A 10th Birthday...Nancy Drew Style!

We celebrated Grace's 10th birthday party several days early. She has really been enamored with the Nancy Drew book series and movie, and she requested a Nancy Drew Mystery party. Easier said than done my dearest....but here's how it turned out.


This was the invitation for the girls. Inside had a picture of Nancy Drew from the movie, and gave the specifics of the party.

6:00 pm - Girls arrive (5 of them to be exact, plus Evan's best friend, Mason ) The screaming IMMEDIATELY starts.

6:11 pm - "boys" from school call to prank the girls. (I can't BELIEVE this is already going on.)

6:15 pm - We got pizza for supper, and the girls tear into it like they haven't eaten for days. Two cheese pizzas, and half a pepperoni pizza are devoured within minutes.
** The boys call about every 5-10 minutes until Dad gets on the phone.

7:00 pm - After supper, presents were opened and Twister was played for oh, about 10 minutes, and then the "real party" began. I had made a "fake" will that was from an old lady who had chosen Grace to inherit her fortune, however, her grandson, Elvis, couldn't know that the girls were searching for the pieces of the will, and the fortune.


They all took turns reading the clues and running around the house finding pieces of the will (running around and screaming that is. I've never heard so much screaming in my life!)


Once all the pieces were found, they put the will together to find the final clue and locate their prize.


They were so hyper, they could hardly figure out the final clue. I had hidden it in a drawer in a bureau in my bathroom. These are what they each had, keeping with the "plaid, old fashioned" theme like the new Nancy Drew movie. A small pad of paper, some pencils, mini pens, jelly beans, a silly straw, and some nerds.




7:30 pm - Ate CAKE! And blew out some candles. I tried to make a cake that looked like a magnifying glass, but you know, that's just not an easy task. They didn't care, they just dug right in.


After cake, ice cream, and some MORE pop, they went upstairs to get in their jammies, and watch the Nancy Drew movie in Grace's room. However, about 10:00 pm when the boys went to sleep, screaming erupted from the girl's room. Apparently, ghost stories were exchanged, and NO ONE could sleep upstairs, they were just too scared, so, our living room became sleeping central.


At 1:00 am, I went out to the living room and told the girls it was about time to go to sleep. I proceeded to go back to my room and fall asleep. The story goes like this....or so I heard at breakfast the next morning...that they all stayed up until 3am. Sure they did. Whatever girls. I'm just glad they had fun.

I did look at my husband one time during the weekend, though, and I lovingly said, "THIS is why we don't have 8 children."