Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843 and famously penned the “humbug” or “Scrooge” attitude we relate to a grumpy character today. It is also a story about transformation and emotionally takes the audience on a roller coaster ride. A Christmas Carol Evening is a perfect theme dinner party that can involve your guests in reading this lively story in five staves (excerpts).
What more can a reader wish for than the clear description of the character of Ebenezer Scrooge “…a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard as sharp as flint, secret and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster…” Readers can get as melodramatic as the audience can tolerate. The script not only allows for this, but it encourages readers to take on the spirit of Scrooge.
Prepare your menu with foods that are part of the story. “A merrier Christmas, Bob my good fellow, than I have given you, for many a year! I’ll raise your salary, and endeavour to assist your struggling family, and we will discuss your affairs this very afternoon, over a Christmas bowl of smoking bishop, Bob!” Smoking Bishop is a drink that is started in January and brews until you serve it in December. Conclude your menu with a Mary Cratchit moment, serving a flaming plum pudding.
Guests can dress in period costumes. Readers can all dress in black tux jackets. Appoint a guest to turn up and down the lights as the reading progresses. Dry ice sets a foggy, London mood (and if you can keep the dog from barking at the fog machine you have accomplished something!) Vintage plates given in the years 1949-63 by Shenango China Company as a Christmas present to their employees can be purchased on Ebay. Your table setting will be unique and a conversation starter.
Theme dinner parties are a delight for guests and hosts. The only limits you have are your imagination and your budget. No one will leave this party saying, “Bah humbug!”
Yawn Patrol Toastmasters Readers left to right:
Ron Faunce, Bill Wynkoop, Linda Reed, Richard Blackstone, George Hecht, Mark Roberts
Quotes from Christmas With Dickens by Cedric Dickens.