Perhaps, this is not quite the right time for a gathering, but if you keep it small and host it outside, my favorite party is called “Dance, Sing, or Show Your Thing.” Basically, instead of having entertainment, the hosts and guests provide the entertainment.
People can tell a good joke, sing a song, play the guitar, share their favorite poem, and more. We’ve hosted several of these over the years. I think the origin might be author H. Allen Smith, who’s books of the 1940s and 50s I found amusing.
Don’t feel comfortable singing? That’s okay. At one of our parties a friend brought ingredients to make a salad dressing and gave us a demonstration of the steps. At a different party, Peg and I along with a friend lip-synced to the Frankie Layne recording of Mule Train. The original version has the crack of a whip. Instead of a whip our little trio had long shoe laces that we whipped in the air . . . and perhaps each other . . . the memory is a little dim. Another friend, an avid boater, read a poem about the sea. Others played instruments, or sang acapella.
If you have a mixture of talented performers, then your event is elevated to really memorable. One evening we had Vickie Melton play the piano and everyone got to call out tunes for her to play. I asked for “Old Black Joe” a Stephen Foster tune, quite a bit out of fashion, but such a nice melody (I loved the rock version by Jerry Lee Lewis). She stopped and looked at me and said, “That’s the first song I ever memorized.” People loved it.
The beauty of a Dance, Sing, or Show Your Thing party is that everyone is involved. It’s eye opening to see what others can do. It’s a sharing experience and a lot of fun. You could probably have a party with just two couples, but three or four could be a nice eye-opener revealing interests and hidden abilities of your friends.
