 ~ MRS. SHARP'S TRADITIONS ~  NOTE: The entire text below is taken directly from the book Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions. I cannot take credit in any form for the ideas and creativity on this page unless so noted. The book is written by Sarah Ban Breathnach and is currently out of print. If you can find a copy (the softcover version is called Victorian Family Celebrations), definitely grab it and run…and DON’T lend it to a friend because you’ll probably never get it back! "August arrives bringing with it sultry summer days punctuated by thunderstorms and the whines of bored children. Mrs. Sharp’s surefire antidote in the form of homegrown fun? Eureka entertainments, family outings, nature's novelties, and preserving summer’s memories." If there is ever a month that needs the assistance of good old-fashioned recreations, amusements, and helps, it is August. You’ve returned from your family vacation. The heat is oppressive; the pool overcrowded. The older children have returned from summer camp and the younger children refuse to go to day-camp. "We have nothing to do," they whine, informing you they are bored with summer, and bored with being your children. Mrs. Sharp also suspects she knows someone else who is bored with being the family’s recreation director. Fear not. Help is here with one essential caveat: As far as Mrs. Sharp is concerned, when it’s ninety-five in the shade, happy families stay indoors. Put a positive spin on the activity and call it a "Matinee Party"; let the children invite a few friends over for the afternoon, sit them down with a stack of movies, popcorn and soda. Next, you go upstairs, lie down with a wet cloth over your eyes, and tell them not to call you unless it is a matter of life and death. This, too, shall pass. THEME PARTIES A good resource can be found in The Penny Whistle Party Planner by Meredith Brokaw and Annie Gilbar (click here to order from Books.com!) or (click here to order the book from Book CloseOuts for only $4.99 (a 58% savings) plus shipping). While this book provides plans for 23 theme extravaganzas aimed at birthdays, scaled-down versions work well year-round. Some of the suggestions that adapt well for August backyard get-togethers include "Backyard Beach Party," "Pirate Treasure Hunt," "Magic Party," "Space Fantasy," "Take a Trip Party," and "Western Round Up." CREATE A MEMORY GARDEN Hot August afternoons are the perfect time to prune back personal memorabilia collections. Give each child his or her own photograph album and a large storage box. Blank artist’s sketchbooks make wonderful scrapbooks, and large cardboard portfolios to preserve precious drawings can be found at artist-supply stores. Let the children sort through their best personal souvenirs and artwork, saving the best, dating the, and adding any written memories or comments. THE CIRCUS It won’t take much effort for your children to organize their own circus, but the planning alone should occupy them for at least a day. Encourage them to really revel in their prodigious preparations. Round up neighborhood pets for the animal acts, recycle Halloween costumes for the performers and hire a twelve-year-old to stick with the project as baby-sitter/ringmaster. Find circus music and sound effects at the library. Following the final, have a party serving circus food – hot dogs, popcorn, ice cream cones and soda. NOVEL IDEAS Literary games were favorites of Victorian families, who frequently read novels aloud to each other and then played word games based on the novels. One of Mrs. Sharp’s favorite traditions for August amusements are quiet literary-inspired doorstep parties. With the coolness of evening, we begin our entertainments by either cooking meals or engaging in activities from our favorite novels – Gone with the Wind’s "Twelve Oaks Barbecue" …or… The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’s "camp fish fry" …or… Little Women’s "outdoor tea," etc. For activities, why not a Robert Louis Stevenson Treasure Island outdoor treasure hunt, an Alice in Wonderland croquet match, or following Winnie-the-Pooh’s example, a backyard search for the feared Heffalump. You provide the clues, courtesy of A.A. Milne (such as footprints going in opposite directions), until, finally, a huge "Heffalump" is discovered. Create your "Heffalump" out of a watermelon base, a cantelope head, marshmallow ears, and candy eyes, nose and mouth. Licorice or string-candy hair and beard completes his ghastly array. And of couse, everyone knows the only way to get rid of a Heffalump is to eat him! BACKYARD CAMPING If you want to have your own old-fashioned campfire party in the backyard, use a grill to cook two essential summer sensations: "Doughboys" and "Somemores." To make Doughboys, wrap raw bread dough like a cocoon around a skewer. Hold it over the flame until it’s brown. Remove it and fill the hold with a pat of butter and half of a grilled hot dog. For "Somemores," toast marshmallows, then