Saturday, February 29, 2020

Peter Pan Party


I am pretty sure Peter Pan is more of a mother's dream than a boys dream.  Staying little forever isn't either one of my boys dream life.  Haha!  But this party was perfect for this sweet face!


The door was decorated with Lost Boy Rules and a few special Neverland embellishments.   


The table was set up with a map of Neverland, a lantern with a tiny fairy trying to get out, and treats in all sorts of pirate and Lost Boys styles for our little Lost Boys to snack on during the party.






In the school room I made a huge tree house out of refrigerator boxes and the kids got to play in it between snacking, games, and crafts.  



Speaking of games, the kids played Red Rover and Poop Deck outside to run off all the sugar of the snacks.  Capitan Hook (Logan) was assigned to over see the games.  


The craft was painting the treasure chests that they we put their favors into.  They had tons of fun picking out their own colors and everything.



I thought they did a beautiful job!


We filled the painted boxes with a thimble, an acorn, a bag of gold chocolate coins, a very cool compass and a bottle of pixie dust, all tucked in with a beautiful feather from Peter Pan's cap!

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Thursday, February 27, 2020

Cub Scout Mad Science Party



One of my favorite things to be is a Cub Scout leader.  I have three boys and all of them have been in Cub Scouts.  It's an amazing way to teach all kinds of skills from cooking to fire starting. 


The Blue & Gold Party is the big birthday party for Scouting every year.  This year, I planned a big shindig with all kinds of science fun around a huge potluck dinner.  These decorations peppered the hall we were having the party in and they were such fun!  I loved making them!



On the table I placed beakers filled with colored waterbeads and  "splatters" of the colored concoctions that are inside the beakers.  As the kids filed in the room, they got rainbow safety glasses and a themed menu of events.  



We had two big experiments to share with the kids; Touchable Bubbles and Elephant Toothpaste.  As a co-host at this event, I didn't get any pictures of the Elephant Toothpaste because I was all hands-on for that, so I have no photos of that, but the Touchable Bubbles were a lot of fun and very easy to photograph!


The cupcakes were ordered in but they were right on theme!


All in all, it was such fun to have a big science party with all my Cubs!
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Monday, February 3, 2020

Sherlock Holmes Murder Mystery Party

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1JwA-trzIIxB2tlpKqv5HvnLc5AieczpG

"My name is Sherlock Holmes.  It is my business to know what other people do not know." 

-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Blu

This murder mystery party was a blast!  Come see how I set up and executed (pun totally intended) a murder mystery dinner for 20 teens in my house, complete with hidden clues, a detectives board, and an incredible dinner!


For the last year, my 12 year old has been obbsessed with the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Specifically, anything Sherlock Holmes.  So in honor of his 13th birthday, along with my love of literature themed parties, I decided to throw him the biggest bash ever! (With a side of murder.)



Although the party was mostly my invention and imagination, the murder mystery game was purchased from a website. Here is the synopsis (and link) of the game off of the website MyMysteryParty.com:

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1iDfEcxPIW9tr3hTaNx5nj9e3y1oIHmzt


"Sherlock and Watson are hosting a dinner party with an intriguing group of guests at their flat on Baker Street. Londoners were shocked recently when the infamous Lord Blackstone assisted Scotland Yard with the capture of the depraved serial killer, Victor von Vacher. Has Lord Blackstone turned a new leaf and abandoned his cult of followers? Or, is this all a ruse to gain the trust of those he seeks to destroy? Alas, you have been invited to the party and wouldn't miss it for the world. This is where your story begins."


The entire thing was based at a upscale dinner party so I decided to feed the kids a menu that the birthday boy was thrilled to be part of.  

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1jw76F4iV40CGFmd5XM2GjSxndYtmMqGV
         
                   Menu
  • Appetizers: Shrimp cocktail, Sherlock Holmes silhouette cookies, and black licorice pipes.
  • Drinks: Tea and sparkling cider.
  • Soup Course: Chicken and rice soup with overnight crusty bread.
  • Main Course: Roast beef, roast potatoes, & gravy, and vegetable tray.
  • Dessert: mini pies, cinnamon bunt cake, lemon bunt cake, lemon mini tarts.
I wish I got more photos of the food, but I had 20 teens in my house so every thing was snapped up the second it went out except the cake.  

