One of the players commences the game by saying to his neighbor, “I have a cook who doesn’t like peas (p’s); what will you give her for dinner?”

The person addressed must avoid the letter P in his answer. For instance, he may answer, “Artichokes,” “Onions,” “Cabbage,” and “Carrots,” but he must not say “Spinach,” “Asparagus,” “Potatoes.” The question is then asked of the second player, and so on until all have replied. If a player mentions a word containing the letter P he has to pay a forfeit.

Image © tempophage @ Flickr, Attribution

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

The players divide themselves into ladies and gentlemen, if the ladies predominate they must impersonate gentlemen, and vice versa. The gentlemen then proceed to choose lady partners. One of the players next undertakes to question the couples. The fun consists of the questions being put to the lady and the gentleman answering for her. “Do you like your partner?” the lady is asked, and the gentleman may reply, “Yes, I adore him.” Whatever the reply the lady is forbidden to deny it; if she does, or if she answers for herself, she must pay a forfeit.

But retaliation comes, for when all the ladies have been questioned the gentleman’s turn arrives, and the ladies answer for their partners. “What is your favorite occupation?” the question may be, and the lady may answer “Dressing dulls,” or “Making mudpies,” or anything ridiculous that occurs to her.

Image © Tom@HK @ Flickr, Attribution

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

Use a large plateau or mirror for the centerpiece, in the center of which lay an irregular piece of real (or artificial) moss about and-half the diameter of the plateau (to represent an island.) Stick a few sprays of asparagus and maidenhair fern in it and a number of white and yellow spring flowers-the crocus, jonquil, daffodil, daisy and snowdrop. Cut the stem: of the Bowers in various lengths to give a better effect. Place a few (artificial) little fluffy chickens on the island and several downy ducklings in the surrounding lake (mirror.) Or use a vase of jonquils and daffodils for a center piece.

Place cards may be made by cutting bristol board into egg shape ox oval pieces. On a portion of this card spread some mucilage and sprinkle yellow sand over it. Then stand a tiny yellow chick (these are made of wool and can be purchased very cheap) on the sand (using glue) and close behind it glue the small end of an egg shell. Similar cards can be purchased all ready decorated.

Serve a grape fruit cocktail first. Cut the grape fruit in half, take out the fruit in as large pieces as possible, place in a bowl with the juice. Mix with this a small amount of white grapes, halved and the seeds removed, and a portion of pineapple canned or fresh cut in small pieces and some of the juice or syrup from the pineapple. Add a little sugar and angelica wine if desired. Remove the pulp from the grape fruit, fill each half with the mixture and serve on doylie covered plates.

For a relish use celery, white radishes, small yellow tomato pickles or pickled white grapes.

The meat course consists of creamed chicken, creamed sweetbreads and creamed veal. Carefully cut about one-third of the hell off the top of as many eggs as needed. Remove egg and fill shell with the hot creamed meat, (use three shells for each plate, each having a different tilling) and replace top of shell.

Form shoestring potatoes into a nest on a serving plate and place the stuied eggs in the nest. (Tap the filled egg slightly on the end, indenting but not breaking it and the egg will easily stand on end.)

Or make a nest of mashed potatoes pressing it through a fruit press or potato ricer and place in the center of it meat croquettes, oval shaped and very delicately browned.

Bread sticks or tiny rolls tied with white and yellow ribbon. Mold the butter into the shape of an egg.

Escalloped corn in ramikins.

Salad of California Asparagus tips on bleached lettuce leaf: Place a ring of hard boiled eggs around the stem end of asparagus (slice hard boiled eggs crosswise, remove the yolk and thrust the ends of asparagus through the white pan) serve with French dressing. If ice cream is to be sewed an plates, have vanilla and orange flavors packed in a tubular mold, the orange in the center and the vanilla around the outside so that when cut it has the appearance of a slice of hard boiled egg.

If the cream is served in glasses have the two colors molded in the form of an egg. Serve lady fingers and egg kisses, or angel food and sunshine cake.

At each place have salted almonds in a yellow egg shell cup. Color the eggs a rich yellow, cut off about one-third of the top and remove egg-use the larger portion of the shell, mash the end a trifle and glue to a small oval paste board.

Bonbons consist of small jelly eggs, white and yellow in a tiny basket at each place.

The favors are Easter bonnets which the guests are asked to wear. (Procure small doll hat: of various styles profusely trimmed with Bowers of white and yellow and place a common white hat pin in each one.)

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

Image © macieklew @ Flickr, ShareAlike

One of the most popular games at a party is certainly “Consequences”; it is a very old favorite, but has lost none of its charms with age. The players sit in a circle; each person is provided with a half sheet of notepaper and a pencil, and is asked to write on the top -

(1) one or more adjective, then to fold the paper over, so that what has been written cannot be seen. Every player has to pass his or her paper on to the right hand neighbor, and all have then to write on the top of the paper which has been passed by the left-hand neighbor

(2) “the name of the gentleman”; after having done this the paper must again he folded and passed on as before; this time must be written

(3) one or more adjectives; then

(4) a lady’s name; next

(5), where they met; next

(6), what he gave her; next

(7). what he said to her; next

(8), what she said to him; next

(9), the consequence; and lastly

(10), what the world said about it.

Be careful that every time anything has been written the paper is folded down and passed on to the player on your right.

