Sometimes parents get very bad ideas. In the case of my fifth birthday party, my mother got this one. She decided that children did not need tables and chairs and bought a roll of shelf paper instead. She took the furniture out of the kitchen and laid two rows of paper on the kitchen floor. We all had to sit on the floor to eat the cake and ice cream with the shelf paper serving as a festive “table cloth.” She thought it was brilliant. I thought it was a nightmare. After I decided to post this picture to Shorpy, and had scanned it, I asked my mother why she did that. She continued to boast what a great idea it had been. But she did admit that her inspiration was that I had invited more children than we had tables and chairs for. Either we bought more chairs by the time I turned six, or I invited fewer guests, because she did not do this party on the kitchen floor again.
Sometimes parents get very bad ideas. In the case of my fifth birthday party, my mother got this one. She decided that children did not need tables and chairs and bought a roll of shelf paper instead. She took the furniture out of the kitchen and laid two rows of paper on the kitchen floor. We all had to sit on the floor to eat the cake and ice cream with the shelf paper serving as a festive “table cloth.” She thought it was brilliant. I thought it was a nightmare. After I decided to post this picture to Shorpy, and had scanned it, I asked my mother why she did that. She continued to boast what a great idea it had been. But she did admit that her inspiration was that I had invited more children than we had tables and chairs for. Either we bought more chairs by the time I turned six, or I invited fewer guests, because she did not do this party on the kitchen floor again. | Click image for Comments. | Home | Browse All Photos