Social Recreation: The Party

·        A party can be:

·        A big party

·        A small party

·        A middle-sized party

·        One that has active games

·        One that has quiet games

·        One that has silly times

·        One that has serious times

·        One that has light refreshments

·        One that has lots of refreshments

·        One that has a theme

·        One doesn't have a theme

·        One that has decorations or one that does not have decorations

 1.  Parties for Teencies (Preschoolers)

Balloon Blow-out

Children love balloons. Every game book you pick up has games that use balloons. A full morning of these on a Saturday will be a real blast.

A Real Blast

However, if you prefer not to have the balloon kind of blast, plan a blast using things that would pop if they were punctured or broken. For instance, a tire race, curling the little fellows up inside tires and letting another team member roll them on a prescribed course. Use paper bags, Kool-Aid, boiled eggs, small balls, cotton balls, bubble gum, life savers and tooth picks, and oranges and apples in games.

A Three-Wheeler Party

Bike hikes, cross-country trips on motorbikes leave the littlest fellows looking mighty wistful as the gang roars away. Get Mom to load up the youngster’s tricycle and bring it with him to the party, at which you will have planned to use the trikes. Races, wheelies, and follow-the-leader will make for a rolling good time. Don't leave out a trike relay.

A Things-That-Float Party

Corks, apples, Styrofoam balls, Ping-Pong balls, Ivory soap-what else? Adapt games which use these objects so that your teencies can enjoy them.

A Things-That-Fly Party

Kites, bugs, planes, butterflies, birds - build a party around these, and your little angels will fly to a good time, too.

A Junior Rodeo

Using stick horses, plan contests, etc., on the rodeo theme, cowboy all the way.

Bean Bag Party

Beans are mucho fun, whether jumping or sitting still. If you plan a party using bean games, chances are you and your guests will be jumping.

2.  Next, Parties for Tikes
 (Children's Division, that is)
 
A Two-Wheeler Party

Plan for this age group the same kind of party, using bikes as you planned for the teencies using trikes, except for making the activities a bit more demanding. A church parking lot is an ideal place for this kind of party.

An Art Gallery Party

Many of our youngsters are "into art" these days.

Plan a party not only to exhibit some of their work, but to have opportunity for them to have an adult in your area come in and share with them in some special way. A quick lesson in chalk-talking would be right in order.

A Springtime Olympics
(Summer or Fall, Anytime at all)

Plan an olympics party in the woods, doing things like having a stone throw, a tree climb (small one, of course), a creek jump, a hill slide.

A Whistlers' Stop

If your nerves and ears can stand it, use various kinds of whistles and horns as the basis for a party.

Blindman's Buff Party

Youngsters love the suspense of being blindfolded. Capitalize on this idea, and plan a whole party's worth of it. Even having them blindfolded when they first try to eat their refreshments would be a scream, if cleaning up doesn't threaten to be a problem.
 

3.  Parties for Older Children and Teens

Gymnastics Party

        Look in all your game books, and find a bunch of the physical feats like the one in which you place a quarter twelve inches in front of someone, have him keep his heels against the wall and pick up the coin;
                                                                                    or 

        Like placing hands back-to-back behind the body and trying to touch the head.   Work out an evening of gymnastics using such as these.

            It's been a long time since I played follow-the-leader. How about you? Get a good leader, and let him lead a bunch of teeners on one more wild goose chase around some large building or yard or woods. Make some of the features easy; make some very hard and tiring.

Geography Party

        Base activities on several places that are well known. If the group is about to go on a mission trip, acquaint them with the region to which they will be going. If it is close to missions study time in the church, use that theme to increase their knowledge while they have fun, too.

Local Color party

        Many of us live in our towns for years and never know all the nice things around: famous folks living nearby, parks and recreational facilities, antebellum homes, museums, scenic attractions-all within a few miles of us. 
        Plan a party to clue your teeners in. They are constantly in need of some good places to go and good things to do. Help them to discover where to go and what to do.

Wheels Party

        If everything we use each day that depends on wheels were taken away from us, we would be in quite a bad shape, wouldn't we? Clocks, cars, motors of all kinds-all kinds of things that are vital to us. Plan a party about wheels. Adapt old games with new titles for this one. For instance: instead of "fruit basket turn over," name the people cars, and call it Auto Show. Instead of playing "London Bridge is Falling Down," play "The Chevrolet is breaking down."

Partnership Party

        Though they are not always eager to admit it, youth are very sentimental and romantic. A famous-couples party, featuring famous sweethearts, would lend itself to a very good evening, especially in February. Charades, pantomimes (Romeo and Juliet, for example) songs would all be in order.

