About a Boy's birthday, Part T

Well, did you ever? What a swell party it was.

Fortunately the Boy's class is actually quite a small one, and in the end four weren't able to come, though their places were taken by siblings of other classmates. At the final headcount there were 16 children and about 11 adults.

It was more-or-less a freestyle event. We'd provided some making activities for the crafty ones, but those just wanting to play trains or chase each other round the basement happily got on with that. The only 'organised' element was the sit-down picnic in the dining room (so glad we haven't got round to buying a dining table yet) and pass-the-parcel.

Now pass-the-parcel, as most readers know, is pretty well obligatory at English birthday parties, and children are required to learn the rules even before they can say their own names: it's part of our cultural heritage. But the game was a complete novelty to our American guests.

It was like introducing snow to people who have grown up in the tropics. What a joy to see the looks of mystification on their six-year-old faces as they reverently passed the parcel round (no-one thinking to deliberately pass it e-x-t-r-a s-lo-w-l-y so that they could be next to unwrap a layer), and politely waited until everyone had finished before they scoffed the sweets they found during their turn.

So, pass-the-parcel, tombola... what other gems of British culture can we bring to our host nation?

Welly wanging, perhaps?