Clue-Themed Halloween Party (with pictures)

 

Clue-Themed Halloween Party

I held my Halloween party on October 13, so that my friends had a chance to do other Halloween-related things closer to the actual holiday. Plus, after I picked the date, I realized it's the 13th! Perfect day to celebrate a spooky holiday. Not that my theme was spooky. I made it a Clue themed party (you know, like the game and movie?!) The above photo shows my sister as Ms. Scarlett and myself as Mrs. Peacock (I wore a dress I had from being a bridesmaid this past summer so yay for second uses!).

Games/Activities

prize bucket

I think games/activities are fun, no matter how old you are, so I came up with and found a few things to do! Besides one "game" with set prizes (as you will see below), I had every winner choose something from the prize bucket, which included a variety of Halloween-esque items. The bucket was a lovely gift from a Halloween swap I participated in, so thanks Sara!

Real-Life Clue- Not the actual name, but that's essentially the point of the game. I gave everyone a notecard as they arrived to the party that said Name and Hard to Guess Fact About Yourself already written on it. They would fill it out and give it back to me. Later in the evening, I numbered the cards and read each clue aloud as everyone wrote down who they thought had written what on their own piece of paper (automatic point because you know your own clue). Whoever got the most right, won. I even included a clue for myself. Mine was "I attended an entire class at a school I didn't go to." Another friend wrote "I had blonde hair when I was younger." It was fun, and surprisingly, it was a tough game for most people...I really thought the clues might be too easy, but in the end, only my sister got them all right!

Murderer/Victim- I had everyone write their name on a piece of paper and I put them all into a vase. Before watching the movie Clue at the end of the night, I picked out two names. Easy enough! The first name was the victim and the second was the murderer. I got plastic Halloween jars at the Dollar Tree and filled them up with little goodies (even a pair of socks in one jar), as well as lots of candy. Each winner got a jar (and this is one thing I didn't get a photo of, so sorry about that!)

Halloween Trivia- I had paper for everyone to write down answers for the various games, and for this one, I read Halloween trivia questions out loud (which I found here, along with the answers) and everyone had to write down the answer on their piece of paper. I then read the answeres aloud at the end and, again, whoever got the most right won the game! I didn't use all the questions, but most of them! It was very handy so thanks to the blog for allowing people to use these for their own use.

Halloween Mad Gab- I wanted to have everyone go around and read these out loud one at a time, because that IS the point of the game...you have to hear what these phrases sound like. It was kind of difficult to do that, though, so I ended up just reading them out loud myself and whoever wanted to listen could do so. Everyone wrote down the answers and the winner was whoever got the most correct. This was another game I found online, so thanks for allowing others to use these (she includes the phrases to read out loud, and then the right answers!)

The Movie- And finally, we tried to watch the movie Clue, which I checked out from my local library. The key word is try since the dvd was scratched or something, and it kept freezing or skipping over parts. In the end, we got the basics of the movie, but it was kind of a bummer! I think most of us had already seen it, though, so that was a good thing!

Food

One of my favorite parts of planning for a party is the food. I love figuring out items/names that fit the theme, and for Clue, I wanted some type of food that would go along with every single player in the game (essentially, it broke down to a food name that started with the same letter of the character, because I couldn't make colors work for all of them- Professor Plum and Mr. Green are the exceptions).

Colonel Mustard's Munchies (there really is a snack called Munchies, that includes a variety of chips and pretzels. So yummy)

 

Mrs. Peacock's Popcorn (Smartfood kettle corn)

 

Miss. Scarlett's Salami Roll-ups (these are just yummy, and I hadn't made them for a party yet)

 

Professor Plum Pops (I used my cake pop maker for the first time with these, and by me, I mean my sister. Apparently, they were easy to make and they tasted really good, so victory)

 

Mrs. White's Witch Hats (I found these on this blog and I'm so glad I did. Easy to put together and very tasty!)

 

Boo Dip with Bagels (basically, bagel dip and while it's not Clue-related, I asked a friend to make it and I had to give it some type of Halloween name so it fit in)

 

And finally, I just now realized that I didn't get a picture of this...but I had Mr. Green Goop that was a punch recipe that I break out for most of my parties as my friends really like it. It's simple to make, oh so tasty, and it's actually a green color!

 

Decorations

Finally, the few decorations I had set up!

Of course, the movie Clue was floating around! The pumpkin plate is a fun item I got in a previous year's Halloween swap, while that cute little owl is something I got from this year's Halloween swap (thanks again Sara!)

 

I got the above lanterns at the Dollar Tree. Unfortunately, the pumpkin wouldn't stay lit up but it was still cute on its own. The white spot in the other corner was a ghost, though, and that did light up (as you can kind of see in this photo). It was a fun addition. There was a lantern on either side of my TV.

