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The Second Formal Historical Holiday Costume Ball


Inspiration



Emily says: Inspiration for the Second Formal Holiday Costume Ball (or FHHCBII, though the second H doesn't really apply here,) came during the Washington Renaissance Fantasy Faire of 2004. A trip to the Goodwill outlet store during the week yielded a copy of "The Object Lesson" by Edward Gorey. The people of Paisley Glen were fascinated and amused by the pretentious mournfulness of the thing, and played a couple of amusing games of "The Exquisite Corpse" with a haughty, depressed attitude.

Why not make it a party? We decided to title the theme, "Faux-Mournful."


Tyler says: As Emily says, finding "The Object Lesson" buried in a bin of clothes at the Goodwill Outlet - where objects donated to them go to die - was a wonderful discovery in a day of wonderful discoveries. We were mesmerised, as several of us had never even heard of Edward Gorey! Fancy that! At any rate, flush with the success of the Decadent Dinner Party, it seemed that a funeral was in order.

The Set-Up



This party would take place at Hale's Pass Lodge, the same venue for the the First Formal Holiday Costume Ball. We would use lots of black lace, urns, and funeral food and play morbid games and dress in black.

These ideas were all wonderful, but in practice the dollar store does not sell black tablecloths or streamers. Funeral food is more expensive than holiday food, and the stark white walls of the schoolhouse do not lend themselves well to mournfulness.

Instead, we shifted the theme slightly to be generally red, black and silver. The table cloths were white, with silvery tinsel scattered down the centers of the long tables, interspersed with delicate white tea-lights. There were sheer black curtains separating the buffet area from the dining area, and red and white streamers on the walls.

The set-up for the FHHCBII was fraught with issues. Our limited budget ruled out urns and black shrouds being scattered all over the place. Likewise baked hams and cassaroles, although my Mum did buy us a Prime Rib. We decided to just make things generally elegant, as best we could, and rely on our guests to make things a bit more morbid.

This was our first event at Hale's Pass where all our guests were invited to Dinner. This limited our game-playing space. However, we pre-prepped a few of our standards - Silhouettes, for example - to cut down on down time at the party itself. Unexpectedly, games were not to be that big a part of this third fabulous party.

Dinner:

The food wasn't incredibly mournful either. There was a vat of mashed potatoes, green beans with almonds (chosen instead of salad, which has not been eaten at previous parties, though the beans were not successful either) a honey glazed ham, a very expensive prime rib, lots of bread, punch and "sparkling cider," made by accident when the cinammon had glitter in it. One must remember that this is a preschool.

People also brought food, including Little Debbie Snack Cakes, teriyaki goodness, cupcakes and german chocolate cake. It was all very delicious.

As per usual, we ran a buffet line. It was at the far end of the hall, separated by black gauze dangling from the ceiling in long, elegant lines. And, for the hosts and a few select others, we were providing a few bottles of wine. This, apparently, was a universal thought, as several of our guests brought several bottles of Alchohol - we had never mentioned Alchohol, or the lack thereof, to anyone whatsoever. Emily puts it perfectly. This was Not The Sort Of Party We've Thrown Before.

However, the alchohol did make for a MOST convival atmosphere. And it did - in a way - bring us back to our theme through the traditions of the Wake. However, after a bit, the theme didn't seem to matter so much. Nor did the carefully planned games. What the deuce was going on?

Games

There was more planning for games this time around. The "silhouettes" paper was rigged beforehand so that there wouldn't be sad scurrying while people waited to play. We also played "Interpretive Dance," but that was a drunk game rather than a real game.



As I say, games were really forgotten with the surprise of Alchohol. The only game I remember clearly is "Who is More Drunk," which involved our friend Yimmy and I competing - I had to act gay, he had to act straight, and the guests were to determine who made a better go at acting. Most unusual.

The People



We had a total of 38 guests, though most of them were not there at the same time. Most of them dressed up mournfully, which was wonderful of them. Besides the increased planning, food and decorations from the last FHHCB, there was a very small change to this party that affected the festivities greatly: alcohol.

Where before there was a quiet group who communally chose and engaged in party games, now there was a historic building full of exuberant, intoxicated youths. We only played two games, to my recollection, and the remainder of the evening was spent mingling, laughing, dancing and (for some) getting lucky in the bathroom. This is, how do you say? Not The Kind Of Party We've Thrown Before.

We played Hunt the Slipper and Silhouettes, officially. Afterwards there was also a game of "who is more drunk."

The Outcome



It was really a lot of fun. This party was more lively than any other one we've thrown. Everyone seemed to have fun, and there were enough different activities going on at any time that I don't think someone could be too bored. There was silliness in the Green Room, Magic at the tables, dancing with Newman the dog in the ballroom, smoking outside, and all sorts of silliness. A fair bit of drama, too, but it was worth it.

Once things settled down, a few people stayed the night in the little room, while others stayed up talking in the big room. One of the overnighters got up to be disgusting during the night, but felt better afterwards. In the morning, there was much cleaning and un-decorating and TONS of empty alcohol bottles.

Afterwards, the Preschool apparently found the bathrooms to be very dirty, and delayed opening for two hours while the volunteer mothers scrubbed and scrubbed. We did check the bathrooms for cleanliness before leaving, but upon reflection we realize that we might have missed a stall. It might have been the nasty from our overnighter's stomachache, or perhaps the nasty from some of our guests liasons in the other restroom. We may never know, but it cost us an extra forty dollars.

Was it a success? Yes. Will we do things differently in the future? Yes.

Things Learned From The Second Formal Holiday Costume Ball:

Alchohol, while making for a most lively event, nullifies most planned activities. It also makes some guests stay over night and vomit, or fool around in the only working bathroom.

Drunk people tend not to be able to keep their bodily fluids to themselves. Planning activities makes the world happier. Party guests will not eat vegetables. Inviting as many people as possible isn't always the best way to do things.











You can see a few more pictures at the photobucket album for the party.