The Christmas Party Spirit

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 303, 23 December 1939, Page 5 (Supplement)

The Christmas Party Spirit

CHRISTMAS is not Christmas at all—at any rate in the eyes of the small folk—unless it is celebrated with some kind of party to further emphasise the season's festive air. Mere exchange of presents is not enough; little people love the feeling that everyone is enjoying himself in the way they understand best—and, fortunately, this is the one time in the year when, a company of mixed tastes and ages can be assembled with real prospect of success. In the general atmosphere of gaiety goodwill children lose all feeling .if constraint, and the grown-ups relax and join with youthful zest in the simplest and most uproarious of games. The games should be fresh; jf not entirely original, they should be given a new twist so that young and old start off more or less on equal terms. If the young members of the fami'v have invited a few guests to spend -the evening, it is an excellent idea to start them off on the doorstep with a game of "Cobwebs." The game involves a little trouble to prepare, but it is an excellent ice-breaker, and any small person who did not feel completely at home and in a riotous party mood by the end of it might well be given up as a hopeless case. Here's How For each player a name tag Is required, and a gift—a bag of sweets or nuts is enough—and. in addition provide a large ball of string. Take the first tag, write the name of one child on it and attach it to the end of the ball of string. Leave the tag on the hall table or the door mat, and, carrying the ball of string, begin to weave your web. Twist the string in and out of furniture, knot and entangle it as much as you think suitable for your players, tike it from one room to another and finally, cutting the string, tie a gift to the end and push the gift out of sight" under a cushion or into a drawer. Go back to the beginning and repeat the performance with another tag and gift, twining the string in and out of the first one here and there. Continue in this way until each little guest is provided for and your web. is well spun. By the time, the children, who should be scheduled to arrive together, have untangled their gifts the excitement will have reached fever hea* - , and they will be glad to sit down quietly and devour the spoils, meanwhile playing a quiet game.

With A Feu) Ideas To Help The Festivities Along.

For this, the players sit around In a circle and each player in turn gossips with his neighbour, asking a question and receiving an answer. Any subject can be chosen for conversation, but the catch in it is this; no word in the conversation must begin or end with any of the letters X-m-a-s. It is much harder than it sounds, and the discussions within these limitations sometimes develop along the most amusing lines. Games that involve a certain amount of miming — however crude — always prove popular. "Screen tests"' can be most entertaining. Those aspiring to movie fame retire, and the rest form themselves into a committee of judges—all. but one, who acts as "talent scout." The talent scout brings in the future "stars" one by one, and whispers to each ,in turn to" portray a certain emotion —scorn, perhaps, or rage, resolution or cojiceit. The committee has to guess what, it is they are supposed to see, and'if "any cne guesses right first time the actor is released; if no one can guess, he must try again—to be surprised or tired, anguished —until he can make his portrayal clear. After three unsuccessful tries he is "out." "Five-Spot Santa Claus" gives amusing results; it is easy and not in the least strenuous, so should appeal to all ages. Each player is provided with a pencil and a piece of paper on which are clearly marked five dots; each of these dots represents the position of some part of Santa Claus—his head, one of his hands, or one of his feet —and it- is the job of the player to draw his portrait, bringing head, hands and feet neatly over the dots. The position of the dots will suggest the old man's attitude, and as. far as possible the dots should be differently placed on each piece of paper to lend variety to the finished product. Another game which even the eldest members of the family will be agreeable to play—requiring memory this time, not artistic talent, is "I Went Round the Shops. . , v The first player starts the story. "I went round the shops and saw a tree covered with tinsel." The next takes it up: "I went round the shops and saw a tree covered with tinsel and a large Teddy bear." The third continues: "I went round the shops and saw a tree covered with tinsel and a large Teddy bear and an ice chest wrapped in brown paper." And so on. The players, as they fail to keep the chronicle straight, drop out of the game, and the one whose good memory keeps him in it to the end wins a prize.

Traffic is a modern child's variation of "Blind Man's Buff.'- A blind-folded player stands in the centre of the room, ar.o the other children spread out at varyi.ip distances from him. His blind man nariic--a player he wants to touch, and a "traffic cop" gives him his bearing—"Take three steps ahead and two to the left." The blind man sets off to pace himself, but if he bumps into any player other than the one her has named, he must go back to the centre and start all over again. If he reaches his quarry at the first try thai player must become blind, man in his place. Small boys in particular will delight in "Triangle Tug/' Three players stand i*. triangle formation, about three yards apart Facing outwards, they hold behind their back a rope which'has two ends knottcj to form a triangle. A yard in front oi each child is some small prize—an orange or a fancy bag of sweets. At the word "go' the tug of war begins, each person strain forward with his free hand to grasp his prize. The antics which follow wei! be imagined, and the onlookers will find themselves enthusiastically backing their fancy. * - -