Whether sunny or rainy, there are so many “summery” activities that can keep you, your family and friends, happy and occupied!

Here is a description for a Rainbow Picnic designed to be enjoyed on the most perfect of summer days:

“There is a magic sound in the very word ‘picnic’ and from our earliest childhood all of us have heard of and most of us have made many a strenuous quest for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

At a recent May birthday party, the hours were from four to seven, and the cards of invitation had  little watercolor rainbows across the corner. Out on the lawn where there were four trees in just the right position a canopy was made with the rainbow colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue indigo, and violet.

A basket luncheon was served under this canopy, the baskets being covered with crepe paper with ribbon tied handles. Rugs were laid down on the grass, and the guests were seated real picnic fashion with the contents of the baskets spread around. Trays of iced cocoa and lemonade and ice cream and the birthday cake were brought from the house.”

Raining outside? How about a Rainy Day Picnic:

“Baskets were packed as for an outdoor picnic, and nobody was allowed to return for forgotten articles once the party had started. Paper plates and napkins were used and a paper tablecloth, although the affair took place in the attic instead of on the lawn. Coffee was made over a little “hard alcohol” stove, thermos bottles carried lemonade and chocolate and the group sat around on the floor to have their luncheon.”

Looking for a few games that require nothing but fun and a few unusual ingredients? Try any of these:

The Dressy Dog
“This is like the game of pinning the tail on the donkey. The children are told that the dog was invited to the party, but he lost his neck ribbon and felt so ashamed he would not come. So the children are asked to help him. The picture of the dog is fastened on the wall low enough to be easily within reach and then each child in turn is blindfolded, turned about three times and given a bit of colored paper that he is told to give the dog. Each bit of paper is of a different color or is numbered so the children can have their own identified and a pin is in each with which to fasten on the ribbon. The child who gets the bit of paper nearest its proper place, wins the prize: a hair ribbon for the girl and a necktie for the boy whose effort is best.”

The Peanut Race
“Put several rows of peanuts on the floor, each row containing the same number of peanuts as the others, and give each contestant a teaspoon. At a given signal, each child is told to gather in back, using his spoon only to lift and carry back the nuts. There is a box or basket at the beginning of each row into which the child drops his nuts. The one who gets back his nuts first without using foot or fingers in assisting to get the nuts on his spoon, without dropping any, wins the race. The same game can be played with potatoes and using a tablespoon instead of the teaspoon.”

Potatoes? Ha!

This next game may require those few friends who do not embarrass easily…

Yankee Doodle Kitchen
“The only requirements are a platform and a curtain, which, when it rises, shows a number of busy housewives in colonist attire. Some are washing at a tub, some scrubbing the floor on hands and knees, others are churning, others sweeping, some dusting, one is ironing, etc. The piano or orchestra at first plays very slowly, with well accented beats, gradually increasing the tempo, the workers increasing their movements until both are going at breakneck speed and the audience in in a gale of laughter.”

I hope you try some of these very sweet ways to enjoy each other’s company…. just remember, no electronics allowed!

Happy picnicking, my friends!

~Aimee

Source:  1922 Women’s Day