A Nosy Party

        Use the nose as a smeller and as an inquisitor, and plan for a nosy night. Contests like rolling peanuts with the nose, games like smelling objects while blindfolded are the kinds of things to plan. A fun thing to take home would be a silhouette, using a slide projector to cast the profile on a wall for the sketching, but have the sketcher do a "nose job" on each.

4.  Next We Plan for the Tied-the-Knot-Not-Too-Long-Ago Bunch (Young adults, usually)

Best Seller Party

        A time for reviewing and exchanging books with one another for a couple of weeks would be a good excuse for having a party. If there is a writer in your midst, have him in. Acquaint guests with any famous writers who live around or who came from your area. Have a try or two at some creative writing on the part of your guests as one of the activities.

"Oh," replied the Britishers, "it's a party of bits and pieces." She and her husband enjoyed the leisurely nibbling of small varied tastes as get-acquainted conversation made them feel at horne.

Potato Bake

        There are nice restaurants around where students on fairly limited budgets go for a baked potato. With the sour cream and/or butter and/or cheese and/or crumbled bacon and/or chives, they consider the potato a complete meal. They love it and vow the potato is often overlooked. You can have an equally tasteful and fairly simple potato bake. A little more than an hour's time (at 325°) may be required according to the number of potatoes cooking at one time. Party-corners can help with the bacon-cooking, onion-chopping, cheese-grating. Somebody might even make the "sour" cream by blending one cup of cottage cheese with one tablespoon of lemon juice. Of course each person fixes his own potato to perfection. Every age group can have fun at a potato bake.

Sunday Night Breakfast

        For involved church people, Sundays start early and move at a pretty steady pace throughout the whole day. Sunday night breakfast is a marvelous, relaxing, wrapping-up sort of occasion for every age

group or for the family who needs to celebrate a good Sunday. Scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage taste especially good at night. There might even be hot biscuits and preserves.

Waffle Suppers

        This really does work for large and small groups.  For a larger group of people, invite a few party-corners to bring a waffle iron. Set up a table away from your kitchen center so you won't blow a fuse by overloading. Make a big batch of batter, either with the box mixes or the following recipe:

Crispy Waffles Separate two eggs.

        Beat yolks and add 13/4 cup milk.

        Sift and add to milk mixture: 
                2  cups flour 
                3 t. baking powder

                1 t. salt

Beat until very smooth and add 1/2 cup cooking oil. Whip egg whites until firm and fold into mixture. Pour into very hot waffle irons. Place a third of a piece of raw bacon on each waffle and bake until crispy brown.

Makes 14-16 41/2-inch waffles.

        Of course you will need butter and syrup, jellies and preserves, but begin with a waffle sandwich. Serve waffles very hot, and place a slice of cheese on each one as it comes from the iron. The cheese will melt a bit while you add pickle slices or very thin slices of tomatoes. Eat it open-face; another waffle on top is too much.

        If your crowd is bigger than the waffle iron (or irons) can feed simultaneously, let the group draw numbers for the waffles "coming up"!

Sunday Night Bean Supper

        Use the recipe for barbecued beans in "The Foods" chapter, and serve with it waffle cornbread. 

        Make waffles the same way as in the recipe above, but change dry ingredients to:
                 1 cup of flour and 
                 1-1/2 cup of com meal. 
        Bake the bacon into cornbread waffles also.

Sausage Souffle Supper

        The following recipe is a must for Sunday night breakfasts: Sausage Souffle

                        8 slices white soft bread cubed 2 cups grated sharp cheese

                        1-1/2 lbs. linked sausages browned and cut into bite-size pieces

                        Beat together: 4 eggs

                        2-1/2 cups milk

                        3/4 t. dry mustard

Put cubes in bottom of greased 9 by 13 inch casserole. Add cheese, sausage, milk, and egg mixture, and refrigerate overnight. Mix 1 can cream of mushroom soup and 1/2 cup milk. Pour over top; and bake 300⁰ for 1-1/2 hours. Makes more than enough for eight.

You can readily see how simple multiplication of ingredients could make a cozy after-church supper for a fairly large group.

5.   Parties for Adults and Older Adults

A big bowl of in-season fruit, hot toast and jelly do the trick.

Christmas Breakfast

        Invite the older members of the church for Sunday Morning Christmas breakfast. 
        High school, college, or young married people will delight in scrambling eggs and pouring coffee for the special festivities. 
        
        Breakfast menus will more nearly match the tastes and diets of older people than any other meal.

