Question: Everything that happens in the bedtime stories and then occurs to Skeeter in real life has a (pretty much) rational explanation (e.g. the rain of gumballs, "Abe Lincoln" actually being a penny), but why on earth do the women in the restaurant jump up and start doing the hokey pokey, apparently against their will?
Question: Who was actually responsible for the events in the story happening in real life? When Skeeter tells the first half of the story everything in it comes true. Then, when Patrick and Bobbi tell the second half, anything they tell also happens.
Answer: It was only the parts that the children told or added that came true. For example, in the Cowboys and Indians story, he never gets a free Ferrari, but he does rescue a girl as Bobbi mentions, and he gets kicked by a little person.
Answer: The only reason for them to do the hokey pokey is because it's possible. Patrick said that they would do it in the story, and even in the story it's not impossible. Patrick made it happen.