That is an above shot of my table. You can see a different view of the plate and the owl (and that black dot is a Halloween candle holder), but I really wanted to show my little snacks. All my main food is in the corner on two tables, but I had a few popcorn containers I got in the Target clearance aisle that I filled with M & M's and chocolate covered pretzels shaped like pumpkins (I bought these are Target too- yummy!) I thought it was a fun addition to the decor and it was a quick snack to nibble on as we waited for people to arrive, if anyone wished to dig in!

I found the above Zombie Virus label on a blog and I was quickly printing these off at the library, so I was only able to get the one. I wanted something for each bottle, but oh well, I just put the sprite in front so it was shown off! These are also slightly smaller bottles (not a 2 liter) that I got for a dollar each at, you guessed it, the Dollar Tree. Such a great deal since I like to have a few drink options, but my friends really don't drink a lot, so I don't want it to go to waste. (I suppose this picture belonged under food, but it's kind of a decoration with the sign- just another little addition that was Halloween-related and not strictly Clue!)

And finally, this is a shot of my main food table. I had a little table off to the side with plates, napkins, punch, and other drinks but this one held most of the food. It had two little "lanterns" with candles (one is white, the other yellow) which we had lit and a cute little pink box with a black cat that held Halloween candy. Everything was from Target, minus the actual candy, which I got from the Dollar Tree. The fun skeleton tablecloth was from the Dollar Tree too. A friend who couldn't make it to the party picked it out earlier in the week, saying Clue was about murder and a "dead body" would fit that theme, so volia! And that cute little Halloween tree is from Avon. I love that it lights up by flipping a switch, instead of having to plug it in!

Whew, long post, but I hope you enjoyed it. I'm always happy to help you plan parties if you need ideas. I like coming up with foods and activities/games, especially. If you can pay something, awesome, but it's not necessary. I'd love help spreading the word about my blog as well!

I hope to link up at the following parties-

http://www.houseofhepworths.com/ http://tidymom.net http://tatertotsandjello.com http://www.iheartnaptime.net http://www.skiptomylou.org http://www.tipjunkie.com/category/handmade-projects/ and http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/

Decor- Bottling Moon Glass

Sometimes I get sent random books in the mail for possible review, and there is NO way that I can ever read and review them all...not in a quick manner at least. One book that was sent to me was Moonglass by Jessi Kirby (the hardcover photo is above, but you can get the paperback now for about ten bucks now). At any rate, why am I talking about books on this blog? Well, because sometimes I get sent items along with the book that the publisher has put together or gotten because it somehow represents the book.

For Moonglass, I was sent what is essentially supposed to be colored sea glass, I think. It was a bag of it that I kept in my room, liking it but not sure what to do with it exactly, until I remembered some small glass jars I bought at Michael's for future use. I took one of these jars and put the sea glass in it.

Yeah, it's not the most creative craft project ever...but I thought it would be fun to share how I use these items instead of just letting them lie around the house. If I think of something fun to do with it, I shall document and share on here!

Guest Post- Candy Themed BBQ Graduation Party

 

 

Guest Post from Grand Party Goods

Candy Themed BBQ Graduation Party

The most recent BBQ party that I attended incorporated a candy theme. While the theme may sound a bit odd and childish to some, the party was held for my younger cousin's high school graduation, as she truly enjoyed her work in the local neighborhood candy store. She had worked there throughout some of her high school years.

Having a candy themed party is always entertaining and enjoyable no matter what age, but can make for a daunting task. The color scheme chosen was a light pink, blue, and white, which made the guests immediately think of cake and candy. While we grilled burgers and hot dogs, small dishes were placed in front of the guests. Guests could then walk up to a small bar and fill their dishes with whatever candy or fruit they pleased. The fruit was cut circular, making it have a gumball-like appearance, and was a healthy alternative to the sweet candy that was enjoyed before dinner.

The party took place in my cousin's backyard, where several folding tables were placed closely together. Plastic dinnerware and plastic silverware of the same colors were used to accentuate the theme of the night. The grill was placed on the patio, which was also well decorated, incorporating the similar candy colored scheme. Even the outdoor decorations were all candy themed down to the smallest details. The table cloths had pictures of various types of candy and the napkins had candy-colored patterns. The centerpieces were handmade to feature high school pictures of my cousin, while each picture was also tinted with light colors, keeping the whole theme consistent.

When it was time to eat our burgers and hot dogs, we were offered colored popcorn and chips. The popcorn was buttered, cheese, and caramel which was nothing overly fancy but once again kept the colorful theme. While regular toppings are not that colorful, well placed everyday BBQ items like bottles of ketchup, mustard, and pickles can continue to add to the color scheme and are also convenient for guest use. What really brings any party theme together is the true attention to detail.