When everyone has written what the world says, the papers are collected and one of the company proceeds to read out the various papers, and the result may be somewhat like this:

(1) The horrifying and delightful (2) Mr. Brown (3) met the charming (4) Miss Philips (5) in West. Minster Abbey; (6) he gave her a Bower (7) and said to her: “How’s your mother?” (8) She said to him: “Not for Joseph;” (9) the consequence was they danced the hornpipe, and the world said: (10) “Just what we expected.”

Image © iwona_kellie @ Flickr, Attribution

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

To play this game it is best to sit in a circle, and until the end of the game no one must speak above a whisper.

The first player whispers a question to his neighbor, such as: “Do you like roses?”

This question now belongs to the second player, and he must remember it.

The second player answers: “Yes, they smell so sweetly,” and this answer belongs to the first player.

The second player now asks his neighbor a question, taking care to remember the answer, as it will belong to him. Perhaps he has asked his neighbor, “Are you fond of potatoes?” And the answer may have been, “Yes, when they are fried!”

So that the second player has now a question and an answer belonging to him, which he must remember.

The game goes on until everyone has been asked a question and given an answer, and each player must be sure and bear in mind that it is the question he is asked, and the answer his neighbor given, which belongs to him.

At the end of the game each gives his question and answer aloud, in the following manner. “I was asked: ‘Do you like roses?’ and the answer was ‘Yes, when they are fried!’”

The next player says: “I was asked: ‘Are you fond of potatoes?’ and the answer was: ‘Yes, they are very pretty, but they don’t wear well.’”

Image © tiny white lights @ Flickr, Attribution

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

A player is chosen to represent “The Curate.”

The other players are assigned such names as printer, plumber. jeweler, butcher, druggist, shoemaker, etc. “The Curate” starts the game by saying.

“Mr. Butcher (or any other name) I called to see you this morning but you were not at home.”

The Butcher: “I had just gone over to the jeweler’s.”

Curate: “And what business had you at the jeweler’s?”

(The jeweler is the next to speak but he must not do so until the question is answered.)

“I went to get a bracelet for Mrs. Butcher.”

The Jeweler: “I was not at home for I had gone to the printer’s”

The Curate: “And what was your business at the printers?”

(The printer is the next to speak but he must not do so until the question is answered.)

The game may be made very interesting by bringing into it little personal references and bits of innocent scandal, as

“I was at the jeweler’s to help Mr. _____ select a ring for Miss _____.”

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Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

A subject is given to the company by the “teacher” and those joining in the game are each to define the subject in as terse a manner as possible, in epigram or verse, written on a slip of paper.

The cards are then signed, turned in and the “teacher” reads the definitions.

Then the company are to decide which one of the definitions has the greatest merit. For instance, the word “Friendship” is given and the answers might run like these:

“A feather from love’s wing.”
“The greatest of boons.”
“Something akin to glue,” etc.

Or the word “Gold” might evoke:

“That which I have not.”
“The root of all evil.”
“What goes to the plumber,” etc.

Image © PhliarShamim @ Flickr, Share-Alike

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

Do-It-Yourself Crazy Drinking straws - Build any number of weird arrangements of straws to drink from multiple glasses at a time.

I bet this would be great fun at a Halloween party to create some scary concoctions.

An excellent interview with Jessica Polka and her Wunderkammer (Wonder Chamber.)

Jessica has created some amazing crochet “specimens” that remind me of a mix between The Life Aquatic and carnival side shows.

You can even purchase the patterns for some of her designs if you’re the crafty type yourself.

Wendy from Wisdom of the Moon has whipped up some utterly delicious Halloween cupcakes

I absolutely love Halloween, and these cupcakes would be sure to steal the show with any kid’s who see them.

And finally, Matt has created his first papercraft model named Grumm.

Not only has he created it, but he’s made a nifty little PDF file that you can download, printout, and put together to recreate his model yourself!

To play this game you must first decide which one of you is to be the Bird-catcher; the other players then each choose the name of a bird, but no one must choose the owl, as it is forbidden.

All the players then sit in a circle with their hands on their knees, except the Bird-catcher, who stands in the center, and tells a tale about birds, taking care to specially mention the ones he knows to have been chosen by the company. As each bird’s name is called, the owner must imitate its note as well as he can, but when the owl is named, all hands must be put behind the chairs, and remain there until the next bird’s name is mentioned, When the Bird-catcher cries “all the birds” the players must together give their various imitations of birds. Should any player fail to give the cry when his bird is named, or forget to put his hands behind his chair, he has to change places with Bird-catcher.

Image © Tom@HK @ Flickr, Attribution

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain

For this game, half the players go outside the door, whilst those who stay in the room choose a word of one syllable, which should not be too difficult. For instance, suppose the word chosen be “Flat,” those who are out of the room are informed that a word has been thought of that rhymes with “Cat.” and they then have to act, without speaking, all the words they can think of that rhyme with “Cat.”

Supposing their First idea be “Bat,” they come into the room and play an imaginary game of cricket. This not being correct, they would he hissed for their pains, and they must then hurry outside again. They might next try “Rat,” most of them going into the room on their hands and feet, whilst the others might pretend to be frightened. Again they would be hissed. At last they boys go in and fall flat on their faces, while the girls pretend to use flat-irons upon their backs. The loud slapping that follows tells than that they are right at last. They then change places with the audience, who, in turn, become the actors.

Image © ~My aim is true~ @ Flickr, Attribution

Games for All Occasions by Mary E. Blain