Round-It-Up Party

         Plan a hot dog cookout.
         Buy the food you need and take to the homes of different church members in town; 
                    the weiners go to the Vaughans, 
                    the rolls to the Thomasons, 
                    the cheese to the Storms, 
                    right on through the list.

The participants will round up all the food from clue directions something like the following:

        The people who have the weiners like having them around because you can get your teeth into them. (For a dentist, active in your church.)

        The cheese is not in the middle of a hurricane but close to it (play on the name "Storm").

If you use this party idea for non-driving groups, you will need parents and friends to bring cars, unless, that is, you are lucky and have members within reasonable, yet challenging, walking distance from the church. Consider this for older groups. Young marrieds will enjoy it especially.

Grab Bag Supper

        Prepare four grocery sacks of food, one for each part of a meal. 
        There will be a sack with things to make a salad, 
        one with the ingredients of a main dish casserole, 
        a sack with vegetable-dish makings, and one for dessert preparation.

Number the sacks, and then number people present 1 through 4. 
        The people numbered "I" dig into the number 1 sack and begin the food preparation; 
        number 2 people work from number 2 sack and so on.

Those who have less food preparation can help, if needed, on other sack preparations or can keep the dishes washed and can set the table.

Breakfast for Parents

        Why not have a party where children prepare breakfast for their parents? They can select a menu of cereal and fruit, toast and jelly, doughnuts fresh from the favorite doughnut shop. They need to have planning sessions to select the menu, make grocery lists, and make their own decorations. And, by all means, they will seat their parents and serve the food.

Yes, sir, we'd vote for a party any time.   There is something so very special about laughing together, participating crazily against each other, singing in off-key harmony in unrehearsed group singing, matching wits and physical agility in game-brand puzzles, and finally coming to a serious moment together if it seems appropriate-, or leaving on a silly note if that seems to be right.

You do all these things at a party usually, or some variation of them. You sit together with food. But the good taste you leave with is that taste of fellowship, a foretaste even, to borrow a phrase from the hymnist, of glory divine.

Yes, sir, we'd vote for a party any time. Will you make it another vote for a party?

7.  And After That, Plan for the Institutionalized in Your Area

                        The scope of institutions around us nowadays is astounding, and it seems that every day a new kind of institution springs up. Take a proper party to one at least every three months or so, and you will be glad you did. Most directors of institutions will be happy to have you if they know you will stay within whatever bounds are prescribed for you and those present.

8.  The Whole Thing (The whole church, that is)

                        It's a sad church that never gets itself together for a party. Sure, it's a lot of work, but what good thing is not a lot of work? Take Christmas dinner, for instance. It's a lot of work, but that doesn't keep us from digging in, though we know we're gonna' have to dig our way out from under the pots and pans and dirty dishes. So,, dig in, and let's have an all-church party.

An All-Night Sing

        We said a party is at a designated time, but we didn't say how long the time is, so let's have an all-night sing. If your church doesn't have enough musical folk, invite some in. But if you have a very large graded choir program, each choir is bound to have in its background a program it can polish up and present at one or two o'clock in the morning. Make it a showcase of all your musical groups and soloists. Don't let people come just when their groups are to perform, though. Insist that it be a total time participation. If you feel that all night is too much, plan it for as long as you think would be good. Keep the party idea alive by an occasion activity that involves everyone present, like musical puzzles, name-that-song games, and other such ideas. Old-fashioned sings had dinner on the ground; so a supper on the ground might be in order at midnight, even if you decide to stay all night.

9.  Tailor-Make These for Almost Any Group

Track Meet in Your Fellowship HaIl

Plan a track meet for inside or on someones long driveway or on the church's parking lot. Use very simple races, relays, and contests. Have a concession stand for refreshments.

Repairing Party

Every church has equipment, facilities, and grounds that need repairing or maintenance. Plan a party around such needs, based on the abilities of people within the group. This might include a sewing party for a group of women if there are rooms in the church where the curtains need to be replaced. It might include raking, picking-up, and manicuring the yard by some of the young people. It might be a painting party. It might be a mopping and waxing party. Parties can involve work, too.

Paper Sack Party

What is more versatile than a good ole paper sack? It can be fashioned into clothes or hats and used for carrying items. It can be used to blow up and pop. It can be used to make puppets. On and on. Adapt some of these uses into a party.

A Sand Lot Party

I use the term sand lot to mean a place where children are likely to gather as they used to on a sand lot. Many areas need to have a party brought to them, for there is a poverty of parties there. Check around and get one or two going in your area.

