The Abingdon Party Book by Ethel Owen is a cute little piece of vintage party history. I picked up this volume several years ago at eBay while looking for vintage Halloween party books.
The book features all kinds of parties and for all Holidays too. The frontispiece is a neat color picture of vintage Halloween party decorations--from the Gibson Art Co. The latest copyright in this book is 1937.
The party chapter on Halloween is called, "A Halloween Frolic."
Highlights include:
"Have plenty of jack o' lanterns hung from trees and porch, and two extra big ones at the entrance to the house."
A witch stirring a cauldron invites party guests to write a stunt on a card and these are throw into the cauldron, she stirs it up, and guests must draw cards and perform the stunt written.
Menu Suggestion:
A Bewitching Concoction (Salad)
Sweet Fortune (Cake)
Friends En Masque (Potato Chips)
Couples of Mystery (Sandwiches)
Chills (Ice Cream)
Woody Fruit (Nuts)
Emissaries of Fate (Apples)
Aroma of Destiny (Coffee)
What's so amusing is that the author references purchasing party items in stores at "reasonable prices." Considering what some vintage Halloween collectibles cost today, we dream of "reasonable prices." :)
Often at parties, stunt and fortune games were played and you can find most of these fairly reasonably at eBay like the punch board game above. Finding them complete and unused is a challenge sometimes!
Jenn:)
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