inant nnsteadinptianlinctetuapt nds t pina ommpumnpasga sl nett mht saat id Sa be chat baled SON AI ena e, « 9) ED 0) AAD () AD AD) ( TE) EE) OB | RS | AEE | ED | > ELAR | > SEE |) EE re% e, ES |) A < ) SAD) AREY 6 )- () > () (ee _ ®, j PRESENTED TO THE HOME ECONOMICS EXTENSION DEPARTMENT : UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS | By | MRS. SPENCER EWING J > |) ASB) Seo -ame ><> () aE ( Mies tga Sea. (ot ae THE FUN BOOK ee NE A coh ce ge EDNA GEISTER ie THE FUN BOOK Stunts for Hvery Month an the Year BY EDNA GEISTER ADVISOR AND DIRECTOR OF RECREATION Author of “Let’s Play,” “It Is to Laugh,” “Ice-Breakers and The Ice-Breaker Herself,” etc. NEw WB vorx GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1923, BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY THE FUN BOOK. I PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CHAPTER I Breraxine Il Breaxine Ili Breaxine IV Breaxine V Breaxkine VI Breaxine VII Breakine VIII Breaxine IX Breakine X BREAKING XI Breaxine re. ore STUDIES, CONTENTS THE Ick IN JANUARY eaten THE Ick In FepruaRY . . THE Ick IN March: 23.4) '% THE Ice in APRIL . . .« THe Tce IN MAYS ie ae THE IcE IN JUNE are THE IcE IN JuLY anp AUGUST THE Ick IN SEPTEMBER . THE Icke IN OcTOBER igre THE Ice IN NOVEMBER . THE Ick IN DECEMBER . . XII Sueerstions to LEADERS. . . . InDEXx 120 136 154 166 GE 185 The different chapters include discussions of Decorations, Personal and House; Mixers; Group Games; Stunts; Con- tests; Tricks; Partners and Refreshments; Chapter VII being devoted especially to Out-of-Door and Picnic Events. A ates Hit, THE FUN BOOK THE FUN BOOK CHAPTER I JANUARY For Either Large or Small Groups Baby Show. January is the month in which to show cute baby pic- tures of the guests present. They are displayed as lantern slides while the group guesses what burly in- dividual in the crowd could possibly have started life as dimpled a cherub as the one in the photograph. _ This is a good way for wives to get even with hus- bands—to respond to the urgent request for baby pic- tures by bringing their husbands’ earliest likenesses. There is such an appreciative response when a dimpled darling is shown on the screen and the crowd, trying to be funny, guesses it to be Mr. Burns, the head of the Rotary Club. But that appreciative response is as nothing compared to the hilarious uproar that greats the leader’s ‘‘Correct!’’ Baby Caps. Because January is the infant month of the year it would be fitting for the committee to prepare infant headgear for all the guests. A sheet of either white tis- gue or white crepe paper about sixteen by twenty-four 10 THE FUN BOOK inches, with a strip long enough to tie around the neck with a small bow in front will provide an exquisite baby cap. It is by no means amiss to have ‘‘milliners’’ at the door to help guests make and put on their baby caps, the making process being a matter of putting the large piece of paper over their heads and fastening it on securely by means of the tie with a coquettish white bow under the chin. If anyone thinks it might detract from the fun of an evening to have all the guests, men and girls alike, cavorting about with dainty white baby caps on their. heads—let that ‘‘anyone’’ try it. Mayor Neilan’s pink face framed in a frilly crepe paper cap with an adorable chin bow is a sight not soon to be forgotten. | Resolute Greetings. The committee has written out resolutions on little slips of paper, enough of them so that every guest may have one to wear pinned on his shoulder. Then as guests greet each other they may say only, ‘‘Happy New Year. I resolve to give up using snuff!’’ or what- ever resolution the committee has so thoughtfully pre- pared for them. Many of the resolutions are duplicated in a large crowd, but it makes no difference as long as every vica- rious resolution is as impossible as possible! | Compulsory Resolutions. January is the month in which perfectly good resolu- tions are made—and broken. To remind guests of their duty to resolve a thing or two, large signs are hung on all sides bearing delicate suggestions for resolutions. The following are typical: JANUARY 11 . I resolve to control my wife’s temper. . I resolve to lose fifty pounds. . I resolve to sing in the choir. . I resolve to smile sweetly when dinner is not ready. . I resolve to make a new man out of my husband. . I resolve to do what I please. Guests are invited, or rather, warned, to pay strict attention to these resolutions and to sign their name to at least five of them. Later in the evening these signs are taken down and the names of the signees read, together with the resolutions. A check-up is then taken and any guest whose name has not been signed to the necessary number of resolutions is called to the platform. The other guests are then given the great privilege and even greater pleasure of choosing the five resolutions he should have signed. It will be found that 100 per cent of the men will re- solve to control the temper of their wives. Oo Oe © DS eS Limited Sociability. To start the year aright guests are asked to be social but only within certain limits. They are asked to form in groups according to the month in which their birth- days come. After the different months have assembled an announcement is made to the effect that January is to go and call on June, February on November, March on July, etc., ete., and that the only topic of conversa- tion allowed is one of flattery, each month telling the other month how wonderful it is. The leader has ‘‘snoopers’’ about who detect anyone making conver- sation on any other subject. Their names are listed and they are by no means forgotten. There is another rule to the effect that members of 12 THE FUN BOOK each month must hold each other’s hands on their way over to visit other months. Also, in the two minutes allowed for visiting there must be constant handshaking. After two minutes a new visiting list is read, the Aprils having to visit the Decembers, etce., etc., the one topic of conversation allowed being just what April thinks of the way December acts in church and vice versa, opinions being delivered in no uncertain terms. If the guests have survived their individual arraign- ments a third and last visiting list is read, and when the various groups have fouzd each other they are in- formed that they are to entertain one another by singing heartily any seme they choose. | Guests will be either social or extinct after this last elfort at sociability. Conceited Calendar. Just after the above game, while guests are still divided into their monthly groups, each month is asked to show in no vague way why that particular month is the most interesting and worthwhile of all the months. In each group there should be a leader who has ready a suggestion for that group, some stunt which will por- tray the big outstanding event of that month. Stunts should be as far-fetched and foolish as possible. January shows resolutions made—and broken. March is both ‘‘fresh’’ and ‘‘green.’’ The group whose stunt is chosen by the judges as being the most impossible (although no announcement has been made to that effect beforehand) gets the prize— end the ridicule of the other months. JANUARY 13 The Straight and Narrow Path. A racecourse for each contestant is marked out by a string stretched across the length of the room. Con- testants are given opera glasses and are asked to show to the assembled multitude how straight and narrow a path they are going to follow in the coming year, by walking along their piece of string and at the same time looking through the large end of the glasses. The outlook for a straight and narrow path for the community for the coming year will be a poor one if judged by the results of this contest. Vicarious Bad Habits. Each guest has been asked to bring something that he wishes to throw away as symbolic of his bad habits. Those who forget to do so are gladly furnished with such symbols of such habits by the committee members who have put deep and ‘‘with-evil-intent’’ thought on the subject. When all the guests have arrived each guest changes his symbol for that of someone else. All guests are then lined up and in turn they are to mount the platform, place the discarded bad habit on the table, tell whose bad habit it was and just why it is being thrown away. There is positively no rule against the imagination running riot. At one New Year church party the min- ister innocently brought a stick of gum to throw away as symbolic of one bad habit being overcome. The choirmaster’s wife got the gum and when her turn came went into elaborate explanation as to why the minister was giving up the gum-chewing habit. She told of his loose, false back tooth; how the last time he was chew- ing gum, when he took it out in his preparations for 14 THE FUN BOOK prayer meeting he was in such a hurry that the gum got mixed up with the tooth and he swallowed them both—and the tooth not yet paid for! The Slippery Slide. To make this event successful the floor should be fairly well polished and slippery. There are eight con- testants, paired off in twos to make four teams. Each team is given a small rug and at the signal the first runner on each team puts his left foot on the rug and the right one on the floor. He then starts propelling himself down the room just as a child propels a scooter, using the right foot as the motive power and keeping the left one on the rug. At the far end of the room opposite each team is stationed a human post around whom the scooter must go. He then returns to give the rug to the second member of his team who goes through the same performance. Mature and substantial citizens of a community have been known to acquire real skill and real speed in this Slippery Slide! A Snappy Happy New Year. Each guest is provided with from five to ten bright red tags in each of which is stuck a pin, the number of the tags varying with the size of the group. An an- nouncement is made to the effect that any guest who can grasp the right hand of any other guest, shake that hand, make a deep bow and say, ‘‘ Happy New Year to you!’’ is privileged to pin a red tag on the back of that friend whom he took unawares. The first three to dis- pose of all their tags in this way get a prize—and will have earned it. The first three on whose back repose JANUARY 15 a full quota of tags are put on the list of victims slated for a later reckoning. There will inevitably be a great deal of altercation, but it is just as inevitable that such altercation will be of the friendly, foolish kind. However, the leader’s an- nouncement makes it plain that a few rules must be observed, namely: 1. A person’s right hand must not be clasped in his left, thereby making it impossible for another guest to grasp his right hand. (We say ‘‘ Hts right hand’’ ad- visedly. No lady would employ such methods!) 2. The one who first reached out to grasp a hand is ~ the one who is privileged to tag. If right hands go out simultaneously to meet each other it is called a draw and neither one may tag the other. 3. It is absolutely essential to shake hands, bow, and say ‘‘Happy New Year to you!’’ and say it with a grin. Courage. Four of the women who owe a fine are asked to stand facing the group. Each one is given a toy balloon of the sausage variety and told that the one who first blows her balloon to the point where it explodes will be given a prize and that the last one to explode her balloon will have to pay any penalty the other three contestants decide upon. Well ! It takes real courage to blow up a balloon — or anything else to the point where it will explode be- fore your very face. Then too, if you happen to be fat and of the type that can hold in just so long and then must laugh or burst—the steady blowing up of a balloon is no laughing matter. 16 THE FUN BOOK Virtuous Tableaux, Guests are divided into groups according to directions for the division of groups under Suggestions to Leaders. Each group is then given ten minutes in which to pre- pare a stunt that will show the virtue which that par- ticular group is to practice for the coming year. When the ten minutes are up each group in turn is called out to perform, and must continue performing until the audience guesses the virtue they are portraying. The group that gives the best stunt is given a double share of refreshments. It is a wise plan for a leader to have at hand a list of ‘‘virtues’’ as suggestions. The following list is typi- eal: 1. Go to church. (No group needs help on pan- tomiming that stunt!) 2. Pay one’s bills. 3. Tell the truth on all occasions. Chin Chin. “Three of the men on the list of legal victims are politely but firmly requested to play ‘‘Chin Chin.’’ A sheet is spread out on the floor, the three men being asked to kneel on one end of it and then to push the cotton snowball with which each one has been provided to the other end. Chins only may be used as pushers. Double chins serve as admirable pushers. Sticky Snowballs. Four delinquents are cordially invited to participate in a snowball race. Four snowballs are hung in the doorway between two rooms. These snowballs are apples which have had a light coat of white syrup put on them, after which they were dipped in powdered sugar and then again covered lightly with white syrup. They are JANUARY 17 suspended on rubber strings in an open doorway. Each contestant is assigned a snowball and when the signal is given they race to see which can first get three bites. The one who succeeds surely deserves a prize, while all of them deserve a bit of soap and water. A swinging snowball is at best hard enough to catch with one’s teeth, but a swinging snowball suspended on rubber and cov- ered with syrup offers food for thought! Initial Resolves. Just before refreshments each guest is given a card on which is written ‘‘I resolve to ——————..’”’ He is asked to write his name on it and fill in the blank with the resolution he is prepared to make regarding his conduct in the coming year. The only requirement is that the resolution is to be made up of two words, which words are to begin with the initial of the resolver’s name. A typical card reads as follows: ‘‘Fred Jarvey, I resolve to Forget Jennie.’’ Each eard is pinned on its owner’s back and it is the business of guests to go about getting resolutions together with the resolvee’s names. They are to get as many of these as possible but not to let anyone get theirs. After ten minutes a count is called for and the one who got the most is asked to stand before the group and read aloud the resolutions together with the names of the resolvers he has gathered. Some embarrassing disclosures are inevitable. Golash! Women contestants are divided into two lines. The first one in each line is given a pair of large, very floppy golashes. At the signal these two put on their 18 THE FUN BOOK golashes without buckling them and run to the goal and return, giving their golashes to the next runner. This continues until all members of both teams have run the course, a la golashes. This race is as hard to look at as it is to run! Stork Race. hii Men contestants are divided into lines of equal length. The first player in each line takes his right ankle in his left foot, hops to the’ goal and returns to the starting point where he touches off the next runner. This con- tinues until all the players of a line have hopped to the goal and back. The winning line may name some stunt which all the losers must perform. That is, all losers who are not per- manently crippled. Refreshments. The committee may arrange the food on a table past which each guest is invited to file and help himself to refreshments, the only requirement being that every guest is to show the spirit with which he is meeting the New Year by singing lustily some song other than those his neighbors are singing! This has been known to turn out to be harder on the committee than on the performers. For Small Group _Duties. Each guest writes out what he considers to be the duty of an honest and upright citizen. These duties are then collected, mixed and passed around again and each guest is asked to sign the name of his right-hand neigh- bor. After a final collecting and mixing and passing out, JANUARY 19 these duties are then read aloud together with the names of the people whose names are written on them. It would be a bit embarrassing for the ladies in the Old Folks Home if the principal of the High School followed instructions and did his duty every Sun- day afternoon by singing sentimental solos for their entertainment. Advance Fashions. Guests are paired off into couples and are asked to show their conception of what the coming year will bring as to new fashions. Impromptu properties such as hat trimmings, ribbons, old-fashioned hats and cloth- ing of any and every description, newspapers, pins, paste, etc., are made available. After some ten or fifteen minutes of preparation the fashion show starts, each couple in turn parading for the benefit of the other guests. The couple which shows the most startling originality in its conception of com- ing fashions gets the prize. F A f Extinct Fashions, \ VLLAA, me as ~““This may be played backwards and with pencil and paper instead of with real clothes. Each guest is asked to name five articles which will probably become extinct within the coming year, in each case giving his reason, as well as describing the article which will probably re- place the old one. Liavd My Diary. WM Guests are given sheets of paper, on the left of which are written the days of the week. Hach guest is to sign his name at the top, fold it over and pass it on to his 20 THE FUN BOOK right-hand neighbor. Then each player fills in the blank opposite Monday with a four or five word account of what he did on Monday. After this is folded over and passed on he does the same for Tuesday on the new diary handed to him, and so it continues until the week’s diary is completed. Then each guest reads aloud the complete week’s diary he holds, being very careful first to give the name at the top of the paper, the supposed writer of that wild diary. One president of a bank whose diary was made and read in this way learned that on Monday he had had a henna rinse; on Tuesday had attended a musicale; on Wednesday a sewing bee; on Thursday he had pickled pears; on Friday he had cleaned the pantry; on Saturday had made over his little lace dinner dress; and on Sunday he had washed his teeth. I Confess! Immediately upon entering the door each guest is handed a slip of paper on which he is to write his name. After being folded so that the name does not show, those belonging to the men are dropped in one basket while those of the girls go into another. Later in the evening, perhaps just before refreshments, each man is asked to take one of the slips out of the girls’ basket, while the girls take a slip out of the men’s basket. Then, with- out looking at the names on their folded slips of paper guests are to write out a confession, using these words: **T confess that I —_————,”’ filling in the blank with their confessions which must number at least two words. These confessions are again collected, mixed up indis- criminately, and just after refreshments passed around, JANUARY 21 each person being asked to read aloud the confession on his paper together with the name signed to it. It is hardly necessary to go into detail as to Bill Huber’s feelings when he hears the pretty school teacher read aloud the confession she holds which tells the wide and interested world that ‘‘I confess that I use curl papers. Signed, Bill Huber.”’ avert Wesotutions. Guests are divided into two groups, the groups taking turn in pantomiming resolutions until the other side guesses what resolution is being portrayed. Ambitions. Each guest in turn is to pantomime the thing which as a child he most longed to be. The others guess his ambition. In the next round each guest is to demonstrate his childhood conception of the last word in looks. Fat Miss Butterfield, showing her High School ambition to look slinky is a sight for tired eyes. Vicarious Resolutions. Each guest is given a slip of paper on which is written the name of some other guest, for which other guest he is to write a stern resolution. After having performed this pleasant duty guests sign their own names on the backs of these resolutions and turn them in to the hostess, who then proceeds to read aloud the resolution and the person it was written for, leaving it to that unfortunate person to guess who wrote it. If he guesses correctly he can demand any forfeit he chooses of his resolving friend. 22 THE FUN BOOK Vicarious Wishes. The above game may be used with wishes rather than resolutions. It doesn’t take Dr. Marmon an hour or two to guess that it was his wife who wished that he would lose his false tooth, and when he demands that she sing a solo as a forfeit he has the backing of the whole group! A Resolute Story. Resolutions are made out for other guests as in Vica- rious Resolutions, but instead of being read aloud they are given to the hostess who has prepared a story in which blanks have been left. When they are ready the hostess reads this story aloud and whenever she comes to a blank she puts in one of these resolutions. This usually results in ‘‘The hero rushes madly down the hill resolving that I, Mrs. Henry Stowell, will never again dye my mustache!’ I Make My Will. Each guest is asked to write out his will giving away five of his most precious possessions. However, he is not allowed to say to whom he wishes to give those pos- sessions. When he has listed his five possessions he folds the paper so the list cannot be read. When the hostess gives the signal he passes this list to his right-hand neighbor, in turn receiving one from his left-hand neigh- bor. Each guest is then to write out the names of five people to whom the possessions are to be willed, folds over his paper and again passes it to the right. The third and last time each one is to write out five ‘‘uses,’’ one for each of these possessions. The wills are JANUARY 23 then collected, mixed and passed around and in turn, read aloud. The guests are delighted to learn that Deacon Prouty wills his false teeth to Mrs. Barnes for decorative purposes. Refreshments. To find partners have a snowball fight. An imaginary line is drawn across the middle of the room about ten feet off the floor, the men standing on one side the line and the girls on the other. The girls are given strict orders not to move for any reason whatsoever, while the men are asked to turn their backs to the girls and to number off. Each man is then given a snowball and in turn, according to their numbers, they are to throw their snowballs backwards over towards the group of girls, As soon as the hostess sees which girl the snow- ball of man No. 1 hit she calls out, ‘‘Mr. Graham hit Violet Derby!’’ and the two become partners. Imme- diately No. 2 throws his snowball backwards and the girl he hits becomes his partner, and so it SdesiMtil all the men have hit a partner. If a snowball does not hit anyone the girl nearest it picks it up and the man who threw it must try again. Snowballs are made by making small balls of cotton, tying a piece of white thread around them, putting a bit of glue on them and then sprinkling them with diamond dust. All snowballs must be turned in after the snowball fight ! Then, as partners pass before the tables on which the refreshments have been placed, no guest is allowed to help himself until he tells the refreshment committee 24 THE FUN BOOK what he promises to give up eating in the coming year. If stomachs could tell tales! Note: The following games written up elsewhere in the book may be used for January parties: 1. Leap Year Partners. See Dramatic Partnership. In this case the girls do the performing, and are called upon to do men’s occupations, 2. Leap Year Hunt. Any of the Hunts described in the February chapter may be used if mittens instead of hearts are hidden. 3. See the Hallowe’en Witch. Father Time takes the part of the witch and pointing at the different guests in turn, makes out very-much-to-the-point resolutions for them. 4. See Nicknames. Quests use the names they would have chosen for themselves had they been given a choice. Dd. See Celebrities, and Great Men. Guests use their own names. 6. See Hooray! George Washington is replaced by Father Time. CHAPTER II © FEBRUARY For Either Large or Small Groups Heart-y Singing. - After guests have found partners through the grand march they are asked to break ranks and look for the little hearts hidden all over the room. But—no man is allowed to pick up a heart. Instead, as soon as he finds one he puts his finger on it and im- mediately sings up the scale to his partner. As soon as he has done this she may pick up the heart, but not before. Committee members warn them that they will be vigilant in looking for violators of this rule; that any girl found picking up a heart before her partner has sung up the scale to her will be given considerable pub- licity later, her partner making a ‘“‘personal appear- ance’’ with her. Nor is it enough to sing up the scale for the first heart. It must be repeated for every heart. For those with truly musical ears this game is some- what of a hardship. The two who find the most hearts are given a kazoo in appreciation of their nimbleness and musical ability, while the two who found the least are gently but firmly asked to sing a duet. 25 26 THE FUN BOOK Intermittent Heart Hunt. In this hunt for hidden hearts—truly a game of the ages !