When the doorbell rings and merry voices forecast company for a few hours, don't get the "Old Mother Hubbard Heebie Geebies." Have some "boners" in your cupboard - or pleasure chest - or whatever you choose to call it. Those who entertain well at formal parties or when friends drop in unexpectedly have found it worth while to assemble equipment and materials that can be used in entertaining in their homes. As you will see, most of this equipment costs nothing and can be gathered from many different sources. If you start to gather equipment, after a few months you will have a sufficient amount to greet unexpected guests with a smile, because you know you can give them a lively time by bringing out your box of tricks.

Now here are a few items that should be in your collection. You will no doubt think of others as you develop your own ideas about entertaining. No two persons will want the same equipment or the same kind of stunts.

A Box

To begin with, a medium-sized box will be sufficient to harbor your odds and ends. Later you will want to enlarge it, arranging some of your things in books of various kinds and classifying others in smaller boxes for purposes of convenience.

Notebook

By all means keep a notebook of ideas you gather from various sources. Many magazines carry an article for party purposes each month. Others have suggestions for menus or decorations. You will find these articles very helpful when planning a party. If you cut them out and paste them in a loose-leaf notebook, you can classify them in any way you see fit at a later date. For this reason it is usually good to paste only one idea on a sheet.

Some party experts keep their ideas on small 3X5 cards and file them away in a small wooden file. Cards have the advantage of convenience when you want to sort them, or take one or two out to use for a given party, but it is difficult to handle clippings in this way.

Useful Odds And Ends

There are many articles that should be kept in your pleasure chest. The following list will help you to see what kinds of things arc most useful.

Sharpened Pencils

Never throw a stubby pencil away. You can find use for it in your party collection.

Special Game Equipment

Such things as dice, checkers, dominoes, and playing cards can be used in scores of ways with different games. It is good to know just where to find them when they are needed.

Materials

When making place cards, tallies, clever invitations, or costumes, it is well to have scraps of paper of various colors at hand. These can be gathered from many sources; wrappings from the drug store, from birthday presents, and from gifts are usually helpful. Then there are the necessary tools, such as scissors, crayons, paste, old magazines to cut up, and pins, that should be handy also.

Samples

As you go to parties of various kinds, you can often pick up good ideas in the way of place cards and invitations. Instead of throwing these away, store them in your chest for future use. When you are in need of an idea, you will find your trouble more than paid for.

Original Games

There are many ways to use pictures of prominent people for games. Games of identification (showing the guests several dozen pictures of prominent people and seeing how many can name them), jig-saw puzzles, and others are easy to make if you save the right kind of pictures. Postcards from various parts of the world are also helpful in this connection. Even the ordinary advertisements of well-known products are handy for some games.