.
You need (for each favor)
Approximately package After Dinner Mint, Lime, Lemon or Wintergreen Candies, depending upon color wanted.
14 inches No. 7 florists' wire
8-inch square aluminum foil
7-inch square clear cellophane Clear cellulose tape 12-inch pipe cleaner Pliers
1. Twist end of wire to make a loop. With pliers shape loop as desired.
2. Cover with aluminum foil to make a solid foil shape.
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3. Tape edges of cellophane to back of form, leaving opening large enough to fill with candies.
4. Fill with candies, bring open edge of cellophane to back and tape into place.
5. Shape pipe cleaner to outline favor. Tape at top and bottom.
Easel Back Use strip of light
cardboard, 1" x 4".
Fold length in half
two times. Unfold
and make a little
"tent" out of it-
sliding one end over
the other to form
the bottom. Tape to
back of favor.
NOTE. Favor can be enlarged up to centerpiece size by using longer wire, larger squares of foil and cellophane.
Calendar Cake
Ton need.
Family-size package Wintergreen Party Pillows
2 packages After Dinner Lime
9-inch square cake frosted with fluffy white frosting
1. Outline edge of cake with row of wintergreen candies.
2. At top, print year with lime candies, underline with wintergreen.
3. In center print date with lime candies. Variations
If more than one cake is needed, frost and outline a second square. Place it next to the first and print a greeting such as "Happy New Year" or "Happy Birthday" in center of cake with lime
Candy Umbrella
} ou need (for each favor)
Approximately 1/2 package After Dinner Mint, Lime. Lemon or Wintergreen Candies 5-inch square clear cellophane Clear cellulose tape 18 inches ^-inch ribbon
4-inch pipe cleaner
1. Overlap opposite corners of cellophane square to form a cone. Keep bottom point sharp. Now tape cone closed. (See illustration.)
2. Fill cone with candies. Insert one inch of pipe cleaner into candies.
3. Gather top of cone around pipe cleaner and tie with 6-inch piece of ribbon, leaving ends of ribbon free.
4. Make loop bow with 12-inch ribbon . Tie into place with free ends of other piece of ribbon.
5. Curve top of pipe cleaner to form handle.
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Candy Tree
You need (for each tree)
Approximately 1/2 package After Dinner Mint. Lime, Lemon or Wintergreen Candies
7-inch square clear cellophane 10 inches No. 7 wire Florists' tape Clear cellulose tape 12-inch pipe cleaner 3-inch round of cardboard 6 1/4-inch square crepe paper
1. Form cone as for candy umbrella.
2. Fill with candies. Insert four inches of wire into candies.
3. Gather cone around wire and fasten tightly with cellulose tape.
4. Loop bottom four inches of wire to form a circular wire base. Tape to cardboard round.
5. Cover cardboard and wire with crepe paper. (See instructions for posy base.)
6. Wind florists'1 tape around trunk of tree, covering ends of crepe paper, etc.
Beginning at top, coil pipe cleaner around tree in spiral.
Candy Streamer
You need
Family-size package Party Patties
2 1/2 inch strip of cellophane (length depends on length of streamer you wish)
1 1/2 inch strip of crepe paper, same length as cellophane
12 inches 14-inch ribbon
Clear cellulose tape
1. Lay row of patties on cellophane strip leaving 1 1/2 inches of cellophane at each end. Fold edges of paper over patties. Tape closed.
2. Place (taped side down) on crepe paper strip. Tie ends of crepe paper and cellophane together with 6-inch pieces of ribbon.
3. Stretch edges of crepe paper slightly to frill.
Artist's Palette Favor or Place Card
You need (for each favor)
5 Party Patties, assorted
6 1/2 x 12 1/2" cardboard
Poster paints
Water
Paint brush
Cellulose tape
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1. Use illustration shown to draw a paper pattern, letting each square equal one inch. Tape paper pattern to cardboard.
2. Cut around edge of pattern with single-edge razor blade. Finish edges of cardboard by buffing with downward stroke with fine emery board. If colored cardboard is used, paint edges to match. If plain cardboard is used, paint entire palette color desired.
3. Print guest's name in center.
4. Brush one side of Party Patties with water, stick on card at starred places.
5. Insert paint brush through thumb-hole at an angle. Fasten to back with criss-cross of cellophane tape.
1. Use illustration shown to make pattern for palette. For centerpiece approximately 3' x 4', let each square equal 7 inches.
2. Trace shape on paperboard and cut with knife or single-edge razor blade.
3. At points starred, trace outline of cereal bowl and cut opening in board Yl inch smaller than bowl.
4. Fit bowls into openings and secure with cement under bowl edge.
5. Paint entire board silver.
6. Make an easel back and stand palette at an angle.
Artist's Palette Centerpiece
You need.
5 family-size packages Party Pillows, assorted colors 3' x 4' paperboard
5 plastic cereal bowls with flared edge Household cement Silver paint
Sugar Plum Tree
Buy small plastic tree at 5-and-10-ccnt store. Stick Party Jellies on each branch.
Candy Package Favors
Paste stars, hearts, small flags on packages of After Dinner Candies and use as place favors. Gummed cut-outs of many kinds can be purchased.
7. Fill bowls with Candies, a different flavor in each one. Have extra packages of candies on hand to refill from time to time.
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QUICK TRICKS WITH U-ALL-NO MINTS AND OTHER CANDIES
Hard Sauce
Use standard recipe for hard sauce, substituting crushed After Dinner Mint, Lime or Wintergreen Candies for confectioners' sugar. Crush mints with rolling pin or food grinder.
Frosting
Substitute crushed After Dinner Mints or Party Pillows, Mint, Lime, Lemon or Wintergreen, for confectioners' sugar in any standard recipe for such frosting.
Confetti Cookies
Use your favorite recipe for rolled or drop cookies. While still warm, place Party Patties on cookies, one on each.
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Mint Sugar
Keep a jar of crushed After Dinner Mints on hand for a quick sprinkle on fruit bettys, baked apples, compotes, hot cereal, sundaes.
Decorated Ice Block
Place wreath or flowers of Party Patties (see illustration), on block of ice.
Minted Tea
Instead of sugar, use two or three After Dinner Mints to flavor tea. Lemon Candies are good with tea, too.
Tinted Ice Cubes
Drop Party Patties into the ice tray sections. (Use the same flavor in each tray.) Fill trays with water and freeze as usual. Cubes will be delicately tinted and flavored.
Decorated Ice Cream Cones
Use After Dinner Lime Candies for eyes, Wintergreen Party Pillows for mouths, and Party Patties for hats (see illustration).
Emergency Candleholders
Soften wax on bottom of tiny candles. Place on Party Patties.
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Candies are pure sugar, skilfully blended and flavored, delicately tinted. Every mint in the family of fine confections is sure to delight you, your children, your guests. Cooked in shining clean giant kettles, twirled on great pulling machines, rolled, sliced by specially shaped cutters, packaged in clear double cellophane bags-through each step Candies are subject to the most sanitary conditions. They come in two sizes-a handy packet and a big party bag. The little packet is an excellent choice for immediate use, because of its stay-fresh quality. The party size is perfect for a crowd. And every package is carefully chocked for weight before it leaves the factory, to make sure you are getting your full money's worth. Here is one of the best candy buys in America, sweets that please the palate of youngsters and adults. Three generations of the family have developed the know-how to turn out delectable candy for all.