An Evening at the Theater

There are enough hams in any given group to plan an evening of skits, or short serious dramas, or a combination of these, depending on your group's taste and the purpose for which you are having the party. There are also enough good books of skits and dramas available that no one will have to exert creativity to write material. A delightful meal, partaken of as the "troupe" performs, is a great party.

Marshmallow Mash

The lowly marshmallow can be used in all manner of games, races, contests, art designing (use toothpicks with them), and for eating. Spend an evening with them. It'll take a soft touch, but you can manage that, can't you?

Egghead Party

We'll hope nobody takes it personally when he is invited to an egghead party. The only reason we're calling it that is because we will use eggs, most of them blown empty, of course, for the mainstay of the evening. Roll them, decorate them, race with them, relay with them. You can find games in most of the game books that use eggs or you can find games to adapt to use eggs. However, I do believe that eggs for refreshments would be a bit much. Unless everyone is on a diet and will agree to boiled eggs. Ugh! Some refreshments. Forget the diet, and let's have some homemade ice cream. It has eggs in it.

Four-Wheeler Party

We planned two-wheeler and three-wheeler parties for the smaller fry. Now let's plan a four-wheeler for folks who are old enough to handle it. Select one or more interesting places close by where most of the group have never been. Go to as many as your time allows. If there is a famous eating place nearby and budgets can stretch to include it, eat out as refreshments.

The World's Largest, Biggest, Loudest Party

Do your own thing: the longest hot dog, po boy, largest hamburger, loudest music (your teen-agers can oblige here). Whatever your folk respond to, go to it!

Feather Your Cap Party

Lots of fun things can be done with feathers.

They are not always easy to find; so you may have to use construction paper ones for your party. Many children's craft books have ideas about feathers.

String-along-Party

Buy a bunch of string or small rope, and plan an evening with strings. Use contests with strings, of course, but also have as entertainment someone who plays a stringed instrument, or play some recorded string music. Stringed instruments are very scriptural. Possible someone on your music staff could share some information about them in an interesting way.

Chief Boy Whoopee

This is simply a new name for a party in which people bring samples of their newest recipes and cookies of the recipes so that people who wish to swap may do so.

Dessert Party

Normally a dessert party is like the party described above, but let's make this one a little different. Bring all the desserts, but also bring some lovely paper plates that are sturdy enough to prepare a supply of cake for each of several elderly or sick individuals or couples. After the desserts have been delivered by guests in two's or three's, gather back to have dessert together and talk about the visits you made.

Rainbow Party

Have you noticed how often you see a rainbow (not the kind in the sky, necessarily) on TV and in ads, on notecards, or in other places? Plan a party that is colorful, musical ("Somewhere Over the Rainbow"), and joyful. End on a note of hope in God's promises to us.

Around the Clock Party

Life gets pretty hectic. So, a lively party could be planned around the activities of a fairly typical day in the life of a fairly typical family. Start with a "Singing in the Shower" contest; go on to include a crisis like a broken washing machine, and a contest to repair it (fitting nuts and bolts together).

A Wanderlust Party

It is nearly always vacation time somewhere.

People need help quite often with planning a trip and knowing what to see when they get there. Plan a party in which people may show their slides and their home movies and tell other guests good places to eat, camp, sightsee, and so forth. This one has all sorts of possibilities so far as theme, refreshments, and the like are concerned. For instance, invitations could be in the form of tickets to the movie. Sea ts could be arranged to look like a movie; ushers could be team captains to place guests in proper places for whatever games or contests might be used as a part of the evening. Popcorn and Cokes might be the "during show" refreshments. Afterwards serve pizza or hot dogs or some kind of after-the-movie snacks.

Pet Parade

Animals and their care make up a tremendous business nowadays. People love their pets, and enjoy having a chance to tell about them. There are some rather unusual pets around, too. A daylight time party could be built around pets and their care, using the services of some good veterinarian or some teacher in an agricultural institution as the feature after people have shown their pets and talked about the unusual ones. I remember going to visit one of my college roommates whose son had a boa for a pet. One of my eyes stayed a bit open all night, in spite of everything that could be said about the habits of that creature which insured that I was safe in that house with the boa.

Button Up Party

Buttons are adaptable to use in games, races, relays, contests, puzzles, and the like for an evening. For instance, a musical quiz using songs with the word button in them; races involving buttoning clothing and shoes; contests involving guessing games about sizes and numbers of buttons; sewing buttons on a piece of cloth.

A Ringer of a Party

This party is planned around all kinds of bells-cow bells, dinner bells, Christmas bells, silver bells, belle of the ball, Bells of St. Mary's. Use as the serious part of the evening a performance by a local handbell choir or soloist.

