Last weekend was Wade's birthday. Since this was a big one for Wade and his birthday is usually overshadowed by Christmas, we decided to throw a big party. But not just any party. A party full of mystery, intrigue, and....murder? That's, right! A murder mystery party!
I looked online for a murder mystery game, but couldn't find one with the right theme/number of characters. So I decided to try my hand at writing my own. It couldn't be that hard, right? Wrong. It got really involved with so many characters, but I did have fun tailoring each character and giving them a rich backstory. I just watched
Clue a lot to get inspiration.
Prior to the party, everyone received their character so they could come dressed accordingly. The backdrop was 1962, and this was a birthday party for Inspector Conrad (Wade) and some of his closest friends who had never met each other before, or had they? Once they arrived, they received a secret background and objectives to accomplish. I was worried how well the story would unfold, but everyone played their parts so well! It went better than I could have imagined. It was a night for the record books. I haven't laughed that much in a long time and can't thank everyone enough for helping to make it such a success. I especially love how all the decorations turned out, which I owe to my sister, sister-in-laws, and niece.
How fun is this paper chain? My brother and I would make one to string all over my parent's house each Christmas, so I wanted to continue the tradition but add a different spin to it. I used the scrapbook paper line that Elsie and Emma from
A Beautiful Mess designed. I love all the colors!
The mantel turned out to be my favorite spot. My sister came up with the great idea to display photos of Wade with clothespins, and I love how it shows all the fun stuff he's been up to in the past few years. I finally was able to put all those Hipstamatic prints to good use:)
Everyone played their parts with gusto. Here's my brother in his death scene, accusing everyone of killing him.
After all that murder and mayhem, we cut loose the rest of the night in our makeshift photo booth!
Throwing a party is always more work than you think it will be, and I always say that I'm never doing this again while I clean crazily before the party. After the party, though, when I look back at all the pictures, I realize that it was all worth it for the great memories we all took from the night. Wade had an amazing night surrounded by the people who love him most. For that I would clean a hundred bathrooms. (don't ask me if the aftermath of the party is fully cleaned yet, though:)
Happy birthday, Inspector!
NO way. You had a murder mystery party and you wrote it yourself?? That's amazing. I wish I could have gone!
ReplyDeleteYou're invited to the next one! I'll have to do a sequel some time:) Hope you're having a great day!
DeleteLove this idea for a milestone birthday! My friend did one a couple of years ago for her birthday and it was a blast although I had a hard time staying in character. Love the clothespin idea too :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Kate! It is hard to stay in character:) We only played out the game for about 45 minutes so people could relax later in the evening, because we all wanted to laugh at what had happened. Hope you're having a great day!
DeleteKari, I'm SO impressed! You really went above and beyond for this party. It sounds so fun! I've never been to anything like it and now I really want to go to a Murder Mystery party (planned by someone else, because I am a little burned out on party planning for the moment too). There's nothing like a good costume party. And I can't believe you wrote the whole thing yourself. You deserve some major credit for being kickass.
ReplyDeleteAh, shucks, Devon! Thank you for all the kudos! You are so sweet and make me glad I spent all those hours feverishly working on the script:) I really appreciate your kind words, and I totally agree with you that there is nothing like a good costume party! Here's to spending January relaxing from all our fun party planning:)
DeleteWow Kari, you really do know how to throw a party. It looks amazing, and how wonderful that you wrote it yourself. I can't imagine how much organising that took, well done you! And the rooms look amazing as well, beautiful decorations. You have outdone yourself this time! I'm glad you all had such a great time, and a very happy (belated) birthday to Wade.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, CJ! I'll be sure to pass along your birthday wishes to Wade! I really appreciate your sweet words:) They made my day! Hope you're having a wonderful start to 2014:)
DeleteThat is so cool! What a fun idea and your decorations look great! My husband's 30th birthday is next month and I'm putting together a party for him, now I've got some decoration inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThat's great, Elle! I ended up just getting stuff in a lot of colors and hoping everything worked together:) I can't wait to hear about your husband's birthday party! If you want to do a murder mystery, I know where to find a script:) Hope you're having a great day!
DeleteThis is too cute, Kari! I've been eagerly waiting for this post all week. You kept the anticipation up! Your pictures are beautiful - getting good with that camera. Wish I could have been there. Looks like it was a total hit.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kate!! I wish you could have been here, too! It would have been so much fun to have you. We'll have to recreate it next time you're in town. You can be some cool secret spy:)
DeleteKari, you are the BEST wife! Wade is so lucky to have you. What an incredibly fun and memorable way to celebrate that milestone. Wish we could have been there! I love the picture of Chad in character. I bet everyone was hurting from laughing so much. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jessica! Wish you guys could have been here, too! I bet you can imagine how hilarious Chad was:) I wish we would have gotten more video, but I'm glad we got a few pictures.
DeleteOh. My. Word. You are awesome! Sounds like a total blast! I so want to go to a murder mystery party- sounds like so much fun. And I love all the fun decor. Happy belated birthday to Wade!
ReplyDeleteThanks SO much, Leia!! It was a blast, and Wade says thank you for the bday wishes! You are awesome! Hope you're having a great night!
DeleteSo I knew you were creative, but you have really outdone yourself on this one! Way to go, writing your own script and everything! I would LOVE to attend a murder mystery party! Was it hard for everyone to stay in character?
ReplyDeletewhat a fun theme!
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