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CHAPTER XXVI
Children's Parties
CHILDREN'S PARTIES
I
N planning for a children's party, one should begin with the little host or hostess and endeavour to instil into the mind and heart of the budding man or woman the truth that "the pleasure of giving pleasure is the pleasantest kind of pleasure."
Let the child write the invitations with but guidance sufficient to convey clearness without suppressing spontaneity and the childish turn of expression.
The diminutive note-paper adorned with pictures from Mother Goose or other childish classic, at the top of the page, as well as the sense of importance and the novelty, will make the effort less irksome.
It is well to limit the number of guests to twenty or thereabout, and the happiest results follow where the little guests are of about the same age.
It is wisest to ask tiny children—those from two to six years old—in the afternoon rather than in the evening. If they come at three, play until five or half-past, and then have tea and go home, there will be fewer tears shed than if they stay later, when they are sure to be cross, tired, and out of sorts.
From four to eight is the best time for children from seven to twelve years old. This permits supper to
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