An American Tea

From Woman’s Weekly, July 27th 1918.

AN AMERICAN TEA.

How We Raised Fifty Pounds for Our War Hospital Supply Depot with an Expenditure of One Pound!

Do you know what an American Tea is? Have you ever heard of a bazaar to which the visitors brought the goods for sale and then proceeded to buy the things back themselves?  It sounds a bright idea, doesn't it?—worthy of our American cousins.  Let me proceed to give you a full description of the whole affair.
Our Hospital Supply Depot was badly in need of funds with which to purchase more material, and as all the workers are busy people, devoting their leisure to making shirts, bandages, etc., for the wounded, they have no time to make bazaar articles nor to get up amateur theatricals in order to obtain money.  An American Tea has the advantage of requiring practically no preparation beforehand; all that is necessary is a supply of tickets and a few posters explaining matters.  The depot naturally has many friends and well-wishers.  One of those lent us a. hail for the tea free of charge; several ladies undertook to provide a simple tea, and all the workers at the depot promised to sell tickets.

THE MYSTERY PARCELS. 
TICKETS of admission cost sixpence each, and entitled the holder to tea and a seat at the concert.  They bore printed instructions which told the purchasers exactly what was required of them, namely, that each visitor was expected to bring a parcel to the hall containing some article worth one shilling.  This was to be given up on entering the hall, and on leaving each visitor was expected to pay a shilling for a parcel!  None of the parcels was opened, and you could choose whatever took your fancy, either a small or large one, from the pile.  Everyone entered into the fun of the thing, and on the day we had a crowd waiting outside the bail, each person armed with a parcel and the admission ticket.  As the people entered they gave up their parcels, which were placed on long tables at one side of the hall.  They were given tea, and then listened to the concert, provided by friends of the depot, and afterwards they went in for various guessing competitions, which brought in a lot of money, as you shall hear.

GUESSING THE TIME. 
ONE friend had presented a gold wrist-watch, which had been wound up and allowed to run down.  People were invited to guess the time shown on the watch, the person most correct getting the watch.  An entrance-fee of sixpence was charged, and we received in sixpences considerably more than the watch cost.
At another table we bad a large glass bottle full of haricot beans, and for threepence one was allowed to guess the number of beans, the prize being the bottle of beans and a book of recipes for cooking them.

THE "WHITE ELEPHANT" STALL. 
ANOTHER attraction was a "White Elephant" stall, for which we received many contributions.  As can be imagined, there was a most motley collection of things on it for sale.  One collector of "Goss" china had sent some specimens from her collection; servantless people had sent ornaments from their drawing-rooms; war-workers sent their sunshades and tennis-balls, which they no longer had time to use; one or two fans came from girls who had given up dances, and one lady sent a frying-basket, which was evidently her "White Elephant" in these days of restricted fat.  It found a purchaser, however—presumably someone who meant to keep until happier days came.
An hour after the opening of the hail we commenced to distribute the parcels to people as they left the hall, and you can imagine the excitement and amusement as the packets were undone.  In some cases the articles proved a little unsuitable to the recipients, as when a young man came upon a box of face-powder, or an elderly lady got a cigarette-holder; but some exchanges were made there and then, and in other cases the owners announced their intention of passing on their "prizes" to their children or friends.  Needless to say, all the parcels were well worth a shilling, and in some cases considerably more.

You can imagine the excitement and amusement
as the packets were undone.

The result was that we got £12 10s. from the sale of 500 tickets of admission at 6d. each, £25 for 500 parcels sold, £8 10s. for the wrist-watch, £1 10s. for the bottle of haricot beans, and £3 10s. from the "White Elephant" stall; total, £51; and the tickets and posters announcing the sale cost £1, so that our net profit was £50.  Imagine how long it would have taken to organise a small bazaar in order to produce this result!

[According to the Bank of England's inflation calculator, £50 in 1918 is the equivalent of £2700 now.]