Something for the Birds Party

In the wintertime in many areas of our country birds need help from human beings to survive. Bird watching clubs are plentiful. Many individuals now have commercially prepared and purchased bird feeders in their yards. There are many lovely songs about birds and the many good sounds they make. Plan around all of this and close, if possible, with someone who knows about birds and ways folks in your area may help to keep them plentiful, or to increase the supply, if there are not many around.

You Were There Party

Many young folks in your church or your community do not know about the growth of your church or about some special things in your community. Plan an evening in party form, using skits and like presentations, to let young folks and newcomers be aware of their heritage. Possibly every hundred years is too long to wait to relive our past. In young churches and new towns, too, many people come and go without putting their roots down long enough to know about the past. A fairly regular remembrance service in a fun-time setting could get to be a very nice tradition. Bring to mind special people, special occasions, special innovations that have proved effective enough to be lasting. Laugh at the past a little by presenting with tongue in cheek some of the bloopers. Every church has some, and we might as well laugh as cry, unless it is hurtful to certain persons.

TV Show Party

Use a little ingenuity and wit, and you and a committee can put together a party based on any TV show you'd like. Get your paper and pencil and take notes on the show several times after you decide exactly how you want to adapt it. Then, take off. This kind of party can involve a host of people in the planning and the presentation, to say nothing of participation. Be sure to rig up mikes, tele­prompters, signs for audience reaction, commer­cials, the whole thing.

A Loser's Party

Everybody loves a winner; but a lot of folks must love losers, too, because the world is full of us. I can't believe that all who lose are unloved. Plan a party based on losing. Things get funny when people are trying to lose. Turn it around and make the losers the winners. For instance, the side that finishes last wins, but have a timekeeper, so that there is risk in waiting too long to finish. The one behind when time is called will be the winner. Declare the team that creates the ugliest picture the winner or the quartet that sings most off-key. On and on. Your imagination will come up with other si tua tions.

A Games Party

Call it something like "The Annual Utility Table Ga,mes" because all of these games will be played at tables often called card tables (outside church fellowship halls)! Use games like Scrabble, checkers, Monopoly. Call time limits before the games begin, and try to give all guests a chance to play at least three games, keeping composite counts (points in Scrabble when time is called added to net worth in Monopoly when time is called added to certain number of points for each game of checkers won before time is called). Team plan would probably work best in this evening of fun. Name the teams very high sounding names. As refreshments, have the concession stand open the entire time, and let guests come for their refreshments at any and all times. This means a very heavy supply of refreshments, and all should be the kind that will not make a mess of the games props being used at the tables while guests eat and play. You couldn't possible miss this opportunity to have some local achiever in tennis, track, golf, or something else to speak for a closing brief minute about the game of life.

Day Camp for Grown-ups

Take the plans that the children's departments in your church use and plan a morning or afternoon party based on day camping. It is such fun that it is a shame that children have had a corner on it up until this good hour. Maybe your party might grow a whole day camp for the adults your party touches.

A Special Recognition Party

Every church around has a bunch of folks who have helped to make that church the great church that it is. Most of these will never be the recipients of any kinds of awards. Plan a party based on the presentation of nicely printed or drawn (or real bona fide plaques, if your budget will allow) certificates of award. Things like "For ten years of seeing that flowers were in the church worship services" or "For loving a generation of wiggling, giggling teenage RAs." You know, the sort of thing that deserves a lot of recognition and appreciation, but gets very little private practice and no public praise. For some quite elderly person who has been a regular attender for umpteen years, one might read "For just sittin' and listenin."

Hand-Me-Around Party

All of us have heard of hand-me-downs. How about a new thing, "hand-me-arounds"? With prices as they are today, we need to be careful that all the clothes we use but are not used up are placed where they can be used by someone else. Plan a party in which families come together to hand some of their very good clothes around to one another. Have parents explain the situation to their children. (Or maybe not include the children, depending on the desires of the families involved. Maybe there could be a children's party in another place.) Decorate tables with sizes or ages where people can put clothes. (You'll have to know your church to know whether there is a group who would take to this idea.)

Springtime in Paris (Tennessee, that is)

Encourage guests to come dressed for the part of a country hillbilly or hillfilly (girls, you know). Decorate with old things and farm things: bales of hay, tools, any kind of "country" stuff. If there are ladies in your group who have handwork that fits into this theme (quilts, and so forth, this would be a good showcase time for them. Sing the hillbilly songs; have musical groups, including a washboard band. Use some skits of the Hee-Haw nature. Some of the really old timers might have a good yam or two to spin. Watch the clock on them, though. The speaker, if you wish to have one close with a few remarks, might point out how much "country" folks have meant and do mean to our country. His big point, though, could be to emphasize that in the work of Christ even the plainest and simplest folks have a major part.

