old fashioned Christmas party

Examples of Forfeits Paid in Old-Fashioned Themed Parties

/ sandramervillehart

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If you missed my last post about earning forfeits during parties over a century ago, click here. Paying game forfeits was a fun ending to an evening’s entertainment. To give an idea of the types of forfeits, here are a few of the penalties that players suffered.

  1. Laugh in one corner, cry in another, sing in another, and dance in another.
  2. Place one hand where the other hand can’t touch it. (Hint: This will take some thought on the player’s part, but it is accomplished by placing the right hand on the left elbow.)
  3. Bow to the wittiest, kneel to the prettiest, and kiss the one you love best.
  4. Lay a newspaper sheet on the floor. Without leaving it, place two people on it in a way that they can’t touch each other with their hands. (Hint: This one also requires thought. The answer is to put the newspaper half on one side of a door and half on the other. Have two people stand one on either side and they can’t touch each other.)
  5. Make a wallflower of yourself. If the one paying a forfeit is a lady, she must stand with her back against the wall and remain there until she has been kissed twice, once each by two different gentlemen. (She has to invite them to kiss her.) If a man is the wallflower, he stands against the wall until a woman takes compassion on him and releases him from his punishment by kissing him.
  6. Say “Quizzical Quiz, kiss me quick” six times without taking a breath.
  7. Smile without laughing in each corner of the room.
  8. Kiss a book inside and outside without opening it. (Hint: This is another forfeit that requires a bit of thought. The solution is to kiss the book inside the room and outside the room.)
  9. Place a candle somewhere that everyone in the room can see it but you. (Hint: Place the candle on your head.)
  10. Push your friend’s head through a ring. (Hint: Place a ring on your finger and push a friend’s head with the fingertip.)

These are just a sampling of the type of forfeits given for making mistakes in games, intended to spark good-natured laughter and fun.

For other old-fashioned party ideas, read  Evening Amusements for Old Fashioned Themed Parties – Part 1 for food ideas. Part 2  explains the Game of Concert. Part 3  shows two games that allow guests to show their creativity. Read part 4  to find how to play a fun game called “Tip It” or “Hands” that moves quickly.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Source

Planche, Frederick D’Arros. Evening amusements for every one; a collection of mirthful games, parlour pastimes, shadow plays, magic, conjuring, card tricks, chemical surprises, fireworks, forfeits, &c., illus. by George Cruikshank and others, Porter and Coates, ca 1880.

 

Paying Forfeits in Old-Fashioned Themed Parties

/ sandramervillehart / 1 Comment

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When I hosted an old-fashioned theme party for a few friends during the Christmas season, I chose not to use forfeits because there were so many other things to plan and organize. Paying game forfeits apparently added to the evening’s fun in days gone by, especially for young people.

Guests earned forfeits during games. When a player would leave the game for incorrect responses or for not following the rules, they earned forfeits a century ago.

After the games were finished, “Crying the Forfeits” concluded the evening. Paying penalties for mistakes was both anticipated and dreaded because the crowd decided the forfeit for each individual.

The Director doesn’t earn forfeits so he or she usually takes charge of this, but it may also be run by a participant who doesn’t earn any forfeits.

All who must pay forfeits hide their eyes. The Director holds a piece of paper over each person’s head as the crowd decides the penalty without revealing the person’s name. The Director may ask, “Here’s a lovely thing; what’s to be done with this lovely thing?” to reveal that it is a woman receiving this particular penalty. Perhaps the Director asked about a muscular arm to reveal the player was a man.

When everyone’s forfeit had been decided, players open their eyes and learn their penalty. Each takes turns paying their forfeit.

Read next week’s post to learn some of the forfeits paid. For other old-fashioned party ideas, read  Evening Amusements for Old Fashioned Themed Parties – Part 1 for food ideas. Part 2 explains the Game of Concert. Part 3 shows two games that allow guests to show their creativity. Read Part 4 to find how to play a fun game called “Tip It” or “Hands” that moves quickly.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Source

Planche, Frederick D’Arros. Evening amusements for every one; a collection of mirthful games, parlour pastimes, shadow plays, magic, conjuring, card tricks, chemical surprises, fireworks, forfeits, &c., illus. by George Cruikshank and others, Porter and Coates, ca 1880.

Evening Amusements for Old-Fashioned Themed Parties – Part 3

/ sandramervillehart / 1 Comment

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I wanted to host an old-fashioned theme party for a few friends during the Christmas season. Read  Evening Amusements for Old Fashioned Themed Parties – Part 1 for food ideas. Part 2 explains the Game of Concert.

Today I’m sharing two fun games. You need only your wit to play these games in a group setting. The games call for guests to think about their answers and also how they will outwit an opponent.

The Game of One Syllable

In this game, players take turns asking the person on their right a question, which can be any number of syllables. Each word of the neighbor’s response must be one syllable; it can be a whole sentence, just every word must be one syllable.

Example: Do you enjoy the winter season?

