Home Fun

THERE is one form of entertainment which perhaps makes a stronger appeal to the average boy and young man than almost any other. It would not, in a sense, be wrong to say that v...

AT Christmas parties, at which guests of all ages are found, it is sometimes a perplexing riddle to the hostess to know how to entertain them all. Musical items which may deligh...

IT has been asserted that the noun “bunkum” is first cousin to the verb “to bunk.” If so, the dealer in bunkumisms disdains the connection until matters grow too hot for him at...

A GREAT many people are deterred from embarking on the sea of amateur theatricals for the reason that the expense and trouble incurred in providing an adequate stage, and in fin...

ONE of the oldest and most fascinating puzzles comes, like so many quaint things, from the Far East where, over four thousand years ago, a learned Chinaman named Tan made the in...

IT has been presumed in commencing these notes that most would-be experimenters already possess a camera, or will at least shortly do so. Thus the greater number of experiments...

ELECTRICITY may be said to have a finger in most pies. From its manifestations it would appear to be an all-pervading force, and modern research tends always to substantiate thi...

TO many boys and girls who have acquired at school some knowledge of Science, the mere mention of the words “Scientific Experiments” recalls memories of experiments far from amu...

ONE winter evening three boys--Jim Thompson, his cousin Will White, and a friend named Handley--approached the door of Bobbie Cargill’s house. Bobbie was a genius for inventions...

IT is said that at some period of his life every boy becomes stage-struck, and it may be averred with equal truth that sooner or later every boy is seized with a desire to becom...

ALTHOUGH from earliest times wizards and conjurers have attempted to create illusions to impose upon the more credulous of their dupes, it was not until the great Robert Houdin...

FEW of us have not lain in bed by candle-light and with more or less success cast shadows upon the wall. Some may have seen public entertainments in which shadow pictures formed...

Take a cork of a diameter less than the internal diameter of the neck of the bottle you propose using, and ask a friend to make it enter the bottle by blowing upon it.

IT cannot fail to strike those of us who are blessed with the use of our eyes how extremely fortunate it is that our blind friends need not be debarred from many of our games. B...

A HOME CIRCUS has so far been beyond the wildest dreams of the amateur showman. Yet when one considers the wide scope a circus presents to performers of every type, it is curiou...

THERE is no more amusing diversion for a frivolous half-hour’s entertainment than that of fortune-telling by cards. Young or old enjoy it, and with a ready tongue the combinatio...

THE best method by which to advocate the “black stage” as a means of entertainment, will perhaps be to describe one of the many illusions that can be produced with its aid.

A PHENOMENON is always mysterious, so long as its origin remains hidden. That is to say that any event, the causes of whose manifestation are obscure, will be found to prompt so...

THE term “Hypnotism” is defined in Nuttall as “an artificially induced state of sleep,” and is of Greek origin, the prefix “hypo” signifying “under” or “beneath,” and the Greek...

CLAIRVOYANCE, originally a French word, means the ability to see clearly. The reason so few people possess this extraordinary psychic faculty, is because most human beings are t...

AN exhibition of so-called hypnotism and second-sight is a favorite item in the programmes of many professional entertainers. If well managed, the performance appears miraculous...

A VERY popular means of amusing a house-party is the impersonation of various characters. It is an entertainment more suitable to the limits of a drawing-room than tableaux or a...

MARIONETTES, though claiming no rivalry to the time-honored institution of Punch and Judy, have a great charm of their own, and, with no traditional story of Punch, Judy, and Do...

AT social functions, such as garden and evening parties, fairs, &c., there are few people whose notice and attentions are so solicited as the palmist’s. He speedily finds himsel...

ONE of the most popular indoor entertainments for winter evenings, or indoor parties, both with children and “grown-ups,” is charades. Not only do they afford amusement to the a...

FROM the earliest times secret writing has been considered no less an art than a necessity. Innumerable have been the systems invented and the means employed to insure the secre...

MR. PUNCH and Mrs. Judy at one time held quite an exalted position among forms of entertainment dear to the heart of the British boy. As far back as the reign of Queen Anne, a w...

From the age when wisdom devoted itself in vain to the discovery of an elixir of life and a method of transmuting the base metals into gold, to the present day, when scientists...

And really at first it would seem to be an assertion admitting of no further question, were it not for the fact that we know our eyes are no more infallible than anything else i...

FEW things are productive of such literally breathless interest as plate-spinning. In what a state of agonized anxiety your audience will be as they watch you imperturbably spin...

THE musical sketch occupies a high and prominent position in the scale of entertainments given by the individual. With many it is more popular than ventriloquism, impersonations...

THE famous King Belshazzar was much dismayed to see the mysterious writing upon the wall of his palace. Without reducing your friends to a similar state of terror, a very easy e...

