Meet Samantha

With my daughter getting so much one-on-one time with her dad through the Y Princess program, I am thankful for our mother/daughter book club which gives me special bonding time with my daughter.  We offered to host the meeting in May, and our daughter chose the book, Meet Samantha from the American Girl series.  This book takes place in the year 1904, so we tried to transform our home into a Victoria era manor with my husband playing the role of Hawkins, the butler, and I played the part of Mrs. Hawkins, the cook.  Our son joined in the fun by pretending to be Eddie, the spoiled rich kid who lives next door and likes to tease Samantha.  Our daughter dressed up to play the part of Samantha, an adventurous young girl who was adopted by her rich grandmother after both of her parents died.

When each guest arrived, Hawkins greeted them at the door and steered them to the parlor where the girls made samplers.  In the book, Samantha's grandmother kept after Samantha to keep working on her sampler as part of her education in becoming a sophisticated woman.  In those days, the wealthy did not work.  Servants were responsible for the labor intensive chores involved in maintaining a large estate without the modern conveniences we have today.  Wealthy ladies were expected to be prim and proper and adept in the arts of socializing and needlepoint.  While the girls worked, Eddie tied some plastic worms to the end of a stick and attempted to frighten our guests.  The attractive mom pictured above is about to become the target of Eddie's prank.  As the girls worked on their samplers, they learned lots of amusing trivia from 1904 and participated in a lively book discussion.

After the craft time, the girls gathered in the dining room for tea time and treats.  Victorian lace covered the tables and lace doilies adorned the crystal plates.  In 1904, the wealthy primarily ate meat, potatoes, breads, cakes, and pies, and had waist lines to prove it. Jelly biscuits and pies play a role in the plot of the story.  So, at our meeting, Mrs. Hawkins served the guests pie with cream, cookies, chocolate dipped wafers, crackers, jelly biscuits, meatballs, bacon cheddar potato wedges, and a vegetable platter with dip to add a touch of nutrition to this horribly unhealthy but historically accurate menu.

After tea time, the girls, laden with sugar, were directed outside for the game time.  In the book, Samantha befriended the neighbor's hired helper, who was about the same age as Samantha.  Samantha would communicate to her poor friend next door through tin cans tied to a string.  So, for the game time, the girls were given humorous messages to speak into the tin can.  The girl on the other end then had to repeat what she had heard.  Whoever repeated the message most correctly won the game.