Answer: Yes, I actually enjoy driving in icy conditions.

Had he stopped at “yes” he would have been fine, but “actually” “enjoy” “driving” “icy” “conditions” get him booted from the game.

If any word of the player’s response contains more than one syllable, that person is out.

The Game of Five Vowels

This game is similar to the Game of One Syllable. The person asks a question to the player on their left and requests the response be given without an “e” (or an a, etc.) Then every word in the response must not contain that vowel.

If the player includes the forbidden vowel, he’s out.

Sound easy? (Hint: Think about asking questions that require an answer using a particular vowel and then forbid that vowel. That sparks everyone’s creativity.)

Guests enjoyed both these games so often played at parties over a century ago.

Next time we will talk about more party games. Hope you can join in the fun!

-Sandra Merville Hart

 

Source

Planche, Frederick D’Arros. Evening amusements for every one; a collection of mirthful games, parlour pastimes, shadow plays, magic, conjuring, card tricks, chemical surprises, fireworks, forfeits, &c., illus. by George Cruikshank and others, Porter and Coates, ca 1880.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evening Amusements for Old-Fashioned Themed Parties – Part 2

/ sandramervillehart / 1 Comment

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I wanted to host an old-fashioned theme party for a few friends during the Christmas season. Read  Evening Amusements for Old Fashioned Themed Parties – Part 1 for food ideas.

The local library contained a book written in the 1880s on evening entertainments filled with various games, card tricks, forfeits, and even chemical surprises.

With a little planning, a dozen of us got into the spirit of the evening and enjoyed playing games that history seems to have forgotten.

I thought others might enjoy planning this type of evening so I’m sharing games we played with you.

The Game of Concert

  1. Elect a conductor who will lead an imaginary orchestra.
  2. Assign instruments, such as violin, harp, drum, trumpet, trombone, flute, cymbals, clarinet, tuba, bugle, fife, bass, etc.
  3. Conductor hums a tune and all join in noisily using their pretend instruments. The conductor waves imaginary baton and everyone ceases.
  4. Time for “solos.” Conductor makes motions to play a particular instrument. The person who has that instrument immediately joins in and pretends to play. If they don’t, they are out of the game.

Conductor continues with solos until everyone has played.

Historically, contestants earned forfeits for losing that were “paid” at the end of the evening. For our purposes, continue playing until only one player remains who claims the prize.

One of our guests had attended college to become a band leader but never found a job in that field. How fun to find out that tidbit early in the evening and be able to elect him as conductor!

He had to speed up to catch “band members” off guard. He did such a great job that everyone agreed that he won the prize.

Next time we will talk about more party games. Hope you can join in the fun!

-Sandra Merville Hart

 

Source

Planche, Frederick D’Arros. Evening amusements for every one; a collection of mirthful games, parlour pastimes, shadow plays, magic, conjuring, card tricks, chemical surprises, fireworks, forfeits, &c., illus. by George Cruikshank and others, Porter and Coates, ca 1880.

Evening Amusements for Old-Fashioned Themed Parties – Part 1

/ sandramervillehart / 3 Comments

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I wanted to host an old-fashioned theme party for a few friends during the Christmas season. My husband and I issued invitations announcing this these before I began researching.

Christmas shopping, work deadlines, and family obligations prevented me from doing more than thinking about it until a week before the party.

I wanted a few ways to demonstrate how our ancestors entertained at parties a century or two ago. In the days for television and radio, how did folks pass the time? The best source for information like this are books and novels written during the time period.

How wonderful that the local library contained a book written in the 1880s on evening entertainments! There are various games, card tricks, forfeits, and even chemical surprises.

With a little planning, a dozen of us got into the spirit of the evening and enjoyed playing games that history seems to have forgotten.

I thought others might enjoy planning this type of evening so I’m sharing about it.

Instead of serving dinner, we simplified the menu to appetizers and desserts yet wanted to follow the theme.

blog-046I made gumbo soup  using a recipe from 1877, a comforting dish that had many guests returning for a second helping. I prepared an old-fashioned stack cake  similar to the dessert my grandmother baked every Christmas.

We drank wassail , which is warm mulled apple cider. The beverage also felt appropriate for the chilly weather.

Some guests got into the “old-fashioned” spirit with their pitch-in dishes. One couple brought a home-made apple pie. Another brought a variation of a yule log with peppermint shavings. Delicious!

blog-055After the appetizers were consumed, the ladies strung popcorn while the men opted for conversation. Fresh cranberries were added to the chain after every fifth popcorn piece making a pretty chain for the Christmas tree.

It was a fun and festive activity to begin our party.

Next time we will talk about party games. Hope you can join in the fun!

-Sandra Merville Hart

 

Source

Planche, Frederick D’Arros. Evening amusements for every one; a collection of mirthful games, parlour pastimes, shadow plays, magic, conjuring, card tricks, chemical surprises, fireworks, forfeits, &c., illus. by George Cruikshank and others, Porter and Coates, ca 1880.