Status Updates From The American Girls Handy Bo...

"The pleasant New England custom of the gathering together of families to celebrate Thanksgiving is now observed in most of our States."

Wow, I never realised that not all American states celebrated Thanksgiving this late.

Apparently if peanuts are "strung together with needle and thread, and dressed in costume with black thread for hair, they make quite a good-looking Japanese."

Decorate your dining room by sticking some corn on the cob on a black velvet board and hanging it on the wall. For that optional extra touch, why not bronze it?

"...although funny, it is at the same time a little dangerous to catch a lighted candle in one’s teeth...

"...to capture a child, carry her into the house and treat her to sweetmeats..."

Sounds dodgy.

"To turn a hen’s egg into an owl has not before, I imagine, been thought possible; yet it is easy enough, and requires but a very short time to accomplish the transformation."

Russia is a "great, cold, furry country".

"How nice it would be if we could take a peep into these foreign countries, and discover what else Easter brings the little ones besides the pretty eggs, and also how the people of such widely differing nations keep this happy festival common to all."

Make sure you take a minimum of 11 friends with you when going on a walk to ensure your safety.

Looking forwards to chapter XIX, which details "Rules for Nutting-Parties".

Make "handkerchief perfume" using rose leaves and lard.

"...the peep-show should be made to look as gay as possible."