This is a combination affair, enlisting Endeavorers of all ages; but the Juniors’ part in it is an important one. The main idea is to make it a pleasant occasion, not only for those who would have a Thanksgiving feast anyway, but for as many as possible who would otherwise go without. The very poorest should be hunted up and included in the invitations.

Let me tell you how the plan was once carried out by a lady and her little fourteen-year-old niece, whom we will call Priscilla. The writer says:

“With the help of kind friends and faithful Bridget we made very much of a success of our dinner, and many a poor soul was made happy for one day at least. For several weeks previous, Priscilla and I spent our evenings by the great fire in the big kitchen, dressing Puritan dolls for the children, and making other gifts. Priscilla asked old sailor Hogan to make for her a small model of the Mayflower such as she had seen in Pilgrim Hall at Plymouth, and after we had stretched the old mahogany table to its fullest extent, which reached almost the entire length of the kitchen, and covered it with Grandmother Alden’s white damask banquet-cloth, Priscilla placed the little ship in the centre on a large mirror. The frame of the mirror we concealed with sea-sand, shells, and pebbles; and on one side we placed a large stone which John had carved into the shape of the dear old rock on which our Pilgrim Fathers landed. We scattered over all this thin flaky cotton sprinkled with crystallized alum to imitate snow, and the little Puritan dolls on deck made the scene very realistic. The body of the ship we filled with our gifts.

“Priscilla made fruit-baskets, and bowls for the nuts and candy, out of pumpkins. John sawed three large bright yellow ones for her as shown in the diagrams. After these had been scooped out, using the contents for pies, and dried thoroughly, we placed them on the table on mats of green tissue-paper cut in the shape of pumpkin leaves. The effect against the white cloth was quite pretty. For each of our poorer guests we made an old-fashioned reticule of yellow cloth tied with green braid. In these we placed a pair of woollen gloves, two pairs of woollen stockings or socks, a handkerchief, a cake of soap, and an order for a stout pair of shoes. In the way of gifts for the other guests there were little keepsakes such as pumpkin pincushions made of yellow silk and tied with green ribbons, Plymouth Rock paper-weights, and little models of Governor Carver’s chair in which we tied yellow pincushions with green ribbons. There were napkin-rings, needle-books, stamp-boxes, paper-cutters, and pin-trays, all with engravings of the Mayflower or some Pilgrim emblem. We had plenty of dinner for all. There was everything required for a Thanksgiving feast, from the turkey and cranberry sauce to plum pudding, into which Bridget had put plenty of plums. All who helped in receiving dressed in Puritan costumes.

“After the dinner had been eaten and the presents distributed, Miss Katherine Anderson, one of the teachers in the public school, gave a little talk, for fear the significance of the occasion might escape some of the most ignorant; but I am glad to say that there were none except the very smallest who did not know the history of our Pilgrim Fathers. The ladies of our old town have decided to give a dinner of this kind every Thanksgiving.”

When the Endeavorers are to give such a dinner, the little address would naturally be by the pastor, and the Juniors’ part of the preparations might well begin with the “mysterious basket-ball” described elsewhere in the book. In this case the small articles to be made or decorated would of course consist wholly of such as would be adapted for gifts at the dinner, and the Juniors should be told of the plan at the beginning of their work. They could also help in dressing the Puritan dolls and in receiving the guests; and, if they wish to do more, they might give a “Mayflower drill” in Puritan costume.

An entertainment of this kind could also be given to raise money for the church or society. In such cases, of course, the philanthropic features would be omitted, an admission fee charged, and the articles from the Mayflower sold.