To help you to see the great number of possibilities there are for different kinds of parties, several suggested parties are outlined in this chapter. No doubt you can think of other ideas that would suit you better, or perhaps you could change some of these to fit your needs. You may also find valuable suggestions in the books listed at the end of this chapter.

The main thing in entertaining at home is to keep in mind the group of people you intend to invite and how much you can afford to spend in planning a good time for your friends. Then go ahead and use your ingenuity. The cost of the party need have no relationship to the amount of entertainment your guests get out of it. A new, inexpensive kind of informal party is generally much more fun than an expensive, elaborate, formal affair. With this idea firmly fixed in mind, see what you think of the parties described on the next few pages both as they are outlined and as you would adapt them to suit yourself.

Pirates Bold

Ship Ahoy! Avast there, my hearties! Blow the man down! Pieces of eight! There is a pirate party coming up. Below is the invitation in the shape of a treasure chest.

Foodstuff consisting of sandwiches, pickles, potato salad, coffee or cocoa, hot dogs, mustard, rolls, candy, and so forth is packed into an orange crate or some other box painted oak brown and tied to look like a chest. Paper tablecloths, napkins, cups, and the like are packed in another box. The food is taken to the place of the party, on the shore of a lake, river, or ocean, before the main group even starts, and is hidden in a secret spot (decided upon beforehand). Two or three charts, or scouting maps, have been prepared showing where the food is hidden. (These maps are then cut in pieces, one for each guest.)

When the guest pirates arrive, decked out properly in pirate costume, they find several automobiles labeled with sea-going names, such as "The Dying Swan/' "Pinafore," "Galloping Goose." (Banners have been made from unbleached muslin and painted with crayon.) On a cardboard dagger which each guest chooses from a box, he finds the name of the "ship" in which he is to sail to the land of treasure. At the signal of "All aboard!" the pirate fleet is off to Treasure Island, where they will search for the food chest.

Upon arrival at the destination, the fleet of pirate ships unloads the passengers, who are immediately organized into water games or activities on the beach. If it is warm weather, there are many interesting water games that can be played, such as spoon-ball race, in which the contestants swim with spoons in their mouths and in each spoon a ball. Another good game is hold-the-float, in which the group, divided into equal sides, swims to the float at a given signal and each tries to keep the other side off the float. As you see, this is much like Bunker Hill. You can, no doubt, think of other games, too, that would be interesting, such as an open-umbrella race or water tag.

Naturally, the proper precautions will be taken as to life guards and others to watch for the safety of all concerned. Those who cannot swim should remain on the shore, and a count should be made occasionally to see that all are present or accounted for. Those in the water, of course, will use common sense.

When the time to eat comes around, the guests are called together and each person is given a piece of a map. With this he is to find the other members of his searching party. They will be the ones who have the pieces that match his. When the pieces are fitted together, the group can discover where the food chest is hidden. While the search is in progress, fires are built in readiness to cook the food.

After supper the pirates gather around the fire for a rollicking session of pirate songs and stories. Short stunts with a pirate theme are in order by each of the groups. One band of pirates may wish to dramatize the burying of a treasure, another the walking of the plank by prisoners. Several members of the party may do the sailor's hornpipe for the amusement of all.