—a sudden toot of the leader’s whistle calls for an immediate halt. Even if players are in the very act of picking up a nice, red heart they must resist temptation, quickly find their partners, join the line of march and continue in it until another whistle gives them the signal to hunt again. This continues for two more rounds. Then all hearts are counted and a record is given to the leader as the players march past her. The man and the girl who found the most hearts are admitted to be the most agile guests present, so they will be given an opportunity to show their speed in the next event, a race. The two who found the least are deemed the slowest, and as an incen- tive to speed up they are obliged to race against the two winners. All players are then Asced to march past an im- promptu refreshment committee and exchange their paper hearts for an equal number of more honest-to- goodness hearts. Noah’s Ark. “Still another kind of hunt is this Noah’s Ark version. The entire group is divided into smaller groups by using the grand march to line guests up in rows of eight. Each group of eight then forms an ‘‘animal family,’’ the leader telling the different groups what animal they are to be. One group is to be dogs, another group roosters, another group pigs, and so on. The dog group can talk in bow-bows only, the rooster group in eock-a-doodle-doos, and the pigs in oi-ois. After each group has chosen a leader the signal for FEBRUARY 27 the hunt is given and they all start out to hunt for the hidden hearts. But when they find a heart, instead of picking it up they are to put a finger on it and call for their leader by using their animal ealls. The dogs ‘‘Bow-wow!’’ until their leader hears them and comes over to pick up the heart. None but leaders are allowed to pick up hearts, the other players using their animal calls to signal to their leaders that they have found a heart. : After about five minutes of this the call for counting is given. The group that found the most hearts is privileged to act as audience while all the other groups must in turn, and with much gusto, give their animal calls for a full minute for the entertainment of the audience. Perhaps the words ‘‘privileged’’ and ‘‘entertain- ment’’ are poorly chosen! Hooray! <« The leader stands out before the group and makes a speech on which she has put just a little preparation. This speech should be freely interspersed with mention of George Washington. Every time she says his name she is to raise either her right or her left hand, or both hands in gestures. If she raises her right hand the group must cry ‘*Hooray!’’ until she lowers it; and if her left hand, they are to clap vigorously; if both hands, they are to clap and shout ‘‘Hooray!’’ until she lowers her hands. Anyone who does the wrong thing at any time is to come up and stand beside her in front of the others. She will have two-thirds of the group beside her be- fore she has made half her speech. 28 THE FUN BOOK I Am a Great Manz {U4 Oth A player who is a fluent talker is chosen to start this game. He stands before the group and starts to boast about himself, stopping after each sentence for the handclapping and the ‘‘ Hear, hear!’’ which is his due from each listener who does not wish to pay the penalty of having to be the next speaker. Anyone who does not clap his hands after every boasting sentence and ery, ‘‘Hear hear!’’ may be called upon by the speaker to take the floor. It comes hard to the best of goodly women to applaud another woman who has just\made a statement to the effect that she is the only good*looking woman present; that she is the only woman present who is under forty years of age; or under two hundred pounds in weight! tt. Celebrities. TNS Men form one line while girls form another, the receiving committee standing in a line at the front of the room. The first girl goes to the first member of the receiving line, shakes hands with him and tells him her name which must be that of some great celebrity, every guest having been asked to assume the name of some great person. This first guest is passed down the receiving line, in each case being introduced by her famous name. When she reaches the end of the line she becomes a part of it. She is immediately followed by the first man in the men’s line; he is followed by the second girl in the girls’ line and so it continues, first a girl and then a man, a girl and a man, each one using a famous name and becoming a part of the receiving line when they FEBRUARY 29 have finished being introduced and shaking hands with members of that line. In this way every guest will shake hands with every other guest, and every George Washington will have met every Queen of England. My Heart Is Broken! As each guest comes in he is given a red paper heart across which a black line has been drawn to indicate that the heart is broken. He is asked to write on that broken heart some well-known name, preferably that of some guest present or someone well-known in the com- munity. Men are to write a girl’s name, and girls are to write a man’s. As soon as a name is written on a heart it is dropped into a box, those bearing men’s names in one box and those with girls’ names in another. When most of the guests have arrived the men file past the box of hearts on which girls’ names have been written and each man helps himself to one. The girls do the same with the hearts in the other box. When the signal is given they are all to pin these hearts on their backs; are given cards and pencils and are told to go - about finding out who it was that broke the hearts of fellow guests, the name written on the heart indicating who broke the heart of the owner of that heart. Moreover, they are urged to make it as difficult as possible for other guests to see their own hearts. There- fore, while Mrs. Sands is trying to find out who it was that broke Deacon Bower’s heart, he is dodging her and at the same time trying to find out who broke his wife’s heart! In each case, they must take the name of the owner of the heart and the breaker of the heart. After ten minutes of this the lists are collected 30 THE FUN BOOK and the most complete one is read aloud. A prize of a large red candy heart is offered the one who was the speediest in finding out the secrets of other people’s hearts. It proves a bit startling to hear that the minister’s heart was broken by the high soprano. I Give My Heart To : This may be played exactly like ‘‘My Heart is Broken’’ except that instead of the black line indicating the broken heart, are the words, ‘‘I give my heart to .? The reception committee is very canny and hides that part of the heart, covering it and point- ing with a finger to the place where the guest is to sign the name of someone of the opposite sex. It is not only startling, but tragic as well to learn that the principal of the High School is willing—yes, even eager !—to give his heart to Mrs. Burnham, who already has a very healthy husband and four grown-up sons. Hearts and Flours, Each of the four contestants is to kneel in front of a chair on which has been placed a saucer of flour. In this flour there has been placed a large, flat, candy heart with some silly, sentimental verse written on it. Hands are to be held behind them, and when the signal is given the four contestants are to find their hearts—with their teeth. No blowing into the flour from the sidelines is en- couraged! The one who first finds his heart with his teeth gets a real prize, while all contestants get a chance to recuperate! (Truth. FEBRUARY 31 Snub Nose Race. Three unfortunates are to kneel on one end of a sheet, and after having been given a cherry apiece, are told that they are to push their cherries to the other end of the sheet and back, using their noses as pushers. It might be well to have a supply of some soothing salve at hand! Nol $ ‘ “Whe leader sweetly asks five guests to stand before _the other guests who are invited to prepare some ques- tions which would be painful to answer truthfully and which could be answered by the words ‘‘It was I!’’ The victims are then lined up and and the inquisition begins. Questioners must be recognized by the leader, and in turn they are given permission to ask the painful ques- tions which must be answered by the words ‘‘It was I!”’ One by one the victims take turns in answering questions. Beads of perspiration show the stress under which the minister is laboring when he answers the question, ‘‘ Who blew snuff around church last Sunday?’’ by answering “Tt was I!’ \\ Great Men. All guests form a large circle, three or four having been chosen to go into the center. Each guest is asked to take the name of some great person, man or woman, and to keep that name throughout the entire game. When they are ready they are told to get the assumed names of their neighbors on either side, and to be ready to give them at a second’s notice. At the hostess’ whis- tle each one of the people in the center suddenly turns 32 THE FUN BOOK around, points a finger at someone who is not expecting it and asks the assumed names of the people on either side of the person at whom he is pointing. If that per- son fails to give the required information instantly, into the center he goes, changing places with the player who pointed his finger at him. If he is able to give it, his Inquisitor must try to catch someone else napping. The other people in the center have been asking the same information from other players at the same time. Sud- denly the leader calls out, ‘‘Change your neighbors!’’ and everyone is required by law to get a new set of neighbors. The game is continued for about five minutes. It will not take longer than that for George Washington to feel socially inclined to his erstwhile neighbors, Mary Pickford and Paul Revere. _- The Black Heart. Hearts of assorted colors are hidden. Most of the hearts are red; a few are green; some are yellow; one is black and one is blue. No information is given out until after the hunt is over as to what the different hearts might stand for or as to how they will be counted. The hostess may make any scale she chooses, but the following one has been used to good advantage. Red hearts count one apiece; green hearts put one in debt one apiece; yellow hearts put one on the list of cul- prits who are used as martyrs in contests; the finder of the blue heart gets a prize; while the finder of the black heart is used as the victim in some particularly awful hoax. When the final whistle is blown all guests are asked to sit facing the stage or one end of the room where the FEBRUARY 33 hostess is waiting to take the count. She asks the finder of the black heart to come and stand at her right side, and the one who found the blue heart to stand on the other side. Then those who found yellow hearts are asked to raise their right hands, a list is taken and it is announced that they will have to be the contestants in a kiddy kar race. Next, those who found green hearts are to stand, and for every green heart they found they are to give up two red hearts. Finally, the one who found the most red hearts and the one who found the blue heart are given prizes, while the finder of the black heart is led forth to his punishment. Have a Heart! Guests are lined up as for a relay race. The first con- testant in each line is given a silver knife and a piece of wet soap. He is to race to the other end of the room and back and give his knife and soap to the next runner. However, before any runner can give his soap to the next runner he must dip it in the pan of water provided for this purpose. _ This does not exactly make for a more finished per- formance or for a speedier race. Washington Without Lincoln. The leader asks the group to try to be clever enough to follow her directions in the initiation ceremonial of the Washington Without Lincoln Association. Pointing to one player at a time she asks him to rise and imitate her when she says ‘‘ Washington without Lincoln”’ in a falsetto tone, at the same time waving her hands in a foolish fashion and glaring fiercely at her pupil. In 34 THE FUN BOOK all probability he will get it all wrong so she picks out another pupil, changing all her tactics. ! Finally someone arrives. The facial expressions, the handwaving, etc., mean nothing whatsoever. The real point of it is to say ‘‘ Washington’’—without Lincoln! A. Penalty. As a penalty one guest is asked to stand before the sroup and number the words of the first verse and chorus of Yankee Doodle thus, ‘‘Yankee 1, Doodle 2, “went 3, to 4,’’ etc., ete. The Narrow Course. A long piece of white string is used as the ‘‘stem”’ which connects two cherries placed on the floor the width of the room apart. These two cherries with connecting stems form a race-course, there being a course for each, of the two or three contesting teams. The first one of each team stands on one of his cherries, and, when the signal is given must walk on the stem over to his other cherry, return and touch off the next player. This con- tinues until all players of a team have walked the straight and narrow path which George Washington walked. The team which first successfully walks the path gets the prize. However—there is always a ‘‘however’’ in this life— if any runner