The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-12-09
MISTLETOE BOUGH.
How Merry Evenings May
Be Spent Without the Aid
of Dancing or Cards.
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SUGGESTIONS
The Funny Rabbit Party-The
Partisan Idea Of Furnishing a
Room-C Chocolate and
Maple Patties.
HOLIDAY SUGGESTIONS

The editor of the Woman's Page has
been asked frequently to give hints in
the matter of entertaining during the
holidays, where the rooms are too
small for dancing and where cards. by
common consent have been relegated to
the rear, says the Philadelphia Times.
Why not give a rabbit party? This is
entirely unique. If you have one or two
chafing dishes in the house you have
as good a foundation as is usual. If
your party is for. say twelve people,
you must beg, borrow Or steal four
more. Ask your friends to lend theirs
for the evening. A good scheme would
be to write cooking where dancing,
generally appears on tons. This
win warn your Intends guests that
silks and satins are not to be the order
of the day and aprons should be pro-
vided. the larger and mo-. ~mirth-pro-
voking the better. for UGH as come I'M
provided. The necessary preparations
for a rabbit party also include the heep-
ing of your Kitchen table with ingred-
tents for Welsh rarebit. and all the
other chafing dish specialties. A man
and a girl are appointed at each dish.
OF course there Will be at most but
one OF two people who understand cook
ing, and the mistakes and perplexities
If all tyros will make the evening one
long round of merriment. 1t Is hardly
necessary to suggest that the canny host
ess will not rely entirely on the viands
concocted by the novice. She will also
provide ices and cake or other good
things for the hungry cooks.
For another jolly evening you might
combine a number of things and intro
duce the changes in your programme
with kaleidoscope rapidfty. Begin With
a Literary Introduction" To accom-
plish this you must write upon each in
vitation sent out-or, better still. deliver
verbaEly-the message. please come as
a book" Everyone in this year of grace
will understand thoroughly that they
are not expected to appear between book
covers. But tlhat some peculiarity in
their dress must suggest the title OF a
well known volume. A very simple II
Illustration of this would be that wnen
picture hat a hugh yellow bow should
be visible in her tresses. Everyone
would Internationally can out "a B SOW
dent one. These conceits should be made
as odd as possible and great will pc the
fun in gnessnig them hem T Enc me nos9 4ns
disguise which had longest resisted d.
vination and a BOBBY for the first guess
e ef, those hos a Iittle Cloth p spelling SOCKS with
the highly-colored pictures.
When the literary labors are over the
h her'e On an lnV Observation. tour" She pro.
vides each with a pencil and tablet, and
the laughing crowd is led into an al
Joining room, where stands a large table
heaped with objects of every descrip-
ton. Two minutes are allowed to, write
down a list of articles on the tapie, inc
the very longest list is the hero of the
observation tour and rs duly
presented with q prize; pair OF
opera glasses would make a suggestive
article for the first prize n tor. the
BOBBY, If q BOBBY be given. a pair OF Dig
a cobWeb party never fails to produce
unlimited laughter. The preparations for
his should be made before the evening
arrives. Get as many balls of common
shop string as you expect guests. vino
each ball about the stairway, the halls
and drawing rooms until they are ex-
hausted. and until there Is everywhere a
maze of different colored cords. The END
should all begin at one starting point, but
after that they must diverge as widely
as possible. They should even mount the
chandeliers, twine themselves ioging1y
wind themselves through and through any
holes in the wood carving and around
door knobs. No knots, hoy. ever, shouid
be tied. The clever one who soonest pre-
sents his ball in good condition to the
hostess is the proud recipient of a prize.
A pretty idea in the cobweb party is to
have one ball of string serve for each
young fellow and a girl. The W ends
start from the general starting point ana
meet at the end. Partners are CHOSEN by
tossing the names written. upon Slips OF
paper into a hat and drawing at random;
A '~Chestnutting Party is equally gooo
fun, and no one who has never been SO FOR
tunate as to take part can for a momen
Imagine with what zest the most digni-
fled individual will poke under clocks and
lift table covers. or even go down upon
august knees to search the carpet for
the shiny nuts. For, of course, before
the guests arrive the clever hostess will
have placed them in every available out,
of-the-way corner. Each guest is provided
with a little basket and when all the
Der bagged carries off the prize.
Progressive classifying is still another
mirth ~provoklng occupation. Buy a nox
which children learn to spell. In the
center of each progressive table Is
placed a little heap of these letters with
their respective tables some one chosen
to be mistress of ceremonies makes a
tour Of the room and appoints a certain
class of objects for each table; AS for y
and SO on. Then the little bell tinkles.
The person at the head of each table
raises one of the letters from the pile and
simultaneously. The first individual to
name a creature of the class given, be-
Ginning with the letter displayed wins the
alphabet chip. AT the end of three min
| utes the bell sounds once more. The two
having the greatest number of chips be-
come partners and progress to the next
table. :.
PaImistry even in its most unoccult
phases will serve to make your holiday
evening a great success. Invite some
very witty woman from among your
guests to become the enchantress. Dress
her appropriately in dark robes and seat
her by the dining room fireplace where
burns a wood fire. The lights are, of
course, turned low and she stirs medi-
tateively in a huge caldron, your preserv-
ing kettle it is, by the way. Each guest
kneels upon a hassock at her feet, spreads
his or her palm upon the e-nchantress'
knees and hears his pas, present and fu-
ture, which will be sure to be very laugh
able In the hands of your witty friend.
The Partisan Idea of a Room.
Fashionable women of Paris have or
dained that it is the proper thing to mix
the furniture of all periods in the same
room. But a short time ago 1t was con-
sidered a heinous offense to to mix Chip
pendale with italian and Dutch renais-
sance. Louis XIV or Empire. to say moth
tina the Partisan, however, and now one
can mix ones furniture to ones hearts
Old chairs for the drawing-room are of
the Louis XVI period, and ave can
seats. The backs have frames of richly
carved wood while the cushions are COW
cred with quantity patterned silk. Furni-
ture made after antique designs and en-
= -,1Iod uybifa fa oil tho rapa in the S11nnc