Old "chestnuts" are prepared by putting old jokes in chestnut shells and glueing them together. These will cause much fun and merriment for the young. Have a large bowl of water with three chestnuts in it and let each guest be given two toothpicks to try to get the chestnuts out of the water with the toothpicks, without getting the fingers wet.
Have some one recite "Curfew Shall Not Ring To-night" and "Over the Hills to the Poor House." Let some one sing "The Old Oaken Bucket" and "Annie Laurie." Have some one read "The Sword of Bunker Hill" and "Bingen on the Rhine." Any variety of entertainment can be gotten up with a little forethought.
Each month has a flower or plant appropriated to it, and to each a meaning is attached. The list is as follows:
The snowdrop means consolation; the primrose, the freshness of early youth; the violet, modesty; the daisy, innocence; the hawthorn, hope; the wild rose, simplicity; the lily, purity; the poppy, the consolation of sleep; the morning-glory, contentment; hops, joy; the chrysanthemum, cheerfulness; the holly, foresight and protection.
The morning-glory is such a perishable flower that it is almost useless for the purpose of decoration, consequently it will be wise to substitute goldenrod, symbolizing stateliness, in its stead.
A birthday is an important event in a child's life, and should not pass unnoticed.
A small party for little children is usually more enjoyable and more easily managed than a large one. With many mothers it is the custom to invite as many little guests as correspond to the number of years of the child whose birthday is celebrated.
Make the table look as attractive as possible with flowers. A pretty arrangement for a fifth birthday is to have a round table, with vines, or a rope of wild flowers or leaves, arranged over it to represent a five-pointed star. The sandwiches, confectionery, etc., may be placed within the star, the birthday cake in the centre, and the five guests seated between the points of decoration.
For a sixth birthday, a pretty arrangement would be a six-pointed star, the points to be made with the long fronds of the sword fern. So many people have pots of these ferns growing in their houses, and the foliage is so abundant, that some of the older fronds of the plant may well be spared. The money myrtle is also effective for this decoration, and, in summer, the little partridge vine with its red berries, to be found in every woods, makes very pretty trimming. The cake should be in the centre, and the other viands placed within the star, the children's plates between the points. Either a round or square table may be used as preferred.