What is full of mystery and fun and will have your birthday girl talking for months? A Nancy Drew birthday party. Now that you've decided you want to celebrate this birthday in classic Nancy fashion, just a few simple ideas can help you turn those party-goers into gumshoes. Does this Spark an idea?
Set the Scene
Decorate the house with a mystery theme. Cut out large, black question marks to hang on the walls and to use later for a game. Arrange old books around the tables. If your kids own toy cars, borrow a few blue convertibles (Nancy's car) to put near the food. Get toy magnifying glasses at a local party store to arrange on the food table and various areas throughout the house.
Using finger paint, create finger prints on the table cloths. Purchase clear window decals; use them to display finger prints. Use classic Nancy colors for table cloths and paper goods, such as a light blue, green or yellow. Older Nancy Drew books usually pictured her wearing a sweater or outfit in these colors. All of these touches will really set the scene for the party.
Welcome Your Detectives
Create detective badges for all of the young guests with their names and pictures on them. Ask their parents for school pictures. Alternately, have the children draw pictures of themselves to glue onto the badges. Write their names on the badges, and pin each child's badge on her individually, thereby making her an "official" detective.
Create a Mystery
Type up clues to a mystery you have created. You may want to borrow a mystery from Nancy Drew's adventures, such as the case of the missing watch. Attach each clue to the back of the remaining question marks you have cut out. Hand each kid her first question mark (which should contain a clue on the back). Send all of your young detectives on a scavenger hunt throughout the house searching for new clues hidden on question marks.
Try to be creative--using riddles or poems--to get the kids looking in all sorts of fun places like the freezer or the bathroom. Make the clues easy enough for the kids to figure out, but they should be fun at the same time. Maybe the last destination should be the mailbox with a clue like "Visited every day even with sleet and snow. To solve the mystery, to this box you must go."
The prize for solving the game can be something related to this Nancy Drew theme, such as a gift card to a bookstore or a copy of the Nancy Drew movie. Depending on the age of the children, you may want to just declare everyone a winner and hand out goody bags. Nancy Drew gift bags can include a mystery paperback, disposable cameras, notepads, fun pens and mini magnifying glasses.
The Menu
Nancy Drew is really a simple girl who likes tea and cinnamon toast; opt to serve yours guests simple finger foods. Cinnamon toast sticks or even cinnamon twists can be put in individual party bags for guests to munch on. Additionally, finger sandwiches and nuggets work well for this party.
As for dessert, you can simply make vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Draw question marks on each cupcake with icing. If you are feeling creative, use a round cake mold to create the top half of a magnifying glass; use a shallow loaf pan to create the bottom (handle) portion. Ice it accordingly, and you will have a fabulous cake to go with your mystery party.
Tags: Nancy Drew, question marks, classic Nancy, clue back, finger prints, magnifying glasses