Youth and Recreation Activity Resource Center
Activity and Resource Center
Progressive Dinner or Party
A Choice Quartet
PROGRESSIVE DINNER OR PARTY
Publicity
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Choice Directions to Choice Food
There are always four choices in directions. Arrange to have the four courses in homes located so that traveling to them will cause the group to go in the four directions.
Do not be bound by any one order of directions. Just remember to have the courses in the right progression. (For a student group where several churches are involved, plan directions according to the number of churches to be visited. If there are less than five churches plan to visit one or more churches more than once. Remember that when you go from one church south to another, you will return headed north.)
Schedule
Stop Course Food
First Appetizer Tomato juice
4 different dips
( a quartet of dips)
Celery sticks, Carrot strips,
Fritos, potato chips
(a quartet of "dippers")
Second Salad Tossed salad
A quartet of dressings
A quartet of crackers
Third Entrée Spaghetti
(with a quartet of Toppings)
Meat sauce
Sliced olives
Sliced mushrooms
Sliced mushrooms
Parmesan cheese
Fourth Desserts choice of fruit pies:
Apple
Cherry
Peach
Mincemeat
Coffee and Tea at each stop
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Choice Activities
FIRST STOP: Serve appetizer. Play some or all of the following games:
Quartet of numbers.-Each guest is given a name tag and a number. Players form "quartets" and add their numbers to see which four come nearest to the secret number (any number the leader has in mind). Cheer the winners each time. Play for several combinations, changing the number each time.
Cartoon quartets. -Players remain in quartets and are given one or more cartoons (without captions), on which they are to write clever captions. Let the groups swap cartoons and write additional captions.
Comic quartets.-Cut up into individual pictures a large number of comic strips and mix them up. Give to each quartet an equal number of pictures. Challenge them to see which one can put the strips back together first. They may trade pictures if they need to.
Singing quartets.- To let the others know they have finished, suggest that the comic quartets sing an original song about their comic strip, a parody to a popular song, or just substitute the name of the comic strip characters in a song. (Example: "I dream of
[Blondie] with her light blonde hair.") Be prepared for "bedlam," since all groups may decide to sing at once!
SECOND STOP: Serve salad and crackers. Ask the guests to sit in circles of eight (double quartets).
Quartet of sales.-Each circle numbers itself, 1, 2, 3, and so on.
- Number ''1'' is designated recorder of sales.
- Number "2" stands and tries to convince the others that he can talk on any subject. He is assigned a subject and scored on the number of different things he can say about it before time is called. Recognize the group with the largest number of points.
- Number "3" is a salesman who knows his alphabet. Call out a "letter" and see how many words he can give in a short length of time beginning with that letter. The recorder keeps score.
- Number "4" is to sell the group on his favorite food. He names the food and then gives all the reasons for liking it. These are recorded.
- Number "5" tries to sell the group on his favorite holiday by giving the reasons. If someone has named Christmas, let this be a clue for the group to use four-part harmony in singing a Christmas carol. (If Christmas is not named, the leader may ask the group to sing about his favorite holiday-Christmas.).
THIRD STOP: Play games before eating
Musical alphabet quartets.-Eight guests are asked to form double quartets. They are to sing the letters of the alphabet instead of words to tunes such as "Always," "My Wild Irish Rose," or "Old Black Joe." When they come to the end of the alphabet, begin again with the letter "A."
Alphabet quiz for clever quartets.- To each set of four guests, give a pencil and a sheet of paper. Have them number from 1 to 12. Tell them to quickly write the answers to the questions you ask by supplying the correct letter of the alphabet. Give the example that "an insect that gathers honey" is a B.
(Questions) (Answers)
1. A body of water C
2. An exclamation 0
3. A unit of measure in printing M
4. The first letter of the word "effigy" E
5. An article A
6. Half of an em N
7. A river in Scotland D
8. A command to a horse G
9. Same as No.4 E
10. A beverage T
11. Part of the head I
12. Same as 10 T
The "clever quartets" see in their answers: "Come and Get It" Dinner is served.
FOURTH STOP: Serve the dessert as soon as the guests arrive. After they have eaten, give each an "old-fashioned" mustache, reminiscent of the "Barber Shop" quartets. Cut these from black construction paper. Closing
Everyone hooks a mustache under his nose, as the choir director leads out in real barbershop quartet harmony.
(See Pattern Below)
Sing a chorus or two in preparation for a short devotional. Ask one of the young men to speak on "four choices:”
Decide on these according to the purpose of the dinner. For example, for a youth choir group you might include:
(1) To be a Christian or not;
(2) Choice of friends or life partner;
(3) To go to college or not and which one; and
(4) Choice of vocation.
Use these Scriptures: Isaiah 6:8, Isaiah's answer; Acts 9:4-6, Paul's answer; 1 Samuel 3:10, Samuel's answer.
Ask all quartets to join hands in a friendship circle and sing "Speak to My Heart" as a choral benediction.