1957 High School Reunion MURDER MYSTERY Party
a huge thank you to:
Please scroll to the bottom for all of the party details and tips...Don't worry, there are no spoilers! The snap shots of the game play are in the next post!
Our Awesome Juke Box that played 50's tunes on it all night!
Those colored cards that you see are the action cards that everyone needed to draw.
Chex Mix
Sign in table
Our Tribute
Close up Shot of wall with 50's Facts
Close up of sign in table
Pre Packaged, notebook for writing details, money, and name tag
Most 'Doh'
Hot Tamales 'Hot on the trail'
'You're so silly'
I couldn't leave the guests empty handed. They all went home with a copy of the 50's tunes
Mike and Ikes actually came out int he 40's but since they were around in the 50's I thought they were a good idea for the quiz winners or those that didn't like the Hot Tamales
Paper Straws
Sundae Cups
Vintage coke display
Food Tables
Table setting. The rolled paper to the right is the 'Weapons Clue Sheet'Table setting. The rolled paper on the right is the 'weapons clue sheet' Table setting. The rolled paper on the right is the 'weapons clue sheet'
Drink Spot- I even made colored ice cubes for the water in our festive colors
Jenny and Johnny- The Host and Hostess Head Cheerleader/Prom Queen and Star Quarterback/ Prom King (Also the current Mayor of our town)
Lenny and Linda- The Famous Rockers...
Bobby and Becky- Owner of small air conditioning business and Flower Shop Girl...
Susan and Steven- She's old money and he's a factory owner. Super loaded...
Mary and Michael- Jenny's bestie and a business owner...They sure did fight a lot:)
Mark and Maria- Successful Book writer and stay at home mom. They are happy and successful
Peter and Paula- Our Retired Principal (Gotta love that shirt!) and his younger prego wife who just happened to be our science teacher at the time... I think he robbed the cradle on that one!
Thomas and Tisha- Principals Son/Michaels Business partner and First grade teacher. I think they are pro bowlers...
Carol and Charles- The detectives! She made her dress! It was so dang cute and she even made Chuck a matching tie!
Nancy and Nate- Why were they there again? No one seemed to know who they were...
Winner of Wealthiest (She tied with Peter...I'm not sure where that picture went)
Winner of Best Actor
Winner of Best Actress- Did I mention she made that dress?
Best Costume as a couple (We kept our votes anonymous and that made it even more fun!)I must say this was a super fun evening! (As you can see I'm kind of detail oriented.)
So a few things I did. I bought a package of bright colored paper and a package of black card stock. They quickly became the staple for the party! If you haven't ever used a circle cutter before you should! Super easy and super perfect to make all of the records! You can buy one at most craft stores. (Fiskars makes one. They run about 20 dollars and you can always use a coupon at places like JoAnn, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby...)
I also picked up some old records at a thrift store for .50 cents each and melted them into record bowls you can find the tutorial here: http://thepaperseed.com/?p=82
As cute as all of the decorations are, I can't claim them all... I borrowed a bunch of stuff...Sundae cups for dessert, the vintage COKE stuff that a friend collects for the cute display, as well as the Juke Box from my Aunt! (She has awesome stuff...SO glad she shares with me!)
I did a ton of research on the 50's. Google told me that Chex mix became quite a popular item in the 50's so we made sure to have some of that in our cute little record bowls. I also printed out a ton of 50's facts and mounted them on the colored paper and then put them all over the house so people could read them through the night. I made a cute 50's quiz and it was on the tables for people to do during dinner. (We ended up doing it after the game instead because we were too busy playing the game during dinner. )
I wanted to do some prizes with the awards at the end of the night...I ended up using all things that came out in the 50's. Play Do for the most money prize, Silly Putty for best actor and actress, Mr Potato Head for the best dressed couple, and Hot Tamales for all of those that solved our mystery. (I included a picture of all of them so you can see the cute saying that was attached to each of them) I am fortunate to have a husband who is a Photoshop pro! Me not so much, but he made cute gift certificates that matched with our theme and I thought they were perfect! www.dinnerandamurder.com does have gift certificates you can print I just wanted everything matchy matchy...I know, I know...Leave me alone!
We decided to have dinner be a '50's diner theme' meal. We BBQ'd some hamburgers and then everyone brought a little something to go with dinner. I bought burger baskets on www.ebay.com and bought some wax paper liners at a restaurant instead of ordering a huge package online. I bought red and white paper straws on www.amazon.com which were a darling touch! We had ice cream sundaes for dessert while we all visited and laughed after the game!
I sent out the invitations quite a bit in advance. I wanted everyone to have enough time to plan, get babysitters, get costumes, ect. It also gave me plenty of time to get all the decorations and details in order.
This was the first time I have done a Murder Mystery Party. It was SOOOO stinking fun! I would totally do it again in a heartbeat. Dinner and a Murder was awesome to work with. She emailed me back right away with questions I had, It was a very affordable game for 20 people, (about 40 dollars) and It came with everything you need to play the game! I love parties so this was so fun for me to go nuts with! You don't have to do that to have a successful fun night but I think the costumes are a MUST! It helps people get into their characters and makes it feel more real. I even thought at some times during the night I was living the nightmare! There were some really good actors and actresses!
Can I just say that I have the best group of friends! They all showed up in costume, brought what they said they would bring, and had a great time! We will definately do this again! THANKS EVERYONE!!!