Shakespeare on the Ground

You've heard of Shakespeare in the round, I imagine. Let's have an evening of the good guy's work on the ground. Plan your party for the outside, maybe someone has a big yard, or a large patio, or a double driveway to be used for the occasion. Use only light skits at this Globe Theater (see the encyclopedia if you need explanation about the Globe).

Around the World in Eighty Minutes

Plan a party of international flavor in which you can circle the globe in eighty or so minutes.

Midnight Melee

Begin your party at midnight on a night when

something is going on that will keep your bunch out until nearly that time anyway. Make everything a great big riot, including the refreshments, having some wild something like taffy to pull.

A Whopper Opera

Get the music department folk in your church to help you plan a party of music. Plan it to be an evening at the whopper opera. You guessed, I am sure, that it should be very silly and crazy music, but carry out the whole opera bit, including intermission, and dinner out afterwards.

Early Risers Party

Probably one of the things missed most in our land is sunrises. Plan a party for the early. morning so that folk can be at some pretty place to watch the sun come up. The ideal refreshments would be to cook breakfast out if you can round up enough Coleman stoves. If you can't, there's probably a McDonald's, Krystal, or neighborhood cafe where folks would welcome your group for breakfast out on that day.

Sunset Party

While folks are awake at sunset time, most of us do not take the time to watch the lovely descent of the sun. Plan a party in a place where the sun can be the actor on stage center front. Supper, like breakfast, could be prepared out or bought, as the group wishes.

Clubhouse Party

Remember all the clubs you formed and joined and met at least once when you were a little kid? Plan a party around the secret societies. Let the secret word or password be a part of the invitation. Divide the guests into "clubs." Go the whole bit, except if you have a rumble, be sure it's just a friendly one! Refreshments in napkins or paper sacks, like we used to carry to the club meetings, complete the evening.

How to Prepare a Budget Party

Plan an evening of finances with games that are sort of old hat but have been remade by title and implication to fit into finances. Close with a serious word from someone in finances on how a family can better manage their money affairs.

A Grab Bag Party

Most of our houses have some white elephants sitting around, to say nothing of elephants of a different color-no, that's horses of a different color, I believe. Anyway, ask your guests to prepare several grab bags or surprise packages and bring them to the party. Plan the evening around them, using them as the prizes, as the sources for skits, races, and relays. Have refreshment in grab bags or surprise boxes, too.

Holiday with Ice

Plan for all kinds of games with ice cubes. If you need some big ones, freeze them in gallon milk cartons. Refreshment? What else but ice cream?

Health Spa Party

Choose a pretty yard or park or some place like that where you can give people the works so far as health spa activities are concerned-like the spray­ing with a hose, rolling in a tire, and so forth. Be sure that all guests are aware ahead of time of the madcap nature of the party, so that they will dress in the proper way and be prepared in the proper mood. If there are ladies whose hairdo problem is of concern, be sure that all involved are aware of this and do not cause worry on that point. Use the resort theme and atmosphere. Steam bath (vaporizer), beauty treatment (facial for the men, using some­thing like honey and cream), all such ridiculous things as that-a real takeoff on the rich, extrava­gant resorts.

The World of Words

Invitations should indicate that the party will be one which is made up of plays on words, all based on words. Every book you pick up that has games and puzzles has word games. Let your mind go to extremes in planning with words, alphabets, and so forth.

An Indoor-Outdoor Party

Have indoor games and activities going on indoors and outdoor ones going on outdoors. Let people wander back and forth as they wish.

A Paint Party

Many folks would like to have a chance to see whether they have any kind of painting talent. Get a few easels, some paper, brushes, and paint (consult an art teacher at your school), and invite the art teacher to come for a party to give everyone an "art lesson for the beginner." It just might well be that someone would find just the hobby he needs.

A Blue Party

Make the entire theme of the party the color blue.

Use songs that have the word blue or blues in them. Play games and have activities based on such things as "These make me blue .... " Make up games having the word blue in them. You can take other colors and plan another color party; pink is a good one; so is red.

Wedding Anniversary Party.

