Parties have changed a lot since I was a child (no I’m not older than dirt, but I’m close). It used to be that a pretty hand-written invitation arrived in the mail and stated the occasion (Birthday, Holiday, Bar Mitzvah, Independence Day, Wedding), date, time, contact information along with a request for RSVP’s and whether or not a gift was expected. This invitation could arrive anywhere from three months to two weeks before the event. The people whose invites arrived with a mere two weeks’ notice often did not have well attended parties.
Extensive planning went into party preparation. Planning began with the invitation list—the folks who received those pretty hand-written cards in the mail. In addition, the location, time, purpose, activities, and menu were all carefully thought out. We here in the US still do this for weddings and wedding receptions. Birthdays and holidays not so much. The formal style of party has fallen by the way side in favor of casual comfort.
M
y favorite kind of party when I was a child was my own birthday party. I was born on November 1st, which gave me (and my mom) a perfect excuse to hold a Halloween themed party. Everyone came in costume—so you got more than one use out of the silly clothing your mom thought would make a cute ghoul or goblin. We had birthday cake of course but also lots of candy, fruit and nuts. My best birthday every, Mom let us bob for apples. Boy did we make a mess.
As I got older there were dance parties and school parties and end of school parties. The anticipation that built from the moment the invitations went out to the moment you stepped into the party location was as much fun as the party itself. But parties of the sort I grew up with have become passé, for a number of reasons. First, throwing a great party is expensive and time consuming for everyone involved, host and/or hostess and guests. We discovered we could have just as good a time without all the folderol of invitations, decorations, organized games et cetera. A 19th century hostess would be appalled at the way parties are handled today. Oh, we still plan and have activities and gifts, but the way those things happen is waaaaay different.
Please leave a comment and tell me what parties were like when you were young. Thank you.
The inspiration for this post is the Bluestocking Belles Cover Reveal Party happening this weekend, Saturday September 8th at 2:00 PM EDT. There will be prizes galore and a host of great authors to meet and talk with. I’ll be there from 200PM to 300PM to tell everyone about my novella, A Wish for All Seasons. Come on down. Here’s the link https://www.facebook.com/events/2089367241318177/?active_tab=discussion.
A Wish for All Seasons: The last thing Caibre MacFearann wants is to return to Scotland let alone be forced to stay there. But the chance to rekindle the lost love of his youth is too tempting to resist. Losing Caibre MacFearann’s love once hurt so much that Aisla MacKai wants nothing to do with him when a blizzard brings the man to her doorstep. Kindness and human charity require that she give him shelter, no matter that her poor heart had never mended.
About The Author: Hi, I’m Rue Allyn, I write heart melting romance novels. Books about characters and adventures in which love triumphs at the darkest moment. The kind of hopeful, steal-your-breath romance that melts a reader’s heart. The type of book I like to read. Hope you will too.
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