I am beginning to wonder if my mother made up this game: no one I’ve asked, here on the west coast of Canada, or friends my age back in southern Ontario where I grew up, have ever heard of it.
Simple and fun. We put the empty milk bottle on the floor, stood in front of it, held a wooden clothes peg at waist level, took aim, dropped the peg and hoped it went into the bottle.
I am sure I objected to the fact that my brother, being three years younger, had a waist closer to the top of the bottle so a better chance of getting the pegs in. He says he thinks he held them at eye level. Yeah, right.
A glass bottle at a garage sale and the clothes pegs which were a gift from a friend on a trip to France (people know what I like!) brought the memory and inspired the recreation. I thought ‘characters’ would make it even more fun.
Will have to ask if my sons recall playing it when they were young. Will have to introduce it to the GrandKid whose waist, at the moment, is definitely winner height.
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5 responses to “Clothes pins in a bottle game”
YES, YES, I remember this game — played often at birthday parties, but also on long winter days in Alberta, in our basement, when it was too cold for us to go outside to play! “Thanks for the memory…”
So it was played elsewhere in Canada! On the Prairies! It is such a simple and obvious ‘game’ that I thought it had to be widespread. Thank you for this info.
I remember playing this game too, with Mom’s clothespins and glass bottles emptied of the milk that our diary milkman put in our milkbox (inside/outside access) several times a week.
Our ‘rules’ were a bit different; we had to hold the clothespin at our nose, and then bend over to drop the pin into the bottle. We played at home and at birthday parties, all in my city neighborhood in Rochester, New York in the 40’s and 50’s.
I’ve played a version of this game too. Hold the clothes pin between your knees, waddle up to the jar and drop it in. Lots of fun, thanks for the memories.
Oh lord, that twigged a memory but not sure from what era – must have been when I was older. Have to think on it. Thank you!