How to Entertain Guests With a Card Party
The easiest way to entertain guests is by having a card party. You can be certain that none are neglected, and that all have a good time. Since cards may be played at any hour of the day, they alone may be the reason for the occasion. Or they may precede or follow a breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Afternoon card parties are the most popular and easy to arrange for, because they offer the host an opportunity to entertain formally or informally, and with as little or as much expense as desired, and still be correct socially!
Auction is the most popular card game today, but Five Hundred, Euchre, or any other game played by the friends of the hostess is equally correct.
In preparing for a card party, you should, as a host, look up the correct rules for playing, scoring and progressing, and read them to your guests before the game starts, or else have a copy of the rules printed for each table. This will avoid all discussion and unpleasantness due to misunderstanding of the rules or variations in customs.
Another necessary provision for all entertaining with cards is the selection of one or two new decks of cards for each table, as the game requires, and an extra pack or two for emergencies. The cards can be inexpensive but well printed ones, with a durable finish. The money spent for new cards that slip easily will give your guests more pleasure than the most elaborate decorations, accessories, or refreshments.
Never invite more guests for cards than can be seated comfortably in your rooms, leaving free passage between the tables. It is better to give two successive parties at which the guests can be taken care of comfortably, than one large, crowded affair at which no one has enough elbow room.
Tables and Chairs: Place the tables for a progressive card party in a circle or in as straight a line as possible, to prevent confusion in changing tables. If the games are more than four-handed, it is better to use round tables. Uniform folding chairs and tables may be rented in cities. To make room for the extra tables and chairs, some of the regular furniture may be moved out of the room in which cards are played.
How to Organize a Card Club: The woman, or group of women, who wishes to organize a card club, writes notes to a certain number of congenial people, requesting them to meet at a designated place to discuss the formation of the club. It is a good idea to ask one person less than the number needed to make up the desired number of tables. Then the host for the day always has the privilege of asking an honor guest.
Rules for the club can be decided upon at the initial meeting. To shorten the preliminaries, the sponsors should have written down tentative suggestions regarding place and frequency of meetings, hours of play, fines, dues, number of prizes, prize giving and taking, refreshments, and methods of obtaining substitutes and inviting new members. There should be hard and fast rules covering all these points, if harmony is to abide with the organization. If it is deemed necessary, and the rules chosen for the club require them, a president, treasurer, and secretary may be elected, and a prize committee, either appointed by the president or elected by the members, may be selected. The treasurer of the club would be the logical chairman of this committee. The secretary of the club should keep track of meeting places, inviting new members, etc.
Nirjara Rustom moderates the Entertainment Section of http://www.bharatbhasha.com at http://www.bharatbhasha.com/entertainment.php