A Pie Party for Thanksgiving Season.
Thanksgiving is the pie season par excellence. The very name calls up visions of old fashioned, buttery shelves loaded down with rows upon rows of the flaky wheels and delicious fillings.
A new idea in entertaining for Thanksgiving, "the pie party," makes use of this American product. The scheme is an excellent one for the day itself or for any time during Thanksgiving season.
To prepare for a pie party, get together as many pie plates as you can beg, borrow or buy. A couple of dozen will be needed at least.
Arrange tables along the wall of the room in which the guests are to be received, and place the pie plates upon these tables. Cover the tables with white paper terminating in paper lace to give the effect of quaint, old-fashioned shelves.
In each pan place a group of articles or pictures which will represent in anagram the filling of a pie. Punning and word stretching of all kinds are allowable, although each puzzle must be simple enough to be readily recognized when guessed.
Here is a rough suggestion to show the plan of the puzzles. The hostess may modify it to suit her own needs.
THE PIE SHELF.
A twig from a pine tree and an apple. Pineapple.
The letters of the word cheese on alphabet cards, jumbled together, with a slice of cake. Cheesecake.
A cigarette case in the form of a coffin (bury) and a scrap of straw. Strawberry.
A paperweight representing a ragged little dog and an entomological photograph of the common ant. Cur(r)ant.
A little oyster crab and an apple. Crabapple.
A lead line (plumb). Plum.
A pot, the letter A from baby's alphabet and the toe of a boot (pot-a-toe), all four articles being sprinkled with granulated sugar. Sweet Potato.
A bicycle pump and a card having the words Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, written upon it. Pump-kin.
A breakfast cocoa box and a chestnut. Cocoanut.
A tailor's iron and a berry. Blackberry.
Cardboard cut in the shape of a peach with "to inform against," written upon it. Peach.
Two aces (pair). Pear.
A slip from the daily calendar bearing the date November. Date.
A bow of cherry colored ribbon. Cherry.
A bow of blue ribbon and a berry. Blueberry.
Some fluffy Easter chickens and a pot. Chicken pot pie.
A pair of pruning shears. Prune.
The guests are invited to inspect the pies and guess the contents. Each player works for himself and consultations are not allowed.
Wee note books, having covers decorated in water color, with picturesque Thanksgiving scenes, are distributed among the guests, for use in writing down guesses.
It is explained that fruits, vegetables and everything of which pies are made, figure in the list.
One hour is the usual time limit. The player, who in that time discovers most of the fillings, carries off first honors. There should be a second award and a couple of laughable boobies in the form of jelly tarts.
The first prize might be a smart silver pie knife, and the second a pretty china pie dish.
Smoking hot roasted oysters, jellied tongue with chopped pickle served in Spanish peppers, little hot rolls in form of balls, a plain tomato salad and slices of delicious home-made pies are among the good things of the menu.