Plan a party around this theme so that couples who still have some of their wedding clothes (and can get into them) can wear them. They can bring them even if they can't wear them. Let people look at wedding pictures. Have a time for guests to share "The thing that went wrong at our wedding" and "Something that did not follow the script at that wedding!" (My mother-in-law showed up without her orchid corsage at ours. A breakdown in communication had failed to let her know that her flower was in the refrigerator.) If your group is the kind that would respond to having the pastor come in and lead them in the wedding ceremony as a dedication time, plan such an activity. Wedding cake (if someone in your church makes cakes at a nominal fee), punch and the trimmings would be the ideal refreshments. It might even be fun to have someone stationed outside as a surprise to throw rice as the guests leave. Be sure to have the traditional recessional playing by record as folk leave.

Pantomime Party

Plan a party which does not allow for any talking whatsoever. Be sure that everything is done with motions, facial expressions, and such rather than by talk. Use records, skits, group pantomime. Don't pantomime the refreshments, though; let them be the real things.

Fishing Inside

Plan a fishing party inside, using games that are based on fish or fishing, and serve, of course, fish, chips, salad, and the like. Have a time when people are allowed to share their best fish tale.

Crossword Puzzle Party

Plan a whole evening of these puzzles that so many of the population are hooked on. Use a variety of puzzles you can buy, and use some original ones sort of made to order for your group. They are not too hard to do once you catch on to the way to "copy" from a sample. Try making one a time or two, and you will see.

An Old Timey Eating Contest

Depending on your group, plan an eating contest that will be fun for all, but do not let it get out of hand and make someone sick.

A Magic Party

There are usually some amateur magicians just around the corner who would be happy to perform. There are also some games in books that seem to be magic but are really not. Try to find enough of that type to plan a good evening of magic. If you need to make up a few things to appear or disappear like magic, go ahead.

Bouncing Party

Plan a party around all the kinds of balls that bounce and can be used in a fellowship .hall. Use balloons, too. Game books are loaded with suggestions for using balls. Tie them into a bouncing theme, and you are on your way.

A Catering Party

Some folks occasionally have need for the attention of someone else. These folks do not come under the head of shut-ins or disabled or institutionalized. They are simply people who are alone, lonely, unhappy, experiencing a bit of sorrow or a hard time economically. Plan a party, using the catering theme; let your group cook up some goodies and take them in the old delivery truck to some of these folks who need a little TLC, some of them for no real reason at all.

A Newcomers' Party

This is not really a new kind of party, but I have a suggestion or two which may be a bit new. The point of the party is not simply to help the newcomers feel at home, but to show them around to some of the places they might not learn about for quite a few weeks: places like the public library, shoe repair shops, many of the places they could look up in the yellow pages but still would have trouble finding because of unfamiliar streets, if in a sizable city. If your town is small, this activity would still be helpful. If there are recreational facilities near your town, include them, as well as those in your town.

A Goodie Sack Party

When our boys were little and they would be sick enough to be in bed or to miss a day of school, we had a nice little tradition called the goodie sack. The bag was very small because we bought only small things like Tootsie Rolls, suckers, hard candies, gums, all the items usually being bite size. This was placed near the bed, and there were no restrictions on its consumption. The usual thing was for the boy to make it last a while and to enjoy its nearness as much, almost, as he did its contents. A lot of your town's institutions have need of such things as goodie bags. Why not investigate to see which of them would welcome your bunch if they came bearing such bags? Then plan a party about goodies, asking each guest to bring a small supply, and before you know it, you will have a great party going. And the best goodie of all is that participants will find it was really their bag!

A Star Gazers' Get-Together

Using a variation of the Space Age theme, put together a party about the stars. Decorations are a snap, the sky is the limit. (My, these puns keep

getting in here somehow!) There are songs galore about the heavens and star and moonbeams. I guess your guests might draw the line at Moon Pies for dessert, but you might tease them a little about it before producing some great confection like heavenly hash.

A How-to-Plan-a-Party

If you need some help in planning parties, plan a party to teach them how to help you. Get all the good materials from the Church Recreation Department of the Sunday School Board and the book stores, and get with it.

A Sew-for-Your-Supper Party

Look around your church, with someone who is in a position of authority to give you the signal on some sewing that needs to be done: replacing cafe curtains, making dishtowels, pot holders, aprons, tablecloths, napkins, anything that might be needed at your place. Plan a party in which participants, both ladies and men, gather to do the sewing. Portable machines are a snap to move around and set up. Scrap bags everywhere (at least, where there's not a quilt going on) can be bought, too. While the ladies are sewing, the men are (you guessed it!) cooking. Most men who try are great cooks, and this is a good time for them to show off their culinary talents. Also, let them show off their housekeeping abilities when the fest is over and the ladies rush back to the sewing machines. This idea may be used following some natural tragedy in your area; fire, water damage, or some freakish happenings. Often there 'are elderly people who need sewing done for them.

