CHRISTMAS FUN

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 75, 21 December 1929, Page 30

CHRISTMAS FUN

If your Christmas party does not seem to go merrily enough at the beginning try charades. Clear the room at one end for a stage; and have a second room where the actors can hatch plots and change. Then choose sides and decide which group shall act first. The actors choose a word of two syllables (more if they wish) such as “Mayfair.” In the first scene “May” must be clearly Introduced, and in the second the word “Fair,” while the final scene must contain the whole word which has to be guqjsed by the audience. But it doesn’t really matter if the word is easily guessed as it Is such fun for the actors to amuse their audience.

There is another game which always causes amusement. You get readv for it beforehand by preparing a selection of little cotton ba -s filled with strongly scented things such as soap, pepper, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and cotton wool dipped in lavender water, paraffin, brandy, etc. Number the bags and give each player a pencil and a card numbered to correspond. They must then smell each bag in turn and write down what they believe it to contain. It sounds so easy, but you’ll be surprised to find what mistakes are made.

The balloon game is quite different again. This should be played i” heats of four or so. Place a plate for each

player at one end of the room. The® range your players in a row at the opposite end, and at the word “Go” each must start to blow his balloon towards the plate. The one to get his to rest on his plate first wins.

“Noses” will make still more fWJ. Pick sides, "arrange them in two straight lines, and place a matchbox lid on the nose of each leader. Then shout “Go,” whereupon the leader of each side must turn round and endeavour to transfer the matchbox from his own nose to the nose of the next in line and so on to the end. Only noses must be used for this purpose—keep your hands down, please.

Nosing for the next nose isn’t at aH easy when long meets short and fat meets thin, especially when you are doubled up with laughter and trembling with agitation because a glance at the opposing side shows you that they have nearly landed their lid safely on the last nose—as, of course, the game is to see which side can do it first. There is a forfeit to pay if the lid is allowed to fall—you must begin al! over again at the beginning of the line.

In the “guessing” game the girls stand behind a screen and the others have to guess the owners of the feet and ankles displayed. You can guess hands and arms or even noses poked through a cut in a curtain If you prefer. The others then have to get behind the screen and the other side guesses.