PHRENOLOGY is that science which may be said to provide a chart or map for the discovery of the treasures existing in the “estate under the hat.” It is of Greek origin (_phren_,...

While no great amount of money need be expended, at the same time the best results can be obtained only from the use of good cosmetics. Grease paints, obtainable from any purvey...

TABLEAUX may be divided into two important classes--the portrayal of abstract qualities, which usually includes motionless figures posed in sustained attitudes, and historic and...

IT is frequently and quite erroneously supposed by the uninitiated that, given a good memory and a pleasing voice, the young would-be elocutionist may become highly successful i...

IN the previous chapter hints have been given to enable a party of five or more performers to give a Nigger Minstrel Entertainment. The object of the following is to show how on...

ONE of the most delightful sounds in the drawing-room is the music of the human voice, uplifted in song to a soft pianoforte accompaniment, if, of course, the voice be tuneful,...

IF the Honorable Society of Stage Ghosts were to choose a motto, they would find few more suitable than the old adage, that “People who live in glass houses should not throw sto...

THERE is something vital in the ordinary bell that dominates all of us. It is an important factor in our lives. The railway bell’s clamor reminds us that haste is needed to catc...

WHEN the old Morris Dances decayed in the country districts of England, many of the local customs and manners died with them, and are now entirely lost; but what is considered a...

THE machinations of the full-fledged quick-change artist afford the mind of his amazed spectator much speculation and curiosity as to how his marvels of dexterity and transforma...

THERE is no reason why any boy possessed of an average amount of dexterity should not be able to perform many juggling tricks after a certain amount of careful and patient pract...

HISTORY records that the blind poet Homer lost his reason in a vain endeavor to solve a riddle, and from his days until these present times much care and thought have been expen...

AN exhibition of skill which cannot fail to win appreciation from any audience, particularly one composed largely of grown-ups, is that of making lightning cartoons and sketches...

As will be shown, an instrument for transmitting and receiving messages can easily be made at a very small cost by any one prepared to devote a little care to its construction;...

A PEEP-SHOW makes an excellent and quite novel form of home entertainment, and a boy would be well repaid for any trouble to which the construction of one might put him.

MORE or less consciously, _every one_ is a reader of handwriting! If we have not devoted thought and study to the subject, we merely gather a vaguely favorable, or unfavorable,...

SOME people imagine that a black face, a pair of large check trousers and a rather dilapidated hat, are all that’s necessary to make a nigger minstrel. This is, however, a great...

TO possess a gramophone or phonograph is to be already furnished with the means of giving a very successful and pleasurable entertainment. There are so many “entertainments” tha...

IN a condition of affairs where every man’s hand was against his neighbor’s, the necessity of being able to tell friend from foe was more urgent than in these peaceable times.

EVERY entertainer must have felt at some time or other the need of a short “gag” to fill up that awkward gap which so frequently occurs between the conclusion of one long piece...

PREVIOUS to the introduction of the cinematograph, dissolving views ranked amongst the most popular of entertainments. By means of a specially-constructed magic lantern, a paint...

The great part of humanity knows nothing of that ability of piping and whistling so natural and melodious in the blackbird and thrush. Most of us have at some time or other put...

IT is quite easy to make a telephone, which besides affording amusement, will, at times, be found extremely useful. Fitted from the ground floor to the rooms above, or from your...

THERE are probably few actions more graceful than those of a skillful equilibrist. The necessity of maintaining a symmetrical posture and disposing the body in a well-balanced m...

THERE is something sufficiently fascinating about table-turning to fix the attention and interest of guests gathered for an evening’s recreation, and as it needs no previous arr...

THERE is another variety of peep-show well worthy of attention. It is known as the “mechanical” peep-show. A short account of the finished show will not be out of place before p...

A LIVING Marionette entertainment is well adapted for a “One Man Show,” and sure to prove a success. The very appearance of the weird creature, half human and half doll, makes t...

In the first place children are the keenest of critics; secondly, that which interests a mite of three will bring boredom unmitigated to the “fellow of ten,” while the maiden of...

THE following explanations are intended to provide the beginner with the knowledge necessary to perform a few of the simple but neat tricks which can be done with no other appar...

A HUNDRED AND FIFTY years ago the fashionable society of London went mad over musical glasses. When the cloth had been removed and the company were seated at the polished table,...

WHILST “vamping,” or the improvising of a musical accompaniment, is considered by many anything but a classical accomplishment, yet those who can accompany in this way are a dec...

A FIREWORK display without the employment of brimstone and saltpeter is somewhat unusual. But it is quite possible to give such a display, and to do so without the heavy expense...

At first sight it seems utterly impracticable that a first-class entertainment, of almost a quarter of an hour’s duration, can be given with a sheet of paper. Moreover, very lit...

To conclude with a few hints as to the actual entertainment. If possible, have a sufficient number of programmes printed, or carefully and legibly written by hand, as the most t...