Tommy wanted a birthday party. In fact he insisted upon it. Naturally we hesitated. It would take some doing, we reasoned, to entertain a bunch of wrestling, scrapping, and shoving young eight-year-olds.



Nevertheless a birthday can't be ignored. Nothing to do but settle down with young Tom and plan a party.

Tommy, screwing his face into a thoughtful frown, said, "I wish we could build something. All the guys like to saw and pound." That was the springboard of our idea. A bright cardinal whistling from our neighbor's feeding tray gave us the next thought. A bird-feeding tray wouldn't be too hard for an eight-year-old to make and there would be just about time enough after school for each boy to make one. That suited Tommy.

First came the invitations. They read:

A carpenter's party at

Tommy Durand's house,

Friday after school.

We printed them on pieces of shingle four inches long and one inch wide. On the reverse side of the shingle went the guest's name. Tommy delivered these invitations to his guests the following day. Needless to say, the boys were immediately interested.

Next came getting material for the trays. The wood must be soft enough to be easily handled. Wooden fruit boxes from the neighboring store are just the thing. The store was glad to get rid of them as it saved hauling them away.

Tommy's Dad collected an adequate supply of orange crates, narrow-stripped cantaloupe boxes, and sturdy apple boxes. Tommy and his Daddy took the crates apart and piled the boards neatly into a miniature lumber yard at one end of the basement. From friends we borrowed enough additional saws and hammers to provide for each guest. These were arranged in a neat row on Tom's work bench.

Even though the work bench is a large one we felt that if eight young sprouts hammered and sawed at the one bench it was likely to result in pounded fingers and ruffled tempers. Therefore we arranged solid wooden apple boxes in a circle around the work bench, thus providing each boy with a place to work.

Adequate space and an enough number of tools such as hammer, wooden boxes etc are needed to be collected before the party boys arrived. It is also important for the parents to get ready with first aid box in case if any boys get hurt.