For an eighth birthday, a square table may be used with walls of Troy decoration arranged for two children at a side. If the birthday comes in December, a rope of evergreen is appropriate and very effective for this decoration, with branches of holly or other red berries at the corners, the "goodies" to be placed in the centre.
For a tenth birthday, quite a long table is needed, and a pretty arrangement of vines in scallops, with a small bunch of flowers at each point may be carried out, the viands being placed in the centre, and a child's plate in each one of the scallops.
In all these arrangements due prominence must be given to the birthday cake, the principal feature of the feast. It is placed usually in the centre, is round, decorated with frosting, and as many tiny candles as the child is years old. These are placed in toy candlesticks, made so that they can easily be thrust into the frosting, and the candles are lighted just before the children go to the table. The candlesticks may be purchased at a toy store. It is an excellent idea to place some little souvenir in the cake for each child, tiny china dogs, cats and goats being desirable for this purpose.
A candy house will also make a novel and attractive centrepiece for a children's party table. Build a log house of red and white sticks of candy, and form the roof of cocoanut strips. For a rail fence use sticks of chocolate candy or straws and make the grass of spun candy.
There in the library stood the most perfect snow-man. He wore a fur cap and long white whiskers, and on the floor behind him lay his pack, which had just slipped off his back. He held a doll on one arm, and over the other was hung a line of tiny sleigh-bells. This snow Santa Claus was made of cotton batting, but he looked exactly like the snow-man in the yard, and the children greeted him with cries of delight. Two sticks, wrapped in many thicknesses of cotton to form the legs, had been nailed to a block of wood to make a foundation for this snow-man; the other parts of the body were made like snowballs and sewed in their proper places.
Each child was allowed to throw a soft rubber ball twice in attempting to hit the string of bells which Santa held. Those who were successful were told to take some article out of the pack as a reward. Fancy cornucopias and small boxes filled with nuts and candy were found by the lucky contestants.