AMERICAN HOME - part 4 Air Warden Shin Dig

I wish I would have thrown this party. SRSLY, what a great idea. My favorite part of it is "delivering DAMAGE REPORT" because it sounds like a fantastic game. This game would be especially fun if you actually did throw this party for wardens. Unfortunately, my invitations would have to fall among guests who would have no more acquaintance with defense work than seeing it mentioned in the newspapers. Or, you know, the Internet.

OOOhhhh. My birthday is this summer. Maybe I should have an Air Warden Shin Dig!

-----

YOU couldn't stand on your doorstep and toss a doughnut into the air without having it ring someone who is doing Civilian Defense work. But these patriotic-minded people enjoy a rip-snorting good time for a change from their duties, too. You could have this party for the wardens of your post, or let the invitations fall among the workers and non-workers in your circle of friends. It's still a good shindig even if none of your guests has any more acquaintance with defense work than seeing it mentioned in the newspapers.

The telephone is the easiest method of issuing invitations, but if you want to be different, send bids on red, white, and blue bordered stationery. Or, to go whole hog, cut out five-inch circles of dark blue paper and paste on white triangles with parallel crayon stripes of red. On the intervening white stripes you can write the facts about the party. (In case you're not of the initiated, the message will have been written on the symbol of the Air Raid Warden.)

After amusing yourself with the games described opposite, hold up a menu like the one shown above (Yellow Warning--Blackout Delight--First Aid Stimulant) and offer a prize to the person who writes down the best interpretations of the items listed. Our fare for hearty appetites was creamed eggs on toast, devil's-food cake, and coffee. The whites of the hard-cooked eggs are in the cream sauce, and the yolks are chopped up and sprinkled over the top, thereby giving "yellow warning" effect. Or, you might try some kind of American cheese dish. You can't improve on the chocolate cake and coffee.

Canteen Race

All of the girls, supposed to be canteen volunteers, choose partners. Each worker is given a tumbler half full of ginger ale, milk, or some other liquid, and a teaspoon. When the starting signal is given, they start racing to see who can "spoon feed" every drop of liquid to her partner first. Chief delight of this game seems to be in the guests' irresistible urge to giggle just before swallowing a crucial spoonful. This adds to the merriment, of course, but doesn't help make a winner! Try it on your thirsty pals.

Rumor-monger
An old but amusing stunt that points a worth-while moral. Write out, in advance, a fairly complicated rumor involving your country. Now whisper this message to one of the guests, then have it whispered along from one to another until it has made the rounds. The last person recites aloud what is heard, and then the original story is read. The moral will be obvious! Example for rumor: "The Germans have established a secret base near the tip of Cape Cod. They have 2,371 soldiers there, a fleet of supply ships, and hundreds of tanks. Thirteen submarines are based there, and a large airplane field has been built and is being used by 293 planes just in from South America."

BOMB disposal (An American Home game)

THIS, too, calls for action. Line up two to four players, each armed with a table knife, and in front of each put a "bomb" which, curiously enough, will look exactly like an Idaho baking potato. Give the starting signal, and the race is on to see who can roll his potato to the other end of the room, finishing with it on an inverted plate, which has been placed on the floor for the purpose. A final winner can be established by having as many "heats" as necessary. This harks back to the old potato races you had in the third grade.

delivering DAMAGE REPORT (An American Home Game)

DAMAGE report messages are being delivered in spite of fact that water mains have burst and the area is so flooded that the only transportation is by boat. The boats which you produce at this point are large dishpans. Select two or three wardens, help them into their "boats," and have them race with their reports to the other end of the room. The winner of each heat competes with other winners for the prize offered to the fastest warden. This is good healthy exercise, and fun because it's both silly and competitive. Your main problem is to get dishpans big enough to fit your guests!