The guests and I really enjoyed this candy-themed party, as it put a different spin on a traditional BBQ. Even those without a sweet tooth could appreciate the theme of the night. Strategic placing of similarly themed and colored party settings seemed to be the key to keeping the whole concept consistent. The party was a huge success and will definitely be remembered for years to come, due to its uniqueness. While many of the details did not take too much extra effort to produce, they were very thought-out, making for a memorable and fun barbecue that people are sure to keep talking about!

 

Author’s Note: Joel Perkowski is the CEO of Grand Party Goods, which he started in 2009. Grand Party Goods offers quality plastic tableware and silverware, with designs ranging from classic, to contemporary and trendy. Their party settings are perfect for weddings, bar mitzvahs, birthday parties and many other occasions.

DIY College Survival Kit

I've been volunteering at my local library for two years now. I help out the Teen Librarian at all the events. In honor of today being my first day back to class, I thought I'd share the gift I made for a brother and sister (yes, twins) who invited me to their high school graduation party. They are both going to my college this year, but I think only the girl is staying on campus.

Awhile back, The Popcorn Factory was doing a deal on facebook where college students could have someone send them a tub of popcorn, hence the Survival Kit container above. I'm glad I thought of using it for the gifts because it worked great. Unfortunately, some of the items were too big or just didn't fit, so I had to give them a bag with some extra goodies too, but I still say the container was great.

I tried to add things for both a boy and a girl, as well as some on-campus items:

giant green Oops eraser
some bandaids
ear plugs
collapsable hampers
mini notebook
lip balms
hand sanitizer
two packs of playing cards
panda candy
binder clips (I use one for my planner)
box of m & m's because the twins names both start with an "M"
mini file folder
a couple containers for food/snacks
I even gave them a book about Graphic Novels because they love reading them and if they take the class at our college, they need the book (I took the class about a year ago so I gave them my used copy).

I had some other little items included as well, but it's been awhile now since I gave them the gift and I only have this one photo to refresh my memory.

It's a relatively easy and fun gift to give someone though. I love DIY gifts and I think the idea of themed Survival Kits is fun, so it's a great idea for college and beyond!

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I hope to link up at the following parties-

http://www.houseofhepworths.com/ http://tidymom.net  http://tatertotsandjello.com http://www.iheartnaptime.net  http://www.skiptomylou.org http://www.tipjunkie.com/category/handmade-projects/ and http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/

Winnie-the-Pooh Themed Picnic

I've been a huge fan of Winnie-the-Pooh since I was little. Even when I got older, if I was home sick from school, I loved watching the cartoon. I suppose I get this from my mom whose a big fan as well, so it's no surprise that I thought a Winnie-the-Pooh themed picnic for Mother's Day was the way to go this year. Yeah, I know, Mother's Day is in the past, but you can use this idea for any holiday or event. Just change things to fit the theme/setting.

First off, I made the cute note above with one of my favorite quotes, by Pooh himself, that says:

Some People Care Too Much...I Think It's Called Love

I love the idea of having a picnic in the park, so I knew I wanted to find some food (and a drink) that I could give fun little names to fitting the Pooh theme. I packed everything up in a box and laid it out with my collection of Pooh stories, as well as the soundtrack for the latest Pooh film (which I actually saw in theaters with my mom!)

We listened to the soundtrack on the way to and from the park and I even pointed out a story about a party in the Pooh collection (I believe my mom read it later in the day).

As for the food, I went with-

Cucumbers and carrots with a dip my family loves - Rabbit's Garden

Cow Tail candy - Eeyore's Tail

Fruit punch - Piglet's Punch

Gummi-Bears - Gummi Winnie-the-Pooh

Cheetos- Tigger Tails

Peanut Butter Crunch - Owl Crunch

This is everything laid out at the park...the soundtrack is obviously still in the car and I didn't bring the veggies, because as you can see from the photo before this, they are in some large containers and we figured we didn't want to lug those with us. It was a bit windy the day we went, but nothing too bad. It was me, my mom, and my sister...and the park was fairly empty, which worked out nice! Overall, my mom loved the gift and we all had a fun time!

If you have any thoughts about this, ideas of your own, or questions, please leave them in the comments or shoot me an email!

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I hope to link up at the following parties-

http://www.houseofhepworths.com/, http://tidymom.net/, http://tatertotsandjello.com/, http://www.iheartnaptime.net/, http://www.skiptomylou.org/, http://www.tipjunkie.com/category/handmade-projects/, and http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/

The Hunger Games Party - Games and Prizes

The above photo is myself as Primrose Everdeen and my sister, Kari, as Foxface. I put my hair in braided pigtails and wore a white shirt that I felt was Prim appropriate. I didn't have a skirt, so gray pants was it! My sister has the red hair for Foxface, so she put on a black shirt we figured was "games" worthy and then put a Five patch on her should for the District she is from.

Moving on to the games we played!

