THE GENTLE ART OF ENTERTAINING

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 5802, 20 January 1906, Page 10

THE GENTLE ART OF ENTERTAINING

Now that the dancing season is over, hostesses will begin to torn their thoughts towards entertaining their friends, either at "afternoon tens” or musical "at homes." The woman who entertains on either a small or largo scale is decidedly unselfish, and a« a general rule her guests arc not half appreciative of the trouble which has been taken on their behalf. 1 consider it the boundon duty_ of all those folk who have accepted invitations to partake of hospitality to do their very best to assist in making entertainments successful. Naturally, the burden falls on the host ofb herself. She must hare infinite tact, and must choose her guests with care. Many a time have I heard of a woman meeting her worst enemy in a Bin. all drawing-room, and spending the whole afternoon in trying to avoid her, Tnl reductions, too. should not be made indiscriminately. If a hostess wishes to he successful she should remember t.. introduce the right jx-oplc to each other. A» often an awkward silence follows an introduction, a few words should accompany it, such an "Mrs Smith and run are keen golfers; you should knoiv e.u'li other;" or. “Let me introduce Mrs .Tones; she will tell you the Inie.-t gossip from London." and «o on. Very often there is a principal guest, whom must be taken that ca-li visitor is presented. or she will p.«sibly feel alighted at the omission. llemember a!.-.> to i mention namee very distinctly when introducing people to each other. .\ friend of mine recently was invited to a certain house to meet; a girl trom tjuceusiaad. She was looking forward

*o ?:i* w J ? iuc. ."‘w she w:s);©d to make j.o ; * friends in that part of Dve world. At, ?he of the arlerr.oou. wiion al! th© visitors were gone. f:-v ;ri<*ud inp*'i;r*f| Di© rf-a-f.-a of the rt U;r.nce of Dh- girl they had b-eu asked to meet. To mV fri*‘ti(i’« surprise siio whs t.<iJd that 1 b<> intrejection liud !.*eeu niad**, hu’ it h <«1 b<--u done oo badly that :;.-;t h*• j - . had b«'*ri clearly and th- r-sult had been a i f**w uuintemDing r-marlm relating to th© aeath»*r arw! tho chance of rain. If you arc :vinj. sou will pav much attention to tiio floral d»K‘oratiouß, for tb**v will fa-rUnnlv f'.rm one of the pnnmpal topic;, of i ouvcisatiem. Do pot, if von wmh voTir party to br* a success, pla'-c chairy in uncom promining Town in the drawing-room, .and allow the people to -.*at ! plan to have the tables dotted here and there and have them l.idt-n with interei-l-:r.g pictures, autograph photfrgruphs, skudrbctf. and the like. Then people will rUand about in little gioujJtj, and ihuu break n r* the ntiflncw. It m not the icu-uest thing in th.-* world to entertain a roomful of visitors, ami if a ho a less grows fidgetv or nervoun by turn©, then she would have been vvb*cr if Hhe bad not issued any invitations at all. Unless you can have the best of mn.sic. dispensr. with it allogother. If you arc fairly well off. and can afford a couple of guineas for a professional tungcr or player thou you will find it wisely spout. Hut there is nothing so wt-arisocio as li.-ienißg to amateur oflons, and ihc- t player will be much db*-oonc-rifd bv hearing the chattering of many voices around her. Of course, if you have a garden, entertaining in reduced to a minim urn, for lb© nsiloio after gfoeting f,h**ir hostess will pass out on to the verandahs or tho lawn, and I lief* find Ihcir Jriends who will be perhaps admiring th* lloncrs, or being amused bv the band. ,

If you have invites! your friends for half-past three, r©fr(i<hmcn(«; should be nerved at about fuut o'clock. Womenfolk at afternoon parties are invariably thirsty, ami the signal for tea is hailed with delight. Supposing that your entertainment lakes place indoors/refreshments should be served in the diningroom. thif? will allow the guosto tho om»ortumt.v of moving about tho house. Where the room is not a large one. and the guests aro manv, a special table for the cider ladies might he carried into the drawing-room, and there they might have their tea in comfort. For the din-ing-room, however, the best plan is to have a long table covered with a snowy doth, and a table centre of something \ciy pretty to harmonise with tho flower i-cbeme. All these additions arc a euccess. ay thev assist in aiding general conversation. Should there be anything of interest in tho dining-room, It should be pointed out by tho hostcw>, her daughter's, nr anyone who is on intimate teniiH with the family, and who are helping in the entertaining. Pretty china, old books, or folios of etchings aro always much approciat-d, and excite general interest. Do not. however, unless specially asked for, produce your photograph 'album. For I have special reasons for knowing that there is nothing no boring as having to admire dead and gone relatives, or to have to nice things about "Mary” , or ".huiie” in their infantilo or juvo- ! nil© garments. i

Tho hastes-** should not single out .my Hpvia! jjucst fur individual attention. should have hor full share, and then •no one can feel slighted. Should she happen to have no daughters or tdtv ters to help hor, she should oiilifit the services of an intimate friend, who would give directions to the maids, end at toa-timo aco that everybody was fjerv<*d. The friend must bo chatty and conversational, and will ho found of valuable assistance. Where tJiero a. 3 perhaps two or throe very old indie;*, : wlio prefer seats in some secluded Connor, whore they can listen to all that itf KOing on, thov must not be overlooked for the younger folk. Instead of this, . they will feel distinctly flattered at u little attention, such as showing them something of Interest, or bringing up now and then some one or two of the guests with whom they havo possibly vonivf bins in common. Now for a final word or two regarding the all-in.| o: Unit question ol roftTshmenls. Naturally, tbo&o entirely depend on tho length of tho purse of the hivtnss. In ord’nary cases tho following lift will ho found to fill all requirement*: “rfevmal kinds of sandwiches, ported cakes of every description, Mwee.’s, tea, coffee, and tome kind of “cup." A much-appreciated addition would Ih« ice- and strawberries and (‘ream. Tlirno ato. of course, not necessary, neither are they expected, but at , tho suxno ti o they much improve the menu, Fruitsalod will, to a groat extent, take the place of tho strawberries, and this is by no means expensive. Let everything bo of the very best, and take trouble over Ihe cutting of the (sandwiches. Small cakes, iced and plain, aiv preferable ‘o cut cake, but you might have ft good pound cake, prettily decorated, which would serve jus an ornamental addition. Little dishes of sweets placed at intervale also took well, if served in silver dishes.— I "Housewife/’ |