Jack-o'-lanterns of pumpkins; strings of apples, popcorn and cranberries, and toy brooms hung here and there, as reminders of the witches who are said to be abroad, will add to the occasion. The pumpkins should be cut to resemble skulls.
Have some one read "Tam O'Shanter's Mare" (Burns); also some good ghost story. Thomas Kendrick Bangs' "Ghosts Which I Have Met" contains some good stories, all absurd. Choose a good reader for this.
1. (_White or tinted cards_, _Palmer Cox Brownies_, _ink_, _pen_)
The Brownies are delightfully funny little people without a suggestion of anything coarse or evil. The children love them. Let the older ones copy and cut them out to use as invitation cards for the Hallowe'en party or for place cards.
Since witches are always associated with the pricking of pins, this is an appropriate occasion for using the kindergarten pricking. Outline some of the Brownies on tinted cards and prick as directed on page 165.
3. (See Pumpkin Jack-o'-lantern cards, page 135.)
=Place Cards= (_White paper or cardboard_, _brush and paints or pen and ink_)
1. Cut out a turkey, copying from some picture if necessary. (Picture may be found in dictionary.) If skilful with brush or pen, indicate the feathers, eye, etc.
2. Draw picture of a pumpkin. Cut it out. Paint in deep orange tones with shadings of brown. Cut into it eyes, nose and mouth, suggesting Jack-o'-lantern.
3. On white cards write stanzas from Whittier's poem, "The Pumpkin Pie," and let each guest read his stanza in turn.
4. Cut as many triangles as there are guests and paint each to resemble a slice of pie. One side of triangle should be curved.
5. Find a simple figure of a Puritan maiden and draw in outline; then cut out and paint or draw in black ink the important lines. Use as place card.
6. Make little walnut boats (see page 22), and on each sail write name of guest.
7. Find picture of Mayflower and copy on white card. On reverse side write a stanza of "The Breaking Waves Dashed High." Let each guest read his lines. (Or parts of "Hiawatha" about Mondamin may be used.)
=Table Souvenirs= (_Tiny cast-iron gardening tools, 1 cent each_)
As described under Labor Day, these tiny penny tools may be put at each place, the hatchet representing the knife, the rake the fork, and the spade the spoon. Attach name of guest to set.