GAMES FOR SPECIAL DAYS.

HUNTING FOR BOOKTITLES.
The hostess must prepare beforehand pictures, cut from magazine advertisements and miscellaneous articles, suggestive of the titles of books. These are arranged around the room, some on tables, some on the wall...

JACK FROST.
Around Christmas and New Year's the children will enjoy playing this. All form a circle; one, Jack Frost, stands in the middle. Jack Frost runs around inside the circle and touches one child on her right hand, ...

MAGIC CANDLES.
Arrange twelve candles, one for each month, in a row about two feet apart. Have the candles different colors suggestive of the months they represent, such as, green for March and red for December. The children ...

THE LUCKY OR UNLUCKY SLIPPER.
A slipper is waved three times over the head and then thrown on the floor. If the toe be toward the player, good luck is coming. If the heel, bad luck is in store, and if it rests on its side, there is hope for...

CAKES.
On the sixth of January, Twelfth Night was celebrated in the olden times. Then all the pastry cooks did their finest baking and decked their windows with marvelous productions of cakes. If a party is being plan...

VALENTINES.
When inviting the guests for a valentine party, request each one to bring an original valentine addressed to one of the guests. As the guests arrive, the hostess collects the valentines, being careful to keep tho...

INITIAL COMPLIMENTS.
Each gentleman is handed a slip of paper with the name of a lady guest on it. The gentlemen are then requested, one at a time, to go to their respective ladies, giving each a compliment, every word of which begin...

HEART HUNT.
Cut out of red, white, blue, yellow and green paper hearts of all shapes and sizes, then cut each heart into four pieces and scatter these all over the room, on the floor, chairs, tables, behind pictures, etc. ...

HEART PRICKS.
A large heart made of some red material, (flannel or cheesecloth) is pinned securely to a sheet, which may be stretched on the wall or door. In the center of the large red heart is a small white heart, either sew...

VALENTINE PUZZLE.
Select five good paper valentines. Paste each on a piece of cardboard and cut into small pieces. Have five small tables in the room and place a puzzle on each. If the company is small, assign five persons to a ta...

HEARTS AND MITTENS.
Cut out of red cardboard half as many hearts and mittens as you expect in your company. Out of blue cardboard cut hearts and mittens for the rest of the company. Number them so every heart has its corresponding ...

RIVEN HEARTS.
Another way of securing partners for the evening is as follows: Suspend two large hearts made of either white or red paper from the ceiling, several feet apart. Make a hole in each, through which are hung the end...

PROPOSALS.
As the guests assemble for the Valentine party, give each gentleman a slip of paper bearing the name of a woman, and the ladies, the name of some man, noted in fiction as lovers. Thus the one who has Romeo hunts...

WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY.
For a party on this day, the room should be decorated with flags, hatchets, etc., and red, white, and blue bunting, so as to add a patriotic air to everything. A picture of Washington may be cut in many pieces ...

APRIL FIRST.
For an April Fool's Day gathering, ask each guest to come prepared to do some sleight of hand trick. When all are assembled, each one in turn performs his trick. A vote is taken for the most clever and a prize is...

EASTER EGG RACE.
Color an even number of eggs, half the number one color, the other half, another. Place all the eggs of one color on the floor in a line at intervals of one foot. At the end of the line put a basket. Form a simil...

SUSPENDED EGGS.
After an egg hunt, several eggs may be gathered together and a string or ribbon run through each and hung in different lengths from a chandelier. Candy eggs and little baskets of eggs may be suspended, too. Place...

EGG RACE.
Give each child a tablespoon and a hard-boiled egg. The children form in line and one is the leader. Each one holds the spoon with the egg in its bowl at arm's length and hops on one foot, following wherever the ...

ROLLING EGGS.
Mark on the table, or on the floor, if preferred, with chalk, four parallel lines, eight or ten feet long, and four or five inches apart. Thus there are three narrow spaces. At the end of each space make a circle...

BUNNY'S EGG.
On a sheet draw a rough-sketch of a good-sized rabbit, the regular Easter bunny, standing on its hind legs, and holding its paws as if it were carrying an egg. Stretch the sheet on the wall and tack it firmly i...