falls off the string and leaves the straight and narrow path, he must go back to the beginning and start again. Not so good. Refreshments. Refreshments should never be served to guests. They should always be asked to go and get their own. This FEBRUARY 35 may be more trouble than to serve them, but it is in- finitely more social. It should be done in cafeteria style, with partners passing by a small window or open- ing and taking their food from the counter. However, they should be made to pay for the food. When they are all lined up in their cafeteria line, the leader an- nounces that no one will be given a bite to eat until he has demonstrated to the committee in charge how he can sob and weep as though his heart were broken. This sob-fest usually turns into tear-producing laughter. For Small Group Cupid. The outline of the form of a man is drawn in charcoal on a large red heart, the heart of this man being out- lined in charcoal too. This picture is pinned on a cur- tain. The guests are divided into two groups, men in one line and girls in the other, the first one in each line being given a slingshot and a small piece of tissue paper with which to make a paperwad. A bowl of water is at hand. When the signal is given, the first man and girl, standing about ten feet away from the heart, take turns in shooting their paper wads at the heart of the man to see which one can successfully act as Cupid and - come nearest to piercing the heart. The one who strikes the nearest wins a point for his side. In ease of a tie there is no score. The slingshots are then passed on to the next players who take their turn, all the players being provided with paper for paperwads and the sling- shot being passed from one to the other. The members of the team which gets the highest score of Cupid’s shots (and it will not be the girls!) get a 36 THE FUN BOOK lollypop apiece, but these prizes are not given until both slingshots have been confiscated. If this were not a rule, there would soon be no party ! Complimentary Valentines. A great many advertisements from magazines are made available, together with paste and pins and scissors. Each guest in the five minutes allotted is to make a valentine for the guest whose name is written on the top of the large and rather heavy sheet of paper given him. These valentines are to represent exactly what the artist thinks of his subject. Tod Barret thinks Betsy Dolby a peach so he cuts out the picture of a large and luscious peach and pastes it on the top of his paper. He also thinks her a bit too fat so he adds a picture of reducing exercises. He doesn’t at all like the way she sings, so he adds a dog muzzle. He thinks she should so to church more often so on goes the picture of a little country church. He also thinks her heart is sluggish and needs stimulating so he concludes by pasting a large advertisement on the bottom urging her to ‘‘ Have Your Heart Examined!’’ Cherry Race. Guests are divided into two equal lines. The first one in each line is given three or four large cherries which he is to carry on the back of his hand. When the signal is given, these first two contestants with cherries on their hands race to the goal and back, and give their cherries to the next runner who does the same thing. If one cherry, or all the cherries (which is more likely !) roll off, the runner must pick them up unassisted. FEBRUARY 37 My Heart Troubles. — ~ Each guest puts the letters of his name in a column along the left margin of a piece of paper. These papers are gathered, mixed and passed around again, where- upon each guest diagnoses the heart troubles of the per- son the letters of whose name are written on his paper, by writing out adjectives beginning with these letters. After five minutes these are read aloud, and all casual- ties checked up. Jean Norris finds out that her heart is jaundiced, empty, absent, needless, naughty, ornery, rundown, rattled, icy and scandalous. My Future. This is played like My Heart Troubles except that one’s future 1s planned for one. Jean Norris might find that she was going to be a junkdealer, editor, an avia- trix, a nonentity, etc., etc., cruel world without end. Again, guests might help each other discover future fortunes, which could easily include for our friend Jean, ~ jewels, elephants, alms, and nuts! Word Hunting. Complimentary words which could be used in mak- ing up valentines are written on small red hearts and hidden all around the room. The prize goes to the first one who finds enough words to make a logical and effusive valentine message. Valentine Hunt. Little favors are hidden all around the room, each one having on it the name of one of the guests. No one is allowed to tell another guest where his valentine is, but 88 THE FUN BOOK each one must search until he finds his own valentine. Guests are warned that the last four to find their favors are to be victims in the Hearts and Flours Contest— than which nothing could be worse. My Dream. Each guest is to write his name on the top of his piece of paper and then pass it to his right-hand noigh- bor, who, from the magazine pages available makes a picture of the dream this first person had as to what he wanted for a sweetheart. These revelations passed around later make for human interest ! Fishpond. The old-fashioned ‘‘Fishpond’’ is played as a contest between two teams who fish for hatchets, or cherries, or hearts. The team which first succeeds in a successful haul for each of its members wins the prize. George and Martha. The old-fashioned ‘‘Ruth and Jacob’’ may be played using the names of George and Martha rather than Ruth and Jacob. Valentine Postoffice. A valentine is prepared and labeled for each guest, the valentine taking the shape of a small favor and Some good advice to go with it. Each guest is called up to the postoffice in turn, and he must open his pack- age and read aloud the advice. Edward Braun, for example, is given a nice white egg and advised to beat it. FEBRUARY 39 Initial Stun ht (varualre Each guest is given a piece of paper on which he is asked to write his initials, initials which may yet be those of a great man, like Washington or Lincoln. These papers are collected, mixed up and passed around again. Guests are then asked to think of some ridiculous stunt, the words of which begin with the letter on the paper they hold. They are to write out brief directions for that stunt on the paper. When everyone has done this the papers are again collected, sorted out, and then passed to the ones whose initials are written out on the top of each piece of paper. Needless to say, the owners of the fatal initials are then privileged to obey the orders written out on their papers. It is carefully explained that all great men should be able to take orders. Even that does not make it easy for Charles Graham who is shy and never ‘‘acted’’ in his life, to obey the order for ‘‘cute ges- tures,’’ but it is up to him to simper and cavort to the immense satisfaction of his onlookers; and the minister, whose name is Willis Nott, is politely but firmly re- quested to ‘‘wink naughtily.’’ Much against his wishes he has to wink naughtily at all the ladies present! His poor performance speaks well for his habits. Marooned. © The men form one circle and the girls another, the two circles being as far apart as possible so that the players in the two circles cannot see who is marooned each time. A large red paper heart is laid out in each circle in such a way that the players cannot avoid step- ping on it when marching around in a circle. Players 40 THE FUN BOOK are told that they must walk across the heart and not jump over or around it. When the music starts they are to march around in a circle, and when the whistle suddenly blows and the music stops the one in each circle who is caught stepping on the heart is taken out by the leader, and these two awkward ‘‘offenders’’ are made partners. This continues until all of them have been caught marooned on the heart and have thus found partners. a three feet in diameter, and are made out of red paper. 2. See Be-witched Hearts. 3. See The Bump Reader. Guests’ hearts are read. 4. See Christmas Messages. Valentine messages are sent down the line. 5. See Piggy. Use a candy heart in the middle of the string. 6. See Hidden Gifts, and Gifts on a String. Valen- tines or favors are used in place of gifts. CHAPTER III ) MARCH For Either Large or Small Groups Wearing of the Green. Each guest has been warned to wear something vividly green in the most prominent place possible on his cloth- ing. It is hoped that some of the guests will forget, for the receiving committee is all set for those who chose to disregard the warning. A committee at the door carefully examines all guests as they come in, and if the green they are wearing is not sufficiently green or sufficiently prominent they pay the penalty of having to wear green spots the rest of the evening. The spots are circles of bright green paper, about one inch in diameter, with pieces of gummed paper pasted to the wrong side so that they may be wet and stuck on the face in the most unbecoming places the committee can find. | Green spots on the cheekbones always add greatly to one’s natural beauty. Any wearer of the spots who **loses’’ his two spots during the evening is given four spots as consolation. Another way of having ‘‘forgetters’’ pay a penalty is to have both ears decorated with large green bows which are to be worn all through the party, regardless of what this may do to individual styles of beauty. Nor 41 42 THE FUN BOOK are the bows to be attached to hair covering the ear. The bows are to be tied around the ear, both ears being fully exposed to the light of day. Every woman knows what that does to her beauty! If no one forgets to wear vivid green, the hostess appoints herself a committee of one to decide who is not sufficiently vivid and sufficiently green, thereby pro- viding herself with an alibi and with victims for the Wearing of the Green. Still another punishment is to have the men taken aside by the willing committee to have nice hair ribbons of brilliant green cheesecloth attached to a lock of their hair. They are to keep them there all evening. The failure to do so brings an additional penalty of having to serve as a victim in a hoax. Girls who are without some green adornment are given nice, large green neck- ties tied in a bow tie, and these too are to be worn all evening, regardless of how unbecoming they are to individual styles of beauty. Nicknames, Instead of asking guests to introduce themselves in perfectly proper fashion, ask them to do it in very improper fashion. Girls are lined up against one wall while men line up against the other. The first man is then asked to go across the room and introduce himself to the first girl, who introduces him to the second girl, and so he passes down the line of girls. He is closely followed by all the other men who in this manner are introduced to every girl present. But—only nicknames or first names are allowed, and they must be used through the entire evening. The resultant hilarity just about permanently cripples the MARCH 43 laughing apparatus of some of the less hearty brothers and sisters. Imagine the social effect of calling one’s minister his college nickname, ‘‘Peanuts,’’ all through an evening! Shamrock Hunt. A great many shamrocks or, if possible, little paper snakes, are hidden all about the room. Guests form a circle and to the accompaniment of march-time music they march around in a circle. Suddenly a whistle ~ blows, at which signal they are to break ranks and hunt for a shamrock. As soon as each one finds one he shouts, ‘‘ Hooray!’’ runs back to the center of the room, drops his shamrock in a basket held by the leader and joins the line of march around the room, the music being a continuous performance throughout the entire game. _A few seconds after they have all joined the march again the whistle is heard a second time, and again they all hunt for a shamrock, shouting ‘‘ Hooray !’’ when they find it and bringing it back to the leader before joining the marching circle. However, the supply of shamrocks soon runs out and it becomes a difficult matter to find a shamrock which is not present. The leader starts to count immediately after she blows her whistle, and anyone who cannot pro- duce a shamrock before she counts to twenty is given a seat of honor, which seat is located on the floor in the middle of the room where a large rug or newspapers have been placed. All the players who were successful in their search march around them, but gradually the *“Hoorays!’’ grow fewer, the outer circle gets smaller, and the inner one correspondingly larger. The prize 4:4. THE FUN BOOK goes to the last person to find a shamrock and ask ‘* Hooray !”? : ae y How Do You Do! if : As a St. Patrick’s Day mixer vie a group of young people who are not quite sure that they are going to have a good time, there is nothing more mixing, men- tally and socially, than this game. It is so futile to ask guests to ‘‘shake hands and be social!’’ There is no incentive, and the only ones who respond to the request are those who do it from a sense of duty. But a sense of duty is hardly conducive to a truly social spirit, so instead of appealing to a sense of duty let a leader appeal to her guests’ sense of humor, as well as their sense of safety first! The leader announces that guests are to shake hands with each other while soft sweet music is heard; that suddenly her whistle will blow and the music stop, and that all guests who are shaking the hand of another guest are to hold those joined hands high in the air and shout ‘‘How do you do!’’ so that the leader can easily see that they are obeying orders and are shaking hands in all good faith. Any guest who is not at that particular moment shaking the hand of some other guest is—out of luck! He will be spied by the leader, his name will be taken, and he will be used as a victim later on in the evening in some hoax. This unfortunate usually thinks that he is then to drop out of the handshake game, but after his name is taken he must get back into the group and take his chance of getting caught again without a fellow handshaker when the next whistle blows. This announcement is always sufficient to start the MARCH 46 most unsocial group ever assembled into violently shak- ing the hands of any and every other person present. The leader makes it plain too, in no uncertain terms, that no one is allowed to continue shaking hands with the same person. This continues for about three or four minutes, the whistle blowing at intervals of thirty sec- onds and the leader immediately searching the crowd for unsocial laggards who are not at that moment en- gaged in earnestly shaking the hand of some other guest. “="""Y£ she likes, the leader may announce that both hands ; must be ‘‘shook’’ and held up in the air when the whistle blows; or that guests must shake hands backwards or left-handed. It will hardly be necessary to urge a group to be ‘*social’’ after a handshake of that kind. \ Muddy March. Contestants are lined up as for a relay race, the first one in each line being given two waste baskets. When the starting signal is given each of these first con- testants is to put his right foot in one of his baskets, put the empty basket one step ahead, and then put his left foot in that; take his right foot out of its basket, put that basket one step ahead, and so forth, continuing in this manner all the way to the goal and return, giv- ing his basket to the next runner. Contestants are not allowed to shuffle along with both feet in baskets. They will try to. March Madness. The place in which this race is to be run should be made as clear of furniture as is possible. There should be two lines of contestants, with about three in each 46 THE FUN BOOK line. The first one in each line is given a cane and at a signal is to plant the cane firmly on the floor, put his forehead down on the head of the cane, and keeping it there, is to walk around in a circle five times, count- ing out loud. When he has finished the fifth round he is to walk as rapidly as possible to the other end of the room, touch the wall, and then go back to give the cane to the next contestant who does the same thing. The line which first completes this wins a prize and a long rest. After a leader had tried this stunt himself he will understand the advice to have the room cleared of fur- niture as far as possible. The first time the writer tried it she did her best to walk over the piano. Onlookers may think the wild courses taken by the contestant after the round and round process are exaggerated in their zigzaggedness. Mashed Potatoes. Two men are asked to kneel down before chairs on which have been placed saucers of mashed potatoes, one for each. When the signal is given they are to start in eating their potato without the use of their hands. The decorative effect on their faces will soon be notice- able, this last being a conservative statement. Even the handsomest man will look somewhat goofy with mashed potato all over his face, his nose bearing the greater share of the burden. One Third of a Pig. If there are more girls than men present (and there will be) let the men take chairs and sit in a large cir- cle, each man seeing to it that there is a vacant chair MARCH 47 at his right. All the girls and women form a circle out- side this ring of chairs and to the accompaniment of music they march around until suddenly the music stops. This is the signal for them to get a chair—and a man—and to immediately begin talking to that man. All girls who did not get a chair and a man become one third of a pig, and everyone is asked to notice expressly who they are. But any ‘‘third’’ who sees a girl who has captured a chair and a man but is not in conversation: with that man, may quickly call the leader’s attention to it, and change places with the unsocial girl who then becomes a third of a pig. The leader allows exactly one minute for conversation and then asks all girls to march around the outside again, repeating the same performance. Each time a airl ‘‘misses out’’ she becomes another third. There are only three thirds to a pig, however, and when a girl has come to that regrettable state of affairs she is to rise and give her best possible imitation of a pig’s ‘‘Oi, o1!”’ all through the conversation period. Emerald Isle. “Several “Emerald Isles’’ are cut out of large pieces of green paper. These isles are placed on the floor in such a way that the guests, all of whom have taken partners and formed a double circle, cannot avoid cross- ing the isles in their marching. When the music starts everyone marches around in a circle, no one being allowed to jump over or straddle the isles, but being obliged to go directly across Ireland. Suddenly the music stops, and anyone caught on Irish territory is taken to the platform or some other prominent place. This continues until the circle gets so small that the 48 THE FUN BOOK isles must be moved closer together. The last couple to stay in the circle without getting caught in Ireland gets the prize. It is not entirely forbidden for the pianist to watch j oa the different couples and/ to stop the music just asa | ~» stoutish couple is about to step in Ireland. Their efforts to keep from completing that step are a Py ipemn to look upon. Complimentary Abbreviations. All guests are seated, resting after some strenuous game. As a very brief fill-in before starting some more lengthy game the leader may ask everyone present to crook his forefinger under the chin of his right-hand neighbor, and then very quickly and without stopping to think, to give the abbreviation for quart. They will look like ‘‘Cuties!’’ They are then asked to point their fingers at tien neighbors’ head and just as quickly to give the abbre- viation for mountain. The leader takes no responsibility whatsoever for re- sultant arguments! Piggy. A candy shamrock has been placed in the middle of a string which is about one yard long. A fat man is placed at either end of the string. When the signal is given both contestants put their end of the string in their mouths and start to chew their way to the sham- rock. The one who gets to it first certainly deserves it for a prize. Flat-heads. All guests are divided into lines of equal length, the first one in each line heing given a large potato. When ee MARCH 49 the signal is given all these first players put their po- tatoes on their heads, run to the goal and return, and give their potatoes to the next runners. That is, they -may run as long as the potato stays on their heads, but few of us are flat-headed enough to be able to balance a potato on our heads and run at the same time! When- ever the potato falls, the runner himself must pick it up and put it back on his head before he can continue. ~ Pan Balance. This is played exactly like the race above except that the potato is placed on a pie tin which must be balanced on the head during the race. . Potato Relays. 1. Groups are divided into columns of equal length, all players facing the front of the room. A potato is passed down the line over the heads of the players. The team which wins two out of three events wins the contest. 2. This may be used with the potato in a pan as it is in Pan Balance. 3. Potatoes must be rolled to goal and return. 4, Each contestant must peel a potato. This is par- ticularly good for men contestants. 5. Contestants are on roller skates and balance pota- toes on heads. A Mad March Party. Hverything is jumbled in this party, from the invita- tions to the refreshments. Invitations are as incoherent as it is possible to make them, guests being invited to stay away from the party; then given explicit direc- 50 THE FUN BOOK tions as to how to get there; how to dress for the party —to wear one white and one black shoe, or a bedroom slipper and a riding boot; to carry a fan and a muff. The decorations should be just as mixed up, an onion and a carnation joining forces in one vase; an empty kerosene can forming the receptacle for a lovely bunch of roses. Games should be of the Hallowe’en and April Fool type, including tricks, and blindfolded and back- ward contests. A Trip to Ireland. The group is divided into two teams. A ‘‘race- course’’ has been carefully planned by the committee in charge. Each team is taken in charge by a leader who leads his team to the place in the building which is the farthest distant from the room in which the refresh- ments are to be served. The two teams are thus as far apart as they can possibly be, and at the same time are at equal distances away from the refreshments. When a shrill whistle is heard, both teams start racing for the dining-room and the one that gets there first is to be served by the losing team. However, there are obstacles to overcome. All mem- bers of a team must have hands on the shoulders of the one in front of them, and must keep them there. The line must be unbroken at the time it reaches the ‘dining- room. Also, the race-course must be as full of difficul- ties as the committee can make it. It should be a wind-. ing course, up stairways and down stairways, through cellars and over boxes and chairs, the committee being very careful to have the two courses equally difficult! The guests will have earned their refreshments by the time they have taken this course. Add to this the MARCH 51 fact that they are racing against another team—and there will be excitement aplenty. he For Small Groups — * Potato Jerusalem. ) og This is played on the principle of the old-fashioned ‘Going to Jerusalem’’ but potatoes are used instead of chairs. Players form a circle and when the music stops snatch for one of the potatoes which have been placed in a circle on the floor. The one who does not get one ooes to the center of the circle. Each time one more potato is taken away from the circle, so the lonesome person in the center will soon have plenty of company. Kiss the Blarney Stone. Six or seven of the guests are asked to leave the room and are brought in one at a time; are blindfolded and asked to kiss the Blarney Stone three times. The first two times they kiss a stone over which a clean piece of gauze is placed for each contestant. The third time, however, they receive a salty answer to their kisses. A _ large lump of salt is substituted for the rock. Blarney. Partners are found in the following manner :—Men go to one side of the room and form a line while the women go to the other. They draw shamrocks from a hat, each shamrock bearing a number, those of the girls corresponding with the numbers of the men. When they all have their shamrocks and their numbers the leader asks the first man in the line to call out his number loudly and to blarney his unknown partner by telling 52 THE FUN BOOK her just what he thinks is the loveliest thing about her. After he has delivered his blarney the girl who has the corresponding number steps out and the two go to the sidelines together to listen in on the other blarneying. This continues all down the line until all of the men have found partners and all the girls have been duly blarneyed. To her dying day prim Miss Simpson will thrill over the fact that Captain Brooks told her she was as a lovely summer morn! Note the following adaptations: 1. See The Vicious Donkey. Use a pig. 2. See Egg Balance. Use potatoes. 3. See Hooray! Substitute St. Patrick for George Washington. 4. See Cherry Race. Use potatoes. CHAPTER IV fia Ti 3 SP * mer = + jit. For Either Large or Small Groups A large sign is hung on the outside of the house, reading ‘‘Not at home!’’ If the party is to be given at night this sign should be illuminated. As guests come in the front door a hand is extended in greeting through a curtain at the side. However, when it is grasped for a handshake it does the most un- canny thing a hand can do—it comes off! It is, of course, a stuffed glove held through the cur- tain by means of a stick. As soon as it is grasped the stick is withdrawn. There are more pleasant sensations. Signs may be hung all around the rooms wishing the ~ guests a ‘‘Merry EHaster!’’ a ‘‘Happy Labor Day!’’ and a fond ‘‘Good night !’’ Misguided proverbs too, add to the seriousness of the occasion. ‘‘He laughs best who gathers no moss!’’ is very much to the point. Rebecca’s motto, ‘‘ When joy and duty clash let duty go to smash!’’ is always welcomed at an April Fool party. : Other signs warn guests that as they sew so shall they rip; that they can kid gloves but they can’t string beans. 53 54 THE FUN BOOK Let us hope there is no significance attached to the signs bearing the words ‘‘There is no place like home’’; ‘‘Speed the parting guest!’’ ‘‘For rent!’’ ‘‘To be vacated !”’ ! Decorations are April Foolish with a vengeance. A little tin shovel with a coy bit of red ribbon tied to its handle hangs in a door way. A frying pan hangs in another doorway. A flour sifter with artificial flowers in it graces the piano. The shade has been removed from a tall lamp and a floor mop is tied to it in such a way that the mop takes the place of the shade. News- papers substitute for rugs and curtains. Hideous chromos are hung on the walls, as are the blatant mot- toes and signs mentioned above. The receiving line should be very cool in its welcome of the guests and pretend to know none of them, asking in each case, ‘‘The name, please?’’ False Fronts. If the guests have been able to stand up under this effusively cordial hospitality they are invited to take off their wraps and put on the false faces which each guest was asked to bring. These false faces may be ever so impromptu and home-madey. It is always wise for the committee to have some extra false faces at hand for those who forgot to bring their own. As each guest puts on his false face he also pins on a large number which the hostess has given him. In every way he is to disguise his personality and his voice so that when the first event of the evening is announced he may be ‘‘protected.’’ Guests are given cards and pencils and are told to find out who is behind the various April Fool faces. As soon as they can discover an APRIL 55 identity they put down the name and number of the individual. At the end of a ten minute interval the hostess calls for all the cards, and while another game is going on the cards are checked up. The guest whose identity was guessed the most times is called upon to pay a heavy penalty. The guest who correctly guessed the most identities is given a shiny policeman’s star and is privileged to act as policeman for the rest of the evening, and check up and fine any guests who are not coming up to his particular idea of April Fool Jollification. He may‘fine Mrs. Morrison, who is weak from laugh- ter, for being such a killjoy, and little Mr. Carson pays a penalty for having feet too big for any party! These April ool faces are to be worn through at least half an hour of the evening’s fun. If there is any- thing more ridiculous or moxg socializing than a group of solemn or hideous false faces playing games I have yet to see it. No Fair! Nothing ever was or ever will be any funnier than this April Fool stunt. One of the most socially inclined guests is privately told that a newcomer in the group is extremely deaf, and that it would be a kindness to single him out and be nice to him and talk to him, being sure to shout directly in his ear. The newcomer is told the same thing about this man. Under some pretext, and quite as a casual thing, both of them are sent out of the room on separate errands. While they are gone the group is told the situation and asked to help along the delusion. To see two men, both of them possessed of perfect 56 THE FUN BOOK hearing, shouting in each other’s ears, laboring under the impression that they are doing their painful duty, is a sight to make strong men weep! An April Foolish Mixer. Large molasses kisses are passed around. After the paper is taken off they are to be put in the mouth entire and chewed, while guests pass down the receiving line shaking hands with other guests and calling them by name. This last is made inevitable by having a receiv- ing line stand in place while all guests form a line, alter- nating a man and a girl; each one in turn goes up to the receiving line, introduces himself, shakes hands with each one in the line and then becomes a part of it, standing next to the last one in line. The rule of calling every other guest by name, as well as shaking hands, should be strictly enforced. While enunciation could hardly be ‘said to be improved by an accompaniment of the chewing of molasses kisses, nevertheless the resulting difficulties surely do effect the social spirit of a group most favorably ! To greet the minister with ‘‘Good eyening Reverend Ridenbaugh!’’ with a mouth full of a molasses kiss, calls for a nimble tongue, a large mouth and a social spirit. April Fool Jump. Three or four stout men are chosen—with friendly determination on the part of the leader—for the victims in this race. A washline is stretched across the room, some two feet off the floor. In order to get an idea of its height these men are asked to try Jumping across it in turn, as they are to jump it blindfolded in a few minutes. After they have all jumped it with their eyes APRIL 57 open they are blindfolded at the same time and one at a time are faced in the right direction and told to jump the rope blindfolded. In the meantime the rope has been removed. Three substantial citizens of the community making a frantic jump over a rope which is not present, do not exactly ymake for a solemn occasion. »/ ~., April Fool Harmonics. iy There is nothing more April Foolish than this stunt. _ Two people who really can sing are asked to sing a duet. Then for an encore they sing another duet, but this time both the singers and the accompanist get con- fused and each one carefully chooses a key which is en- tirely different from the ones the other two are using. The soprano may sing in one flat, the alto in two sharps, while the pianist plays in C natural, all of them keeping their faces perfectly straight all the while. However, the audience is funnier than the perform- ance. First there is evidence of pain; then of wonder- ment as to whether it is supposed to be right or not; and finally the pent-up pain will not be contained any longer and the performers are inevitably drowned out in / the helpless laughter of the audience! Deformity Race. Contestants must first race as though they were knock-kneed. Next they must toe in, and finally, toe out. April Fool Races. Any backward or blindfolded race, or a contest in which the contestant’s feet are tied together or ham- pered in some way, serve very well as April Fool Races, pot ft i x vt ‘i ae ¥ wv Wier. Ho Ode Pet. Ay, Ko z 4 bth. TAAUAA (a dh he aga 7 he abd 58 op dl ia. THE PUN | Book™! { Ph ae fy bas CE: VE April Fool Hunt. rf ve 43 aa Guests are asked to search for hidden candies. Two very lovely prizes are exhibited as an incentive. It does not take more than an hour or so for the hunters to discover that the hidden candies—ain’t! gig April Fool Locomotion. +, No April Fool party is complete without a kiddy kar te race. If ever contestants did look April Foolish! Four ~*~ of the stoutest or longest men are invited (which is hardly the word!) to run this race, the four of them making two teams, two men on a team. The first one of each team is given a kar and at the signal sits down on it and without a push from his partner starts propelling his kar to the goal. Ofttimes he only starts. If he does get back he gives his kiddy kar to the other member of his team who goes through the same torment. April Fool Spelldown. Words must be spelled backwards, the leader giving a certain time limit to each speller. One hard-hearted teacher gave Russian names at a recent April Fool Spelldown! The Vicious Donkey. The picture of a donkey with a huge ear is drawn in charcoal on a large piece of white paper. About ten of the guests or a losing team are asked to go into another room and are brought back one at a time. As each one is brought in he is shown the picture of the donkey, and told that after he is blindfolded he is to go up and poke his finger in the donkey’s ear. He is then blindfolded, led up to the donkey, and told to poke ahead! APRIL 59 Just as he is about to poke, one of the leader’s assistants who has been ‘‘casually’’ standing near the donkey, kneels down and as the exploring forefinger is - about to touch the picture he gives that finger a ees bite. It never takes very long for the blindfolder to come off! The healthy bite is accomplished by using some toy animal with teeth, or one of those large clips with which office papers are clipped together; anything in fact that will give a most unpleasant sensation to a blindfolded person who is about to poke his finger in a donkey’s ear. To be bitten, even gently, when one is blindfolded is a real sensation. April Fool Mending Party. For a group of women this 7s an April Fool event. Their invitations ask them to bring a bit of difficult mending along, something which they have rather dreaded doing themselves. After all the guests have arrived the hostess asks them to exchange mending, sight unseen. Le" Refreshments. It would not be amiss to have garlic in the refresh- ments. It might help too to pass around perfectly bona fide candies. Guests always avoid candy on April Fool’s Day. The refreshment committee can feast on the dis- dained candy after the company goes home! To make the supper hour truly April Foolishly formal, guests are given the most impossible hats which the hostess has been able to find. Each guest must wear his hat all through the supper hour. If there is anything 60 THE FUN BOOK funnier than a large, fat man wearing a lady’s little hat, the hat being trimmed with pink ribbon and forget-me- nots,—the man all the time trying to look unconscious of his appearance—it has escaped my observation. The napkins are squares of cheesecloth; the chairs are wooden boxes; the dishes are paper containers; and the silver takes the shape of tin spoons. For a further assurance that all guests are perfectly at ease, the hostess announces that anyone who eats with his right hand instead of his left will have all his re- / 4 37 freshments taken away from him, ae Le 4 EASTER /¢ S| OvpRAe . For Small Groups < Rabbits’ Ears. As each guest comes in and takes off his wraps he is given a headdress peculiarly suited to the season. It is a pair of rabbits’ ears, which can easily be made or bought. They are usually made of white crepe paper, and are wired so that they will stand appropriately— and unbecomingly—straight up into the air. They may be fastened on with hairpins. These ears lend atmosphere to any social function. The Musical Egg. \ The hostess passes a hard-boiled egg to her right-hand neighbor with instructions for her to hold it while she sings up the scale. After the holder of the egg sings she quickly passes on the egg to her right-hand neighbor. This guest too must hold it until she sings up the scale before passing it on to her neighbor. The object is to APRIL 61 sing the scale and to get rid of the egg as soon as pos- sible in order not to be caught with it at the crucial moment, these crucial moments being determined by the hostess who blows a tiny whistle at intervals of thirty seconds. Any guest caught with the egg in her hand when the whistle blows is listed. These listed guests are later on invited to pay the penalty of their ‘‘careless- ness.”’ It is remarkable how many guests who just cannot sing up the scale, can sing up the scale in certain situa- tions! | «The Feminist Easter Bonnet. Each guest is given a man’s old hat. It may be a derby or an old straw hat, any kind of a man’s hat. The name of the guest is pasted inside. (The writer’s advice to the hostess is that it should be an old hat!) On the table are placed bits of brightly colored ribbon and chiffon, flowers, feathers, and any kind of ornament that would lend dignity to a man’s hat. Needles, thread, pins and scissors are provided. When the signal is given each guest is given exactly two minutes in which to put some ornament on his hat. At the end of that two min- utes, no matter how incomplete his work is, he is to pass his hat to his right-hand neighbor and in turn to receive one from his left-hand neighbor. Trimmers are again given two minutes in which to add to the artistic develop- ment of these hats, after which they are again passed to the right. . This continues until the hats come back to their orig- - Inal owners, who, it must be. confessed, do not always recognize them but have to look inside for their identifi- cation tickets! The one who must own up to the worst- 62 THE FUN BOOK looking hat is obliged to wear it during the rest of the party, while the owner of the best-looking hat is given the hat as a reward for his skill. If the hostess has a shock-proof eye she may ask all guests to wear their hats for the rest of the evening. ' Fortune Telling Eggs. | 7 3S | Each guest is given an Easter egg, painted in a color which is light enough so that writing done on the sur- face of the egg can easily be deciphered. Guests are given pencils and are asked to write their initials on the large end of these eggs. The eggs are then collected, mixed up and again passed around. Guests are then given exactly one minute in which to write the answers to each of the questions the hostess asks, the only require- ment being that they use the initials on their eggs for the first letters of the two words to their answers. Answers must be written on the eggs. The following is the list of questions for which the hostess wishes two-worded answers: What does he look like? How old is he? What does he sing like? His pet hobby? His one hope? His saving grace? After all the questions are answered the eggs are again collected, and again mixed up and passed around, this time for reading. Each guest in turn reads the initials on his egg, gives the name of the person to whom the initials belong, and then reads the descriptive sketch. Imagine the amazement of stout Henrietta Forbes when she hears that she looks like a helpless feather- > oR go Po APRIL 63 weight; that she is ‘‘Heaven forbid!’”’ as to age; that her pet hobby is nOPD aE Soria sil “The Egg Balance. ; Y oF : Guests are asked to line up in two lines, the first one in each line being given a yardstick and an egg which is hardboiled, very hardboiled! When the signal is given these first contestants race to the end of the room and back balancing their eggs on their yardsticks. They give the sticks and the eggs to the next one in line. This continues until all members of a team have raced, the team to finish first being given a box of Haster candies which they may or may not divide with their slower fel- -low guests, just as they like. If an egg falls off the stick the runner must pick it up, go back to the starting point, get another egg and begin over again. We say ‘‘the runner,’’ but we have yet to see the guest the dangerous end of a yardstick. Easter Eggshell Contest. The contents of eggs are blown out and the empty shell must be blown to the goal and return. An eggshell may be used as a football on a table, the objeet being for the two opposing teams to blow the foot- ball over the enemy’s goal line (far edge of the enemy’s territory). The Red-eared Bunny. A small bunny with bright red ears is put on display before the guests, with the explanation that this bunny is to be hidden somewhere in the room in such a way that only his ears will be visible; that when the signal who can do any running while he is balancing an egg on Wy Wg 64 THE FUN BOOK is given guests are to go and look for the red ears; that when they find them they are to say nothing at all about it, but to sit calmly and sing as musically as they can some song published at least five years ago, no two guests being allowed to sing the same song. By the time that all but one guest have found the red ears there will probably be need of smelling salts and ear muffiers. The last guest to find the ears is requested to stand and sing K-K-Kay. Any guest who sits down without singing—whether he can or not—pays the same penalty as the last one to find the ears. Note the following adaptations: 42) Seat Discard.) Meet a, 2. See a Snappy Happy New Year. Use ‘‘A happy - Kaster to you!’’ 3. See Piggy. Use a prune. 4. See A Mad March Party. Cr uF ta £* aes! CA HALA eet pb ear Bets. < 4 2. ‘hb Ae fea as ‘ $ hak > a Hl eo af iy r } f Moe CHAPTER v Us blbed € | MAY ; For Either Large or Small Groups Discard. May is the time for all good housekeepers to clean house and to put in the discard all the undesirable and unnecessary articles of clothing which have been hanging about the house all winter. (HEather’s favorite fishing clothes.are.a good example.) Guests have been asked to bring some piece of wearing apparel which has found its way into the discard and which they no longer want. Before they appear in the social hall they are asked to put on that discarded piece of apparel and to wear it until someone else asks - for it in exchange for > the thing he ‘wishes to eet rid of. These things must be worn all evening, one’s only hope resting on the chance of being able to change one’s own misfit for that of someone else. At the close of the evening’s program all these discards are put in a box for some charitable institution, — If you think it, makés for a more solemn occasion for the minister to go “hout all evening wearing his wife’s faded hug-me-tight which he can wish off on no one else, you really aremistaken. Men's s Fashion Show. YEP RNG Baster § seems to be the time for displaying 65 ae yar Pry 3 % une 2 66 THE FUN BOOK new spring clothes, people are always interested in lovely dresses and hats and wraps, especially when the models are unique. The models for this Fashion Show are unique to say the least. The mannikins for the display are men taken from the group of guests, men who have in no way been prepared for this bit of publicity. The displays themselves and the general order of things have been carefully worked out beforehand by the committee in charge so there may be no hitch in the proceedings. It is unnecessary to add that the announcer is given free rein! The mannikins are of course dressed up behind the scenes. It is hard enough on the audience to see the finished product. Nuan. = CUAL UVCHe «6 The mannikin selected by the aidrerids as i ae: the most touchingly lovely is.given-a-vanity Case-as-a- prize. Se Spring Flowers. The entire group is divided into smaller groups, each of the small groups being assigned the name of some flower and asked to prepare a pantomime which will in some way show the character of the flower they represent. The following flowers have been used to good advan- tage: 1. The poppy. (Heads representing flowers pop up everywhere. ) The modest violet. Tulip. Rose. (Much rising). Forget-me-not. Sweet William. Thistle. Sunflower (son-flour). Cl SEER IE anesthe MAY 67 9. Jack in the Pulpit. 10. Four o’clock. 11. Dandelion. 12. Ladies’ Slippers. Men are asked to file past a certain table on which have been placed various kinds of wraps, hats, furs, rib- bons, umbrellas, gloves, flowers and the like. Each man is given a small bundle of these things by the committee in charge, whereupon he immediately goes to his partner and proceeds to dress her up in the things at hand. The ladies are warned against being of any assistance to their partners. After the five minutes allowed all couples line up for the grand march which will lead past the judges, who look with critical—and oftimes hysterical—eye on the handiwork of mere man. The man who best succeeded in really making his partner look like something gets a lady’s pocket handkerchief as a prize, while the man whose unfortunate partner looks the most terrific gets a he-man’s bandanna. «) Spring Beauties Race. _ fter the flower families have done their stunts in Spring Flowers, each family selects a leader and then forms a line behind him, each one putting his hands on the shoulders of the one in front of him. These teams line up at the back of the room, the leader seeing to it that the lines are even. The daffodils help to fill out the roses’ line if there are not enough roses, and the pinks help the anemones, the point being that all families must have an even number. When they are all ready the 68 THE FUN BOOK leader announces a race between families. Opposite each team is a human ‘‘post’’ around whom the team must run. Each event is different, the hostess calling out the dif- ferent events and keeping score of the winning team of each event. The first one is a walking race. Hands must be kept on shoulder throughout the race! The next time they are allowed to run; next, to hippity hop; and lastly, to sing as loudly as they can while they are hop- ping on one foot! No team is counted as a winning team if the line is broken at the finish. It is not only the winning team that deserves a prize. Adornment. “The committee has collected a number of small things which are usually used for purposes of personal adorn- ment, enough of them so that every guest may have one —whether he wants one or not. Most of them are things which have been put into the discard, like a faded arti- ficial rose; an old hat; a shawl; a pair of lace mits; a gaudy fan; or a fancy comb. About half-way through the evening’s program these evidences of an earlier vanity are put into grabbags, the guests filing past the bags and taking just one ‘‘grab.’’ Whatever they draw must be worn the rest of the evening. The picture Mr. Graves makes in an Eton jacket is something to remember. Spring Will Come. Pour well chosen victims are asked to sit in chairs — before the group, are blindfolded and then asked to say as loudly as possible ‘‘Spring will come!’’ the object being to see which one can open his mouth the widest MAY 69 and hold the ‘‘come’’ longest without taking a new breath. Each participant has a timekeeper who will _ time him and measure the width of his open mouth as compared to the other open mouths. That is, that is the obvious duty of the timekeepers. Their real duty is a different matter. Just as their vic- tims have opened their mouths they urge them to open up a bit wider, and at that crucial moment they drop a bit of quinine powder on their tongues to stimulate action ! The Garden.Maze..... Sess “Guests stand in fies of equal length. In front of each line is placed a row of ten Indian clubs which will look exactly like rows of delicate flowers in a garden. At the starting signal the first runner in each row starts to hip- pity hop his way through the row of ‘‘flowers’’ in his garden, passing one club at the right, the next one at the left, and so on down the line of clubs. If a club falls down it must be put back in place before the hippity hopper can continue. Can you see what will happen to the other clubs when a person stoops over to set one club upright? sh aS , he team which made the poorest showing in the Gar- den Maze is gently but firmly requested to give an exhibition of fancy skating before a group of judges. Whether they can or not all these delinquents are asked to pair off in couples and to skate to the goal and back, doing the most elaborate skating of which they are capable. This last event has been known to precipitate back- sliding among prominent churchmembers! 70 THE FUN BOOK A May Walk. About six couples take this May Walk, two couples to each team, the girls standing in front of the men whe put their hands on their partners’ shoulders. When the signal is given the first couple of each team is to walk to the goal and return to touch off the next couple of their team. The team which first accomplishes this gets one point to its credit. The next time they must run to the goal and return; then hippity hop; and lastly, after the whistle blows they are to turn around and come back- wards. In all four events the girl stays in front, her partner being behind her with both hands on her shoulders. Women are always pushed so much more easily than they are pulled! Flowerlike Faces. A team which has won no events is quietly taken out of the room before the others have much time to see who the members are. They are taken behind a large paper curtain on which has been drawn in colored crayon the stem and leaves of almost any kind of flower, the place for the head of the flower being cut out and left vacant. Then each of these victims in turn is to put his face in the opening and keep it there until the audience has guessed who he is. But—his face has gone through sad changes. In every possible way every face is changed to look as far from natural as possible. Those who wear glasses are asked to part with them and to give them to those who never wear them. Little patches of whiskers, heavy artificial eyebrows, blackened teeth, huge paper noses, flower-cov- ered ears, rouge, heavy white powder, lipstick, false MAY 71 braids ‘‘orange peeling teeth,’’ paper-stuffed cheeks, and blackened eyelashes,—every means of disguise is used to hide the identity of the owner of each face. The one - whose identity it takes the audience longest to guess gets a false face as a prize. Regular Fashion Show. EE eae EO EHC A INR, For a group of girls or women a Conan fashion show is very much to the point. The whole affair has been arranged so that a ‘‘ wrong version’’ of a fashion is shown, and after the audience fully appreciates all its bad points the correct version is shown. For example, a girl dressed in a knicker suit and high- heeled pumps and jade earrings is one preview ae 5 spay ealls por a a laugh! , Ah ate a by fs i oF) LA Z A fie 4 & Fak se fe fi Be tr ‘ mh ek é, As - i e Sonsini \ kan wager 4 tatta tert Letty 1 buttedy bs eh dot Lew v¥é iM phe For eae? 1 Groups dé ‘G8 é Ss & Noll AE. ind Parthory. After some game in which partners have been together for at least three or four minutes, all the men are asked to sit down in chairs in a circle while their partners stand behind them. Then one by one the men are called upon to stand and describe the costume worn by their partners, The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Men should have something to say about this. Spring Birds. This should be played in a fairly large room. Guests are asked to choose the name of some spring bird -for themselves and to group themselves in the four corners of the room. Then when the Catcher in the middle of the room calls out ‘‘I want the robins to fly,’’ all those 72 | THE FUN BOOK * who chose the part of robins must run from one corner to the next, flying for all they are worth as they run. The Catcher tries to tag as many of them as he can. Anyone who is tagged must help him catch the other birds until they are all caught. If a player is about to be tagged and wishes to be safe he needs only to flap his wings and sing at the top of his lungs. 