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1hvWwnl-OTlUbZYrgA1kMsQ39axLaIzMH

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1MooYH6guugV1R95VsaDEYWlzRrqBGE63

The invitations had costume suggestions that went along with each character, and all of our incredible guests showed up ready to play the part!  I had a few favorites;

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1I6oTqM4ZqjoPrEbnu8_-ODFxsp4-y2FK


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1f0T4mMkJT0FCQUcb3CmrBoG-3AqXI6NU


Seriously, our friends are the best!!

The decor was all focused on Victorian era apartment style, similar to one that Sherlock Holmes himself would have had.  I used a large, black, science fair, tri-fold board and stuck it to the wall with contact strips.  Then came the fun part.  I printed a poster sized map of 1859 London and placed it in the center.  Then, I added clues and fun bits of trivia and I had a investigator's murder wall.   

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=15g0lL9LsMGS2h1VgptSiJZ4iTbtOJLlH

Between Google and my vintage newspaper collection, I didn't buy anything but paper for this project.  I wanted it to resemble what Sherlock may have had up on his walls when he was doing an investigation so it was messy, kind of all-over-the-place and with ripped parts of newspapers, and even a bloody handkerchief for good measure.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1ZKoE1SOJBZE8o8CKGXtFv7xYUurX0RP4

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1rsSA7jzPPQVKUW5-JdC0gu_V5oVaOAMs

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1GKCPOlan-r1GJT1F-czljDeG6rj4c_y8

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1zXh1u4C9MfMnA91DTTtyaK_KS5bn-rhe

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1TNJuzEOq6aNquIRV1DWENdcRThAR4cR5

The rest of the decor followed suit.  

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1rcsXW7xC094pOKYsXn5MYoGHqERchawR

All kinds of vintage London and candlelight, with a touch of macabre. 


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=11J7XrbAmZOWmNwq2KxGyqHf2x1fdTG2-


https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1S6zp_VHlVd2-MzROy2bt_Pe7EO-6RXZV

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1r1gW8qAGUImBvLIgQq17BXa00Baa5faK

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1vtmz_lwyFws_QmNLfRex1fDTD9xeLnCv

The game was set up in rounds with three stages and a solution round.  The guests got their character bio-sheets along with their invitations and were able to start with pregame clues as soon as they got here.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1zERIDZ7hUiCscCBcBXZ-eTFVl-mR_dm4

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Z86JfhZGyum18Jrm6MWGpUh6IZIXsCHA

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=15QJLczR4BPbZGMTC6dlHOKFCe2R7DJJJ

I chose a special girl for the victim. I knew she would eat up the part as she is a wonderful stage actress and even assistant director before she graduated.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=17uzvc45HfWvoeUTFtXpCIbhheJY-97LA

She was perfect for the part of the opera star who had blackmailed one too many people at the party...

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=14d2TnaF63GEVBBamRx8BX2mTm0EeVtWI

Clues were found, characters were accused, and lots of laughs were had.  

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=14jgykzIIdATA-vgdnmANUXYEjfIYf9st

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1G-rxyHzXS-7_mqgwEsvA7MaLGMe3iiAn

After the game, we had fun at the photo booth which I set up to look like a vintage mug shot wall. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1YS9zsVgIeRGvRaHeyga2MAsG1kEQCI4r  https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1WaUoZfZg-AOBB3uTa62tiAXG-MAGopGXhttps://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1FYucb3xad0r-HeW7i7dnwIflkYEjNajX  https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1Tiy4iRqspL2X_HtHUT4iIUqzRMgXeaSh

Our constable helped us round up the suspects. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1c5JlHieMlHPfKz3KA1SqtioyDFrsZv7o

Last but not least, the favors. Because the theme was so complex and took so much, I made simple favors for the kids to take with them. Something to encourage reading. Maybe even a bit of Sherlock Holmes. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1zJo2gcRNoSG_KjU7gmVmKGsv6hSNwVl7
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