JULY FOURTH.
Aside from the enjoyment of firecrackers, etc., there are a few games to amuse the children on this day. If a party has been planned for the Fourth, the rooms should be appropriately decorated for the occasion. ...

FLAGS OF ALL NATIONS.
Flags of all nations are collected and displayed around the room. Each one is numbered. The guests are given pencil and paper with numbers down the left hand side. Opposite each number the guest writes the name...

OUR FLAG.
Other games for the Fourth are as follows: Each child is given a piece of white paper or cardboard 6-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches in size. All sit around a table on which are red and blue paper and a pile of stars by each...

HALLOWE'EN.
A Hallowe'en party is probably the only gathering where the stiffness and formality entirely disappear. Every one is in for a good time, and should be dressed in old clothes ready to try all sorts of experiments....

HALLOWE'EN STORIES.
There are several ways of telling ghastly stories on Hallowe'en. Have a large ball of different colored yarn handy and before the midnight hour, turn out the lights, and ask all the players to sit in a circle. Th...

HALLOWE'EN FATES.
For obtaining partners, fill a pumpkin rind with nuts, which have been opened, had the meat taken out, some token of the fate placed inside, and glued together again with a ribbon attached to each. Those drawing ...

SOME MORE FATES.
In addition to the regulation "bobbing for apples," "floating needles," and throwing the apple peel over the head, there are many other amusements of prophecy. In a doorway a portière of apples may be hung. App...

WATER CHARM.
Place three bowls on a table, one containing clear water, another soapy or muddy water, and the third one empty. Blindfold the players one at a time, and lead them to the bowls, (whose positions are changed eac...

OVER THE CIDER MUGS.
By each place at the table place a mug of sweet cider, a small bunch of matches, two candles, and a slip of paper with a pencil. Before the refreshments are served, when all are seated, the hostess announces th...

SHIPS OF FATE.
Prepare as many half shells of walnuts as there are guests. In each fasten a small candle with a drop of the wax. Fill a tub with water, and before sailing the boats, the water should be agitated so as to have ...

CAKE WITH CANDLES.
A large cake with as many different colored candles on it as there are guests, is passed around, and each one takes a piece of it, with the candle too, choosing whatever color they wish. As the cake passes from...

HUNT THE SQUIRREL.
To amuse the children after the Thanksgiving dinner, ask them all to join hands and form a ring. One is chosen out and is given a nut which he is to drop behind some child. As he walks around the outside of the r...

CHRISTMAS TREE.
A novel amusement for children at Christmas time is to trim a Christmas tree when blindfolded. Stand a small tree at one end of the room, ready to be trimmed. Have all the ornaments on a table near at hand, ready...

CHRISTMAS GUESSES.
Suspend a large bunch of mistletoe from one of the chandeliers. The children, one at a time, stand under the mistletoe, and guess how many berries there are on it. The berries are counted when all have guessed. T...

CHRISTMAS WREATH.
Suspend a large Christmas wreath in a doorway at a convenient height from the floor. Prepare in advance "snowballs," made of cotton batting covered with white tissue paper. The players stand about eight feet fr...

CHRISTMAS CANDLES.
A small tree is placed on a table. The candles are lighted. Blindfold the players, one at a time, turn around three times, and allow each to take five steps toward the tree. Then he must blow as hard as he can, e...

A GAME WITHIN A GAME.
While the children are waiting on Christmas for their presents, or dinner, or whenever the time seems to drag, suggest that each one think up the best game he knows. Give each child a pencil and a card on which...

TOSS THE GOODIES.
The children form a square, each one holding the sides of an old tablecloth or piece of sheeting. In the center of this is placed a pile of nuts, candies, raisins, fruits, and all sorts of goodies. When a signal ...

SNOWBALLS.
A pretty idea for concealing Christmas presents for the children is to make a lot of snowballs out of white tissue paper and cotton batting, and concerting the gifts inside. Pile all these snowballs under the t...