murder mystery party circa 1985

last year (2008) we hosted a murder mystery party.  we did another one in 2006, and it was so much fun..so we knew we had to do another one!  we chose a high school reunion, class of 1985.  who doesn't love the 80's?!  the costumes alone made the party..as you will see! haha!  i had put together the invitations, which had all of the details, along with a newsletter.  when guests arrived that night, they were given a name tag, fake money and more details of their character.

ella modeled our picture spot as our fellow classmates arrived...(again, she was in bed by the time the party started..although she woke up midway and decided to join us! haha!)

editor/detective

dance team

cheerleading captain and quarterback

the band

rebel and lawyer

class president and vice president

class flirt

drama queen

the stud

hall monitor

film student turned director

math nerd and math team cheer captain

prom queen and king

getting acquainted with all of the other characters..a lot of mingling and socializing.  it was fun to watch everyone in character where all the conversations are getting down to business.

introduction by the class president

halloween cupcakes of course...amongst other goodies!

lights out!  the murder!!  eeeek!!

more assumptions and accusations...putting all of the clues together

after the murder was solved, awards and prizes were given out.  everyone voted on best costume..which went to the rebel.  so funny.  he was so into his character.  it makes me laugh just looking at the picture.

drama queen award

smoking gun award.  and she was also the murderer. haha.

and bobby also got the smoking gun award for guessing the murderer.

the girls

and guys

at the end of this party, everyone kept saying how much fun it was, and it is an absolute must to have another!!  not sure yet if it will be this year or next, but i look forward to it!!

classic halloween party

this was just a classic little bit of everything halloween party.  this was done in 2007.  this was the last big halloween party we did...it is a lot of work..haha!  and with one little one, and one on the way at the time...it was tiring! haha!  nowadays, we just keep it smaller scale! :)  but they were so fun to do!

here is the patio area.  it never occurred to me back then to actually go around and take detail pictures.  how i regret that now.

love the effect of cornstalks.  we were lucky enough to have friends whose family grew corn that year..so we actually cut down the stalks ourselves!

ella watching us get ready for the festivities!

ghosts all around..including a flying one that went back and forth on that line

doesn't it seem like every halloween party needs a scene like this? haha!

unfortunately, i didn't get a pic of the front of the entrance..we had candle lanterns up the drive and walkway and then a big blow up arch, and tunnel like effect that guests walked through.  at the time of the party, we had a radio with the munster's theme song playing.

drink area

he we are..the munster family.  fun costumes!  ella wasn't too sure about it though. haha.  after this pic, she was off to bed!

i was about 4 months pregnant here!

melissa and me :)  oh, how we love halloween! haha!

a few of the treats

it was a perfect halloween night, with a perfect halloween moon!

pirate halloween party

with halloween just around the corner..i thought i would post a few halloween party entries (i'll try to get them all up this week) from halloween parties we (my sister, melissa, and i) have done in previous years.  halloween has always been one of our favorite holidays..so we loved going all out for the parties.  we would plan months and months in advance.  ahh..the good ol days!  here is a pirate party we did back in 2005. (i would post 2 other big halloween parties we did in 2003 and 2004, but that was before i started using a digital camera..and i am not about to scan all of those pics in! haha!  i wish i could share those too though, especially the year where we actually constructed a black haunted house style tent).

we started theming the parties this year...and we thought pirates would be fun!  we decided to call our cove rum island. ;)  the pictures are in no particular order..

we constructed this sign that welcomed guests...

and carved all of these pumpkins...b'ware o the pirates!  that would be pirate talk..haha!

we decided we would construct a pirate ship with bender board around our spa.  kind of a big project, but well worth the effect!

we were thinking pirates of the carribean style (the ride at disneyland) with this scene...sand, jewels, and a skeleton

we rented a big tent..food, drinks, seating and decor all around

the captain and his wench ;)

in honor of the captain..haha!

under construction

melissa, emily and me :)

taking charge of the ship! ;)

a few of the necessary goodies ;)

we had two firepits...this one..and then a permanent one on the patio

guests entered through the "bat cave" and they were welcomed by the talking pirate head..just like the ride before you drop ;) at the time of the party, it was completely dark, with a fog machine, and dropping bats.

skeletons and skulls all around

captain's quarters

overhead

the other firepit

entrance inside the tent

we had candles everywhere!  tealights in jars around the boat as shown here..and all along the top of the fence around the entire backyard.  candle lighting always makes for a great effect.  so simple too. and then of course we had tiki torches everywhere as well

our motto has always been it's all about the ambiance of a party.  and this party was a blast!  well i hope you enjoyed your tour around rum island.  aye matey!  or should i say aarrrrrrrrrrr! ;)