make a sandwich of two graham crackers, marshmallows and a slice of thin chocolate bar. A family outing is an excursion that can easily be done in a day or less. Such excursions, perhaps space monthly throughout the year, can relieve summer doldrums or brighten the spirits of the grayest winter day. It can be as simple as a walk in the woods with a picnic, a field trip to the zoo, an excursion to a museum, a visit to a farm (perhaps to pick your own fruit and vegetables), or an all-day "out-and-about" to diverse destinations such as historical sites or theme parks that are withing one day’s drive of home. There are four elements to family outings, dear Reader, that recommend them highly: the anticipation, the actual trip itself, the memories, and the ease. But Mrs. Sharp would like to remind you that in life, attitude is all. Perhaps nowhere is the right attitude more necessary than when carrying off "spontaneous outings" with children. Mrs. Sharp believes that in the life of every child there should be an abundance of surprises – whimsical occurrences that punctuate the dreary daily routine. Spur-of-the-moment surprises make children happily resilient and open to life’s wondrous adventure. Of course Mrs. Sharp’s surprises appear impulsive even though she has planned them! Here is an outing you might like to try in August. Get the family up for a Bicycle Breakfast. Pack a simple breakfast picnic (muffins, fruit, juice boxes, individual servings of cereal, milk, a thermos of tea or coffee), then ride together to the closest park. Getting up early together before the heat of the day, when it is peaceful and still, is an exhilarating experience for families. We all want to spend more time together with our families. The way to do it is to pencil "family" into our schedules and then keep a date with those who mean the most. Planning regular outings together is an inexpensive investment in a homegrown enterprise that will reap a big return in the emotional surety of your strong family. Today’s children are inundated with toys, but Mrs. Sharp has observed that many do not know how to "play." Children never lack toys to play with if they learn how to create them from the endless resource of their imagination. Nature’s many materials – pods, seeds, nuts, flowers, sticks, and vines – are summer’s abundant inviting alternatives. Much has changed since Victorian times, but not the inexpressible joy children derive from the games, homemade toys, rhymes and traditions of Mother Nature’s Nursery. Why not encourage your children to explore the old wonders of natural amusements? Mrs. Sharp recommends an enchanting time machine entitled Honeysuckle Sipping: The Plantlore of Childhood (out of print) by Jeanne Chesanow. From jump ropes made out of dandelions to swords fashioned from bamboo sticks, this delightful book will have you reminiscing with your youngsters and then running out to the backyard with them foraging for fun. If there is any tradition so resonant of yesteryear that has fallen through the cracks of contemporary domestic life, it is preserving: the cooking and storing of food. At the end of August, farmer’s markets and roadside stands are overflowing with nature’s bounty. Before you swoon, dear Reader, do not think Mrs. Sharp is entreating you to slave over a hot stove putting away hundreds of jar of preserves. Take a deep breath. Relax. Mrs. Sharp has discovered how we can preserve the summer and our sanity. Those same roadside stands usually sell preserves, jellies, mustards, herb vinegars and more. Today all these goodies are being prepared by some savvy entrepreneurial mother with her own home-based business. Let’s contribute to her success and our ability to enjoy the tradition of preserving by visiting one. To get in the mood, Mrs. Sharp likes to bring a large old-fashioned shopping basket with a handle to the farmer’s market. She then purchases a dazzling assortment of delectables. After she arrives home, the children help Mother clean out and organize a kitchen cupboard that has been designated "the larder." While we’re at it, we might as well straighten out the kitchen cabinets together. Next we repaper the shelves with pretty new shelf paper. Mrs. Sharp then brings out some charming fabric. These we use pinking shears and cut the fabric into large circles to fit the jar tops. The children put them on the jars, secruing the fabric with rubber bands and ribbon. They also liketo stick on their own labels. Finally, we stack our beautiful bottles and jars on the shelves. Mrs. Sharp’s favorite end-of-the-summer reading material is Helen Witty’s delightful cookbook, Fancy Pantry (out of print), which extends with ease the old-fashioned larder to the refrigerator and freezer. This charming cookery compilation never fails to entice Mrs. Sharp to prepare some Victorian viands – fruit honeys, cordials, and compotes – for pleasure. WHERE DO YOU WANT TO GO?
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