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July 2007 ETC Corner
Wrapped
By: Sonshine
Author "Sonshine" shares her heart and God's truth about what's always in style in her poem.
I searched high and low for the finest clothes
I tried so hard to find just the right fit
Shades of colors that would accent
My reddish-brown skin wrapped in fashion
I found beautiful clothes for prices both high and low
Many great fits
And a wide range of colors to accent
I was a reddish-brown beauty with fashion
feeling like one of the world's finest
but that feelin' just wasn't lasting
I always needed more
Now I know I'm the daughter of The King and he reminded me of this one evening
He fashioned me in his image,
I'm a missing rib with a perfect fit
the color red is my accent
and because of Jesus I'm forever wrapped in love and I've been given a robe of righteousness
I am a reddish-brown beauty always in fashion; one of God's finest
and regardless of how I'm feeling or what I wear that's truth everlasting
How to Host a Literary Tea Party
By Brenda Shipman
Looking for a creative way to entertain family and friend this summer? Then read on for tips from author Brenda Shipman on how to create a memorable event.
C.S. Lewis once said, "You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." Amen to that! But what if tea and books were combined into one charming mix? I can't help but think that C.S. Lewis would have been delighted to attend a "literary tea party". It is an experience guaranteed to enrich mind, body and spirit, as well as make for an uncommonly merry memory!
My daughter, Katie, and I held "An Evening with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice" tea party for a small group of our friends. Our goal was to make literature come alive for our guests, and to have this particular book serve as a springboard for learning about the life and times of Jane Austen. The costumes, decorations, games, devotional, drama, food, craft, music and dancing all served to provide an incredibly rich (and fun!) experience for everyone.
The following steps were helpful to us as we prepared:
Decide on which book to highlight for the party. Try to choose a book that most of the guests have read. If you feel certain it is an unfamiliar book to the group, send your invitation well in advance to allow them time to read the book before the party. The classics offer a huge variety from which to choose, and the added bonus is that you have a bit of history to enrich the experience. Depending on the ages of those attending the party, and also if you decide to have a Mother/Daughter Literary Tea, you might be interested in Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy, or Gene Stratton Porter.
Choose activities, games, crafts, food, devotions, and decorations to go along with the book, author, and/or time period. Use the internet, library and your own resources for ideas. For our Pride and Prejudice tea party, we chose to focus on the Regency Era for the costumes, decorations, food, and activities, since this was the time period in which Jane Austen lived, and also is the setting for Pride and Prejudice.
The girls at the party later commented on how much fun they had "dressing up" in their Regency Era gowns. It was great fun eagerly awaiting the arrival of each guest to see how creative she had been with her costume. My attempt at making my own costume was truly embarrassing. The "empire waist" ended up being more of a "bustline" waist! And the bonnet could've passed for some sort of lacy hot air balloon. Ahhh, but it only served for more laughter and hilarity.
None of us knew how to really do the English country dancing that we had seen in the movie Pride and Prejudice, but it was a blast fumbling and tripping around each other while the music from the movie played in the background. When we finally had mastered a few steps, I think we each felt like we had stepped into that particular scene in the movie. We became Lizzy and Jane right there in the living room!
One of our favorite activities at the party was the "Mr. Collins Hot Potato" game. As each one of us had quoted Mr. Collins for several years, and could not recount any of his quotes without an "Ew!" escaping from our lips, none of us wanted to "get stuck" with his picture in our hands when the music stopped. The squeals of feigned disgust were hilarious!
Decide on the party's order of activities and write an agenda for the evening. Here is our agenda for "An Evening with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice":
An Evening With Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
~The Book and the Movie~
Katie plays Pride & Prejudice Theme Song on the Piano
Pray for God's Blessings on the Evening
Orally Present the Life of Jane Austen (use maps, timeline, bio, display board)
Devotion and Short Discussion: "Pride and Prejudice in the Bible"
Pride - "The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: they will not go unpunished." (Proverbs 16:5), Prejudice (first impressions) - "The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out." (Proverbs 20:5)
Times of Jane Austen - the Regency Period (use large tri-fold display board):
Pastimes (include hobbies and games)
Education
Contemporary Authors
Etiquette & Manners
Major Military & Political Happenings
Fashion & Cosmetics
Dramatic Reenactment: Darcy's Proposal to Elizabeth (Katie and Kate)
Katie plays Turkish March (from dancing scene in movie)
Read "Signs That You Have Watched Pride & Prejudice Too Many Times"
Play Game: Mr. Collins Hot Potato (use English Country dancing CD with "Who Said This in the Movie and/or Book?" quotes. Give prizes for correct answers.)