2 Each guest is asked to put his initials on the top of the piece of paper given him. These papers are then collected, mixed up and passed out again. Guests are to study the initials on their papers and then write out the name of the flower which they think the owner of the initials must closely resemble, the only ruling being that the initials on the top of the paper be used. For instance the man whose paper reads ‘‘F.. D.’’ writes ‘‘Fat Daf- fodil’’ on his paper. The papers are again collected and given to the leader who takes them up, one by one, calls out the initials and asks the owners to claim their papers. As they come to the front of the room she says, ‘‘ Frank Davis, you look like a fat daffodil!’’ Frank Davis is a tall lean professor and looks about as much like a fat daffodil as he does like a Gold Dust Twin. Initial Flowers. |\' The Flower Jump. Several large ‘‘flowers’’ are cut out of colored paper, none of them being less than six inches across. These flowers are set out in rows as in a garden, about a foot apart and with four or five in a row. Facing these rows are the guests, standing in lines of equal length. When MAY 73 the signal is given the first one in each line is to hop down his row of flowers, hopping over the posies on one foot. When he reaches the end of the row he turns around and hops back, touching off the next hopper on his return. Anyone who steps on a posy, or has to put both feet down on the floor is made to start all over again. They may, however, change from one foot to the other, but at no time can both feet be on the floor. The line which first jumps its row of posies is given a bag of peanuts. Flower Petal Partners. All the girls are asked to go into another room while the men line up in the main room. Four of the girls stick their forefingers through a paper curtain which covers the doorway. The first man in the line is blind- folded, goes up to the curtain and grasps a ‘‘flower petal.’’ As soon as he gets a finger he calls out his name and the other end of the finger calls out hers and they become partners. When these four flower petals have been plucked, four more take their places and so it continues until all the girls have partners. Refreshments. All refreshments are under cover and numbered in a room apart from the main room. One couple at a time is admitted and asked to choose the number of the food desired and to promise to tell no one that number. On each round guests are given one choice. It does not exactly make for a serious frame of mind to have one-third the crowd eating ice cream, while another third is wistfully holding a napkin and nothing else, and the last third is chewing on a pickle. race gree £ 7 , i Ld of CLA t ERMAAS & Die te i g we $ 4 CHAPTER VI JUNE For Either Large or Small Groups Wedding Finery. As soon as guests have disposed of their wraps the men are sent to one corner of the room and the girls to another. In the men’s corner is a committee of three girls who will deck the men in finery fit for a June wed- ding, and in the girls’ corner there have been placed pieces of white cheesecloth, gayly colored ribbons, and artificial and real flowers. The girls are to adorn them- selves as only girls can. When they are all ready the men should look very fes- tive—to say nothing of foolish—in their huge buttonhole bouquets, their knots of tulle or chiffon for neckties and -wristlets and anklets, and their small, old-fashioned women’s hats, covered with flowers! Changing One’s Name This is done in far more mise a manner than the usual manner of changing one’s name in June. Men form one line and girls another, and marching down opposite sides of the room they come up the center with partners. When they reach the front of the room they march around the room in a big double circle, finally forming a single circle, each girl standing at the left of her partner. Then the leader explains that they take on 74 JUNE 75 new names for the evening, partners exchanging | last names. Each player in turn announces his or her new name, by which name he or she is to be called the rest of the evening. For example, Mary Yorke has Bill Howell for her partner. Therefore, for the rest of the evening Mary Yorke becomes Mary Howell and Bill becomes Bill Yorke. a “0 Wedding Music. ~The y wedding guests must furnish the music so they use the grand march in forming fours, each four making a family group which is to quickly prepare a song, this whether they can sing or not. If the company of guests is a large one, have guests make groups of eight instead of four. They may sing any song they like but they must sing a song or suffer the consequences. They are given four minutes in which to prepare a song and then each group is called out in turn by the leader to sing through one verse and the chorus of their song. That will be quite sufficient! When all the groups have done their best—or their worst—they are asked to make a community chorus and all of them sing their song at the same time. It is to be hoped that there are no near neighbors, 3 ~ The Gymnastic | Wedding. | Guests then arrange themselves for the wedding, mem- bers of the musical family groups sitting together as all good family groups should. The wedding ceremony should have had a bit of preparation put on it but it is made to look as impromptu as possible. The master of ceremonies who is a ‘‘gymnasium instructor’’ calls on the participants to step out of the audience, and right 76 THE FUN BOOK before the other guests they are Reh ae for the cere- mony. The bride’s veil, the groom ’s gloves (which are ten cent store work cloves), all the wedding finery is at hand and is put on the victims before the other guests. The music is all very decidedly march-time Cappel music, like Sousa’s ‘‘Stars and Stripes Forever.’’ The flower girl, who is some husky man, is the first to enter, and comes in doing arm exercises and violently flinging bits of paper about for flower petals. Next the three bridesmaids, who are tall and muscular men, come goose- stepping in, and then the maid of honor enters doing gymnastics. Finally the bride and groom come in, the eroom stalking along with mighty tread and doing deep breathing exercises, while the bride is constantly touch- ing the floor without bending her knees. After the wedding party is assembled the master of ceremonies reads a.mock ceremony, all the while inter- rupting himself with ‘Arms sidewards fling !’’ where- upon the entire wedding party must ‘‘arms sidewards fling’’ until another command is given. All responses by the bride and groom must be given at the same time that the exercises are being performed. After they are safely married the wedding party slowly files out, using the same step with which they came in and doing their exercises as violently as ever. This is merely a suggestion of a plan for a | Symnastic wedding, and can be enlarged pee to a ereat extent. A groom who is called upon to do ‘‘prone falling’’ while answering ‘‘Yes,’’ is most effective! A la Carte. Hight heavy women, four stout wagons and eight brave masculine souls are the necessaries for this race. JUNE 1 Each heavy woman chooses one of the brave men for her guide and motive power, two couples making up a team. The first couple of each team is given one of the wagons. At the signal the women of the first team sits in the wagon facing the front, and does the steering while the man pushes from the rear. The committee should have a Ratt and not make the course too long! The man pushes his lady fair down the course around the designated ‘‘post’’ which has been pointed out as his, and comes back to give the wagon to the next couple—and to take a much needed rest. The team which first completes this race without any casualties gets an all-day sucker apiece. It is amazing to see how many ladies have lost the fine art of steering a craft. It is made clear to them that it is no fair steering poe into the piano. | Valet & Service. “Bivery man present is asked to take a girl for a part- ner, the only stipulation being that the girl he chooses ean be no relation of his, thereby making it impossible for a man to take his wife as his partner. These couples form teams, an equal number of couples being on each team. At the signal the first couple of each team runs to the opposite end of the room where the man sits down on the chair provided, the lady takes off the man’s tie, and then puts it back on again, tying it as neatly as she ean. When she has finished they run back together to touch off the second couple of their team who go through the same process. This continues until all the men of a team have had their ties taken off and put on again. The women cannot understand the general exodus of 78 THE FUN BOOK the men toward a mirror immediately after this game is finished. Makeup... Four girls and four men who were the losers in some other event are to be the victims for this contest. The four girls are to stand some place where they can be plainly seen by all the other guests. Each man is then provided with a makeup box which contains an old-fash- ioned hair ornament of some kind, a beauty patch made out of court plaster, lipstick, rouge, eyebrow pencil, and plenty of powder. When the signal is given he is to start in making his lady beautiful. The degree of his success,is doubtful. When the ladies are ready for the beauty contest they stand before the three judges, waiting for the decision as to which man achieved the most artistic effect. The judges have been instructed beforehand to choose the most garrishly awful makeup as the best. The benefits of this game are not alone social benefits! The Obstacles of Married Life. ~Pourtouples w who deserve a penalty are asked to form two teams, two couples to each team. The teams stand in diagonally opposite corners of the room. When the starting signal is given the first couple of each team starts to race around the room, but—there are obstacles to overcome. First of all they are not allowed to run this race, but must walk it. As for the obstacles—in one corner they will find two.chairs which face each other. They must climb over these, the man helping the lady, it is hoped! In the next corner they are met by an assistant to the JUNE 19 leader who tells them that together they will have to count to twenty before they may pass on. In the next corner - they ‘find hoo 100ps which they are to draw down over themselves before ‘they are privileged to continue, and in the fourth corner they must sing up and down ile scale. This last is no more painful to the contestants than to the onlookers. When these first couples, who have started from oppo- site corners, complete the four requirements they quickly touch off the second couples of their team who go through the same performance. The team which first overcomes all its obstacles is given the promise that it will live jappily ever afterward. Jramatic P rship. This is the month in which ‘‘partners”’ are taken, and while the matter of taking partners is no laughing mat- ter, nevertheless we might just as well get all the fun out of it we can. This game is used most successfully with a group made up of not more than fifty guests. On arrival each guest is given a slip of paper. Those given to the men bear directions which govern their part of the performance. Those given to the ladies tell them to look for a certain gentleman whom they will recognize by his actions. Directions for the men may include the following: 1. Pose as the Statue of Liberty. 2. Preach a one-minute sermon in pantomime. 8. Lead a choir through an anthem. 4, Pantomime a lady dressing her hair before a mirror. 5. Teach a class in Geography, 6. Give two Mother Goose rhymes in pantomime, 7. Teach a gymnasium class.