Omaha daily bee., 1898-12-18
CHRISTMAS C%OTILLONs.
Each Guest Must Send Anonymously
q GIFT to the Hostess.

A Christmas c~otillon, planned by . we'll
known society woman, who Is ever devislng
some new way Of entertaining frequently
invited guests, will be given on the night Of
December 26, relates the New York Herald.
Her invitations, sent out about ten days
before the date Of the event, will request
early replies, and also state that each guest
Is required to forward the hostess a small
gift, which must be comic in variety and as
inexpensive as can be purchased, 20 cents
being the limit in price. There must be no
deviation in the nature and value OF the
gifts, or this part Of the program will fall
very fiat. These gifts are to be sent anony-
mously, after acceptances Of invitations have
been mailed, and not later than two days
before the cotillon. In the meantime the
hostess will make, or have made, several
stockings from glazed or paper muslin in
two colors. blue and pink or blue and white
or pink and white. A tiny pronged tag,
such as is used for marking prices on goods
in shops, will be fastened to each stocking,
and then both sets will be numbered to
correspond. or course 1t is understood that
Of these stockings those of one color are for
the men guests, those Of the other color for
the women.
AS fast as the gifts arrive they will be
placed each In q stocking, without any dis
crimination; indeed, so far as is possible,
they will be "stockinged" still in their
wrapping papers, so that the hostess her
self will not know how they are really dis
tributed until the cotillon begins.
AS each gift is slowed way its stocking
will be gartered with a gay ribbon tied in a
bow, which will also confne a sprig of mis-
tletoe and holly. No two garters will be
alike, but this will not form a great OBJ
s%tacle, since there are hundreds Of pretty
ribbons as different from each other as pos
sible. And here 1t may be stated that the
hostess bought half a yard more Of each
kind than she needed for a garter. The
reason for this apparent waste, and also for
the variety Of her choice. will appear later.
At odd times, or possibly at one sitting,
as many clothespines as there are stockings
will be gilded and put aside to thoroughly
dry. They will be OF the kind that work
with a spring, and those with very stiff
springs will be the chosen ones.
On the evening of the cotillon a gilded
c~lothesline will be stretched across one end
Of the ball or dancing room. and on it will
be fastened. haphagard, with the gilded
clothespins, all of the we'll filled muslin
stockings. They will make a brave show
ing, too, as they are really attractive in
appearance. Aside from this they are, even
on sight, provocative Of good -natured curl
osity and promoters OF great merriment.
There will be one or two little dances be-
fore the distribution Of the stockings. which
will occur about II o'clock, so as to give
everybody plenty of time to search for his
partner, whom he must find by the number
on his stocking. There will be no escap-
ing partners. The law Of corresponding
numbers will be inf1exible, and a man must
dance with his mother-in-law II he finds
that the number on her stocking Is 4 du-
plicate Of the one on his.
When all the stockings are mated as to
numbers. though they are bound to be mis-
mated in color, the garters will be loosened,
the contents withdrawn, inspected and COM
pared and then used as favors for this
particular ~cotillon, which will be danced at
midnight. When Christmas falls upon some
other day han Sunday the cotillon will
usher 1t in.
Stockings and garters will be fastened
with the clothespins. to the left sides of
coats anu bodices. At the end of this CO.
tillon supper will be served and will con-
sist OF traditional Christmas dishes, dain-
ties and drinks, and while, in the main,
conventionalities will be observed, decorous
merriment will be allowed and Christmas
quips and jests will make the rounds Of the
table.