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Solve the Mystery of What Type of Party to Throw
By Penny Warner

Mystery-themed parties are always a hit with kids. They’re fun to put together too, so let your child be involved in the creative planning. Here are two popular mystery party themes to get you started—a Nancy Drew party for girls and a Crime Scene Investigation party for boys.

Intriguing Invitations

Nancy Drew Party: Make “top-secret” invitations for each guest. Decorate the envelope with stickers and stamp imprints featuring flashlights, skeleton keys, footprints and other mystery-themed decals. Fill the pocket with additional party fun, such as a small magnifying glass, a notebook and a puzzling clue.

CSI Party: Make file folder invitations, filled with a fake lab report that contains the party details such as, “Crime Scene Location: 123 Grissom Drive.” Place them in large manila envelopes, make your own “Top Secret: For Your Eyes Only” stickers for the outside.

Decorations

Nancy Drew: Choose an era from a Nancy Drew mystery and decorate to suit it. Nancy’s favorite color is blue, so fill the room with blue helium balloons and use blue paper products. Put together a sleuth kit filled with a flashlight, magnifying glass, compass, notebook, pencil, disguise and other mystery-solving accessories. Print out quotes from the books as wall signs.

CSI: Create a crime scene using crime scene tape, and outline a “body” on the floor with masking tape. Lay out several “weapons” as clues, such as a rubber knife, candlestick, rope or a lead pipe. Make “Wanted” posters of the suspects and tape them to the walls.

Games & Activities

Nancy Drew Solve a Mystery: Choose a popular Nancy Drew mystery and turn it into a mini-mystery for the sleuths. For example, if you choose “Secret of The Old Clock,” make a will, hide it in an old clock and write clues that lead to the hidden will—along with some surprises! Place the clues in blue helium balloons and tie them to designated sites. Have the sleuths try to find the first clue hidden inside the helium balloon.

CSI Solve a Crime: Set up a crime scene filled with clues that lead to a solution, much like the television show. For example, perhaps a circus clown has disappeared, leaving behind only a squirting flower, a hand buzzer and a bouquet of colorful balloons. The guests must figure out where the first clue is then follow the trail to the solution. Having a real clown hiding in a closet could be a surprising way for your investigators to solve the mystery.

Penny Warner has more than 25 years of experience as an author and party planner. She has published more than 50 books, including 16 specific to parties. For more information, visit www.BalloonTime.com.