Giving a Nut Social.
Autumn approaches, and evening entertainments in-doors will soon be in order. Besides, the chestnut burs are getting large, and almost before we are aware of it they will be opening. A nut social is a novel thing, and it can be made as amusing, mysterious, or instructive as you wish, with genuine nuts and metaphorical nuts—geographical, historical, literary, or social.
Issue your invitations in a form to stimulate curiosity. You might put "Nut-cracking," "Nut Social," or "Mixed Nuts" as a title on the outside, with a big interrogation mark filling the centre, and the words "Contributions requested" below, with date and place of entertainment in the lower left-hand corner. Or better still, perhaps, paint a large nut, or a group of small ones, with nut-crackers and picks, if you choose, in the upper left-hand corner, and the words "To crack" in the centre, followed by place and date as before.
Your invitations may simply ask the pleasure of Miss Bessie M.'s or Miss Flora T.'s company. Engage several of your bright young friends to give a little description of some nut, impersonating it as far as possible, telling where found, its habits, manner of growth, uses, and any other interesting facts regarding it, concealing its name, and weaving as much mystery about it as possible. Have these descriptions only two or three minutes long, but as bright, catchy, and witty as may be. Then, after each nut is described, give a chance for quizzes and guesses regarding it. Intersperse the chat with an occasional strain of familiar music, which, in accordance with the nut cracking scheme, may be identified and the composer guessed. Brought in at unexpected intervals, it will require quick wits to name them readily.
To give variety to the entertainment, noted personages, books, characters in fiction, or works of art may be represented by the different guests, or an art gallery may be improvised by the hostess. The greater the variety of puzzling things, the greater will be the interest and the more enjoyable the entertainment. Everything, as far as possible, must be in the nature of a nut—to be cracked.
The refreshments should be of nuts, or something having nuts as an ingredient, as nut-cakes, nut-candies, etc. Have a nut salad if you like—a dish of nuts decorated with autumn leaves, intermingled with slips of paper containing conundrums, enigmas, puzzling Questions, etc., to be guessed by the recipients; or you may have nut bonbons of this same kind. Or, after carefully cracking English walnuts, substitute for the meats your paper nuts, unite the two half shells with a drop or two of mucilage, and serve with each plate of refreshments. Provide every guest with paper and pencil to record his guesses as he makes them, and give a prize for the greatest number of correct answers, and a booby-prize for the least. A silver nut-cracker or a set of nut-picks would be appropriate for the former, and a hammer for the latter. Try it, and you will like it.