Dinner
Craft: Using lace and silk flowers, decorate frames for silhouette of Jane Austen.
Share Jane Austen quote: "To be fond of dancing is a certain step towards falling in love." Demonstrate English Country Dancing.
Fellowship & Goodbyes
Assemble a to-do list (include housecleaning), as well as a list of anything you will need to buy (e.g. order Pride and Prejudice soundtrack and English Broadside Band CDs from Amazon, menu items, decorations, etc.) for each detail of the party.
Here is a portion of my Pride & Prejudice party to-do list:
Monday:
Shop for menu items and decorations for party.
Tuesday:
Practice English Country dancing; type, copy and organize notes, maps, game sheets, etc. and put in folders.
Wednesday:
Make and freeze sausage balls, pound cake, scones; thaw tenderloin.
Thursday:
Buy avocados, sliced black olives, fresh strawberries and kiwi fruit; make tart shells, napoleon pastries, salad dressing. Assemble tea bags in basket; set up sugar & honey; wash spinach and lettuce; choose dishes for food; set up & decorate table.
Friday:
Thaw freezer items; bake beef & slice; make soup; assemble salad; arrange food on dishes; fill Napoleon pastry horns with whipped cream; make pudding and fill tarts; set up coffeemaker; heat up food in oven; sweep and mop, dust, vacuum, and clean bathroom; get dressed; help Katie with her hairdo (Regency Era style)
Katie and I made some special memories together by preparing for the party. Everything on our "to do" list provided rich creative moments of learning as Katie and I cooked and sewed together, chose graphics for the invitations, place cards, etc., and did the research for the teaching about Jane Austen's life, times, and books. The memories made before the party were just as meaningful as the party itself.
Make or buy the invitations and mail them.
For our Pride and Prejudice party, we used a card making software program on our computer to generate the invitations. We downloaded a picture off the internet from the movie Pride & Prejudice for the front of the invitation, trimmed the edges in lace and used a Regency-type font for the text. We also sealed each invitation with a lovely vintage rose sticker (or you could be more authentic and use a stamped wax seal).
Included in the invitation should be the option of attending the tea party in costume. If you, as the hostess, make your own costume (as Katie and I did, and boy was it fun!), make sure you share the era of the costume, along with the pattern name and number (e.g. Simplicity 4055 for Regency gown pattern). If your guests are not inclined to sew their own costume, suggest they shop thrift shops and used clothing stores for the cheapest option for a costume.
One week in advance, prepare any food items you can make ahead and freeze. Assign tasks for each day that can be done ahead of time.
As with any big event, the more you can do ahead of time, the better. I found it most helpful to choose recipes that could be made well in advance and frozen. It prevents so much stress for the hostess on the day of the party (see above list of daily tasks).
On the "big day", try to finish most of the preparations earlier in the afternoon so you can have some time to leisurely primp and dress-up for the party.
If you are wearing a costume and plan on fixing your hair to reflect a particular time period, you will need quite a bit of time just before the party to get yourself ready. I cannot count the number of times I have greeted my guests at the front door, exhausted and a bit frazzled from putting off too many details to the last minute.
Relax and enjoy the wonderful memory you are making for all the mothers and daughters.
Because we had spent many hours planning and preparing well in advance for this event, Katie and I were able to truly enjoy each aspect of the party and focus on making our guests feel very special. As Proverbs says, "The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage."
Our Jane Austen tea party still stands as one of our favorite memories. It made this particular author's life and book come to life for all of us and, in a way, validated what Henry Ward Beecher said, "A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party . . . ." Tea and books - ahhh, the perfect combination!
Summer is Picnic Time!
Turn a simple meal into an afternoon of entertainment for the whole family!
If you have young children at home for the summer, take advantage of the warm weather and have a meal outdoors at a park, lake or other local point of interest. Try picnicking in the evening for dinner (at a park with lights), or very early in the morning for a hike to watch the sun rise.
For tips, I asked some young experts to offer their opinions on what makes a good picnic:
Don't worry so much about the food. Peanut butter and jelly is fine. It might be kind of fun to cut it out with a cookie cutter though. Cookies are always good too.
Fancy foo-foo drinks are not necessary either, just something cool and refreshing (maybe flavored water) with a crazy straw.
Bring a really big inflatable ball and play "extreme soccer" with it.
If it's breezy bring a kite. The simple types seem to fly the best.
Try "ice blocking." This involves getting a block of ice and sitting on it and then sliding down a steep grassy hill. That'll cool you off!
Get the kids involved in planning, because that's half the fun!
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