I had a Hungry for Trivia Game, where I asked questions that were somehow related to The Hunger Games (either the author, the actors in the film, etc.) but weren't book-related for the few people at my party who hadn't read the books. A couple examples-

Q. Liam Hemsworth plays Katniss’ friend Gale. Liam’s older brother is also an actor. What superhero does he play?

A. Thor

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Q. Lenny Kravitz plays Cinna and Jennifer Lawrence plays Katniss. What movie did Jennifer Lawrence star in alongside Lenny Kravitz’ daughter?

A. X-Men: First Class

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If you want to hold your own Hunger Games party, feel free to email me or leave a comment below with your email and I'll send the entire list of Trivia for your use!

source

The other game we played was Real or Not Real? If you've read Mockingjay, then you understand the meaning of this. I wrote down a bunch of "facts" on notecards and I read them aloud, as we went along the circle. If the card said "You like boys" and you do, you say "Real" and you get the card. If you don't like boys, you say "Not Real" and the next person has to say Real or Not Real until the card is given to someone or nobody gets it. If nobody gets it, I set the card out of the pile and read the next card. If you get the card, I read the next "fact" to the person right after you and off we go! I tried to mix up the "facts" so it fit various people. I put things like "you'd live outside of the country" and even "you like pizza." Easy and fun! It's a fun "getting to know you" game, so I suggest you use it for any party or gathering! Of course, the person with the most cards in their hand at the end is the winner!

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The Real or Not Real photo above is NOT mine, but you can get these free printables courtesy of Tattered and Inked. I wish I had them when I did my party, but unfortunately, I just found them!

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The Prizes!

I'm sorry to say that I did not get a photo of the prizes, which I'm pretty bummed about as I thought they were fun. I picked up a sucker at Michael's that had an icing type of bumblebee on it and called it a Tracker Jacker pop with a little tag around the stick.

I had a couple bottles of self-tanning lotion, so I wrapped some red poster board around it and called it Capitol Color (for the kooky styles of the Capitol).

I even had a copy of the book The Water Wars by Cameron Stracher because it said it was good for fans of The Hunger Games!

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Voila! That was my Hunger Games party. The decorations, the food, the games, the prizes, and even the "costumes" for a couple of us!

Keep following the blog...I have more parties and crafts coming up!

The Hunger Games Party - Food

The Hunger Games Party - The Food

all photos are by my family

The above photo are what I called Capitol Pills. I got them from the dollar store and they are simple white mints that came in money wrappers. I figured the money works for the Capitol, and also in Catching Fire, the Capitol folks eat and eat and eat, then take a pill and throw up, and eat and eat and eat some more.

These are bugles, which I called Mini Cornucopias. I got the regular and the cheddar and seperated them into two bowls and they made a fun little snack before dinner/dessert.

I got mini cans of Sprite and some cotton candy tubs (again from the dollar store) and called it Trinket Toppers. You put some cotton candy on top of your sprite for a kooky hair look a ala Effie Trinket. Unfortunately, our cotton candy melted into the sprite right away, but people seemed to enjoy just eating the cotton candy too!

My sister really wanted a cheese ball for the party, so she made this and I titled it Prim's Goat Cheese Ball. No, it's not really goat cheese, but I figured that wouldn't be as appetizing! If you aren't aware, the character Prim (Katniss' sister) has a goat and sells cheese from her.

Finnick's Garlic Knots. I actually came up with this idea on my own, which I was pretty proud of myself. A local pizza place makes garlic knots and I LOVE them, so that started the thought process and I found a recipe online and had my sister make some. The character of Finnick knots and unknots a rope over and over again as a means of coping, hence the garlic knots for Finnick!

This is Haymitch's Drunk Punch. I don't drink alcohol so there is none in it, but I wanted something to fit Haymitch and a "Drunk" Punch seemed nice since he drinks all the time in the books. Plus, this is a punch I've made for other parties with friends and it goes over well. It went SUPER fast this time!

I wanted to include Rue somehow, as I love her character so we went with District 11 Fruit Salad (Hand-picked by Rue). It was a light addition to my meal plan...especially with dinner!

Speaking of dinner, I went with cheeseburgers and hotdogs and called it Gale's Game since he hunts in District 12 with Katniss. Normally, when I have parties for friends, we just do snacks and dessert items, but I planned out a whole meal around the Gale's Game idea.

Peeta is the "Boy with the Bread" so we had to have a bread item for him. Instead of making homemade bread or getting roles, we went with Peeta's Pretzel Bread, which is really good. My sister (again) wanted the Spinach Dip to go with it, so I made it Caesar's Spinach Dip...mainly because spinach is green and I thought that fit Caesar's eclectic blue/green style.

This was a last minute idea. My sister and I went to a graduation party a week before, I believe, and they had these cookies (but with kiwi). We made them (sugar cookies, cream cheese frosting, and blackberries/rasberries for the top) and called it Nightlock