The Man-of-the-House took the Lady-of-the-House shopping. He
drove the back way through the farms. A
field of winterberries caught their eye.
They are bundled and sold on the roadside. Rose hips are
sold further up the road.
A handsome old brick house is always admired by the
Man-of-the-House along the back way.
On the other side of the road is a farmhouse. The hens are
like those that the Lady-of-House once kept and doted over.
A large flock of Canadian Geese rest from their flight. The
workhorses are at rest, too.
A brief stop at a yarn store and the Lady-of-the-House spied
a rug hooking kit. At home it hung on a doorknob. Each time she passed it
anticipation arose within her.
Some weeks later she noticed the little check marks running
down her to-do list resembled a column of prim smiles. She took some moments to
sit back and enjoy the fruit of her labor; the greenery and berries arrayed,
the cookies baked, the gifts wrapped. Now only the supper needed roasting to perfection.
What would give her the sweetest satisfaction would be to see the happy smiles
on the faces of her family. If some trifling tid-bit managed to be overlooked
because it was left off the list, never mind.
One thing that had no chance of being overlooked was that of
playing charades. It is the Lady-of-the-House herself who is the one who (it
might be said) most anticipates playing charades at the holidays - a time for
mirth and merriment. She is naturally soft-spoken, sometimes given to melancholy, quietly jovial and seldom
silly but when playing charades she has a little sparkle of fun in her eyes.
Have you been “all work and no play?” It is easy to see how
this can come to be the state of things at this busy time of year. Please
consider some Mother’s Merriment.
‘Tis the season to be jolly.
Charades - an old fashioned “drawing-room amusement” - is
the kind of recreation that amuses much but costs little. It calls forth
creative imagination and the wearing of a genuine thinking cap – party
hat. Charades puts the biggest
smiles of the year upon the faces of those who play. It gives the adult
children of the Lady-of-the-House and her husband delight to see Mother so merry.
Mentioned in literature we know that charades have been
around for a couple of centuries. Adults once played charades in corseted
holiday attire. Riddles were formidable and demanded a sort of Oscar-Wilde-wit.
Today we are more relaxed.
Over the years the game has become simplified. Costumes and
scripts to rehearse have been replaced by shorter and shorter riddles for
guessing. And yet, it is still a
game that amuses successfully. Are you interested in how to play charades? Read on.
Otherwise, freely scroll to the closing remarks.
How to Play Charades
Charades is played by a performer who uses mime. Without
uttering a word he coaches the audience in guessing a phrase. A title of a book
or film is most popular. To start the game with easy phrases or to include younger
players the host or hostess can write phrases on scraps of paper. Folded papers
with the recent films viewed or of favorite books read, are placed in a winter
hat for picking.
If the phrase is a book the presenter’s hands are pressed
together with open palms as if holding an open book. If the phrase is a film an
old movie camera is held up to the eye and cranked with one hand.
One finger is held up to represent the “First Word” in the
phrase. A guesser in the audience can speak out, “First Word.” For syllables one finger is placed on
the forearm – “One Syllable” - two fingers for two syllables, three for three,
etc. The syllable or whole word is acted out with gestures or pantomime.
Further clues can also be given. With the performer's hand cupped to an ear a
guesser will announce, “Sounds Like.” If the guessing comes close the performer
waves the guessers on. If they guess correctly he nods or touches his nose when
they hit it “on the nose.” If they are far from the mark he puts on a frown and
shakes his head “no.” He may wave his hands frantically as if to erase his
gestures from the air around him to start again – perhaps with “Second Word.”
To indicate a connecting word such as “it, and, the, to,” he puts his thumb and
forefinger together to show “Little Word.” If a word needs to be lengthened a
he can make a gesture as if stretching a large rubber band.
She opens her palms. Someone calls out, "A book."
She nods yes.
She also cranks her camera. “A film.”
She nods yes to this, too.
She nods yes.
She also cranks her camera. “A film.”
She nods yes to this, too.
Two fingers up. “Two words.”
One finger up, next. “First word.”
One finger on a forearm. “One syllable.”
With that out of the way she covers her eyes with both
hands. “Blind.”
She shakes her head no.
“Dark.”
No.
“Black.”
Yes, she nods enthusiastically.
Two fingers up. “Second word.”
She gestures at brushing her hair with long strokes and then
putting on lipstick. Then she gallops across the room with her hands holding a horse’s reigns.
“Beauty,” is called out with a giggle. “Black Beauty” is the
guess a second later. A wave a laughter follows.
“Who goes next?”
Some players like to form two teams, use a timer and keep
score. But none of these are necessary.
Charades, a game that is in danger of being lost to
antiquity, can be rediscovered by a new generation. When family and friends
experience how fun it is to play, it is more likely to become a tradition.
To Close
“With most of my to-do list checked I’ll open my kit again. But this time
I’ll relax long enough to read the directions. When I have a little more time
I’ll begin. It’s always thrilling to start a new project,” the
Lady-of-the-House thought to herself. The project is a chair pad by Yankee Peddler.
The tiny mittens (above) are those she knit with fingering weight
yarn. A frugal friend felted the tiny sheep onto pipe cleaners.
In Charles Spurgeon’s sermon “The First Christmas Carol”
(text Luke 11:14) he quotes Isaac Watts.
“Religion never was designed
To make our pleasures less.”
Charles Spurgeon goes on to say that, “It is designed to do
away with some of our pleasures, but it gives us many more, to make up for what
it takes away; so it does not make them less.”
Happy New Year
Karen Andreola