A Sing-for- Your Supper

Volunteer hostesses should be forewarned, of course. Youth go from house to house, singing for the courses of a meal. They may work up three or four songs for the occasion. They can sing excerpts from the la tes t religious musical they have prepared. They can carol during the Christmas season. The whole party can begin by a visit to a nursing home where shut-in church members will enjoy listening.

The Come Cooka Section

We chew, we munch, We swallow, we lunch. We bite, we nibble, We slurp and dribble, Masticate, partake, Swallow and savor, Taste, sip, drink Snack, crunch and flavor ...

And since we do all those things, the preparation

of the party food can be the party itself. So some cooka batch of candy and have a lot of fun. Candymaking as entertainment has been around for decades.

Taffy Pulls

Taffy pulls are historic and can be very contemporary fun. Since making taffy is suggested in Midnight Melee several pages back, and since taffy recipes do not show up in just every cookbook, you might need the following:

Vanilla Taffy

            1 cup sugar 
            1/4 t. cream of tartar

            1/2 cup light corn syrup
            1 t. vanilla extract

            1/2 cup water 
            1 T. margarine

Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and cream of tartar in saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking without stirring to hard ball stage (266°) or until a small amount of mixture forms a hard ball when tested in very cold water.

Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and margarine. Pour into a greased 8-inch square pan; let stand until cool enough to handle.

Pull candy with fingers until it has a satin-like finish and milky-white color.

Pull into long strips 3/4 inch in diameter.
Cut into 1 inch pieces with scissors.
Wrap in waxed paper (if not eaten on the spot).
Yield: about 1/2 pound.

Fudge Making

So good for any time but especially good around Christmas with the Children's division and Junior High kids who may want to decorate small coffee cans to fill for parents or grandparents. Use adhesive paper or quick-drying spray paint for color and cover-up. The traditional fudge recipe is on the cocoa box; the new one is on the marshmallow cream bottle.

Peanut Brittle Bash

The well-known Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book even has pictures for making this candy. Start from scratch on this party-for-a winter night. When participants arrive, have them shell a cup of raw peanuts for every cup of sugar you plan to use. Here again, candy-making can be festive and concern-showing. Let part of the group decorate coffee cans, as suggested above, while the rest shell peanuts.

Peanut brittle cools fairly quickly, so you can break it into eatable and packable pieces soon after making. There will be many crumbs and extra peanuts to eat; so just before appetites are satiated, pack the cans. Plan to take to shut-ins, parents, the pastor, the music director-any special friends of

the group in the church. Make small cellophane packages, and ask several to drop by absentees' homes on the way home from the party.

Pizza Party

Assign the following activities to the party group: (1) Grate the cheese, (2) chop the onions, (3) slice the pepperoni, (4) open box of oregano, (5) open the can(s) of tomato sauce, and add salt and garlic salt to it, (6) open cans of biscuits with at least one biscuit for each person. Everybody rolls his biscuit as thinly as possible (or desired) with a rolling pin. He builds his own pizza according to his personal taste (or eccentricity). Bake at 400° and serve hot.

Group Soup

Pull your favorite vegetable soup recipe from the file, and assign ingredients to all the people coming. Somebody will bring a couple of onions; somebody else, celery or crackers, even the makings for hot cornbread. Every mortal at the party helps make the soup by chopping, seasoning, and tasting.

Cookie Cook

Ask each person coming to bring a small batch of his favorite cookie dough for baking on the spot and serving warm. This is especially nice for a committee meeting or business meeting that needs a party air.

Hobo Picnic

Each person corning wraps in foil and brings to the picnic the following: 
        one meat patty, 
        one slice of onion, 
        thinly sliced small potato (carrot, green pepper, squash as personal taste dictates),
        salt and pepper.

AIl packets are put together over the campfire and either served surprise fashion by mixing up or are identified by location on grill or by tape with name on top of the packet.

If this is a cookout on a campfire away from a park or backyard grilled barbecue pit, place an old refrigerator rack on bricks over the coals. For dessert, use any marshmallows left over from the Marshmallow Mash.

Roasting Ear Boil

In early summer, arrange for big, boiling pots of water and fresh ears of sweet corn, butter, salt and pepper for a feast kind of party.

Bits and Pieces

A British couple were asked to bring pickles to a dip-tasting party for a group of young marrieds in a small Chicago church. "Pickled what?" the wife asked in astonishment. "Pickled pickles!" replied an equally confused young American woman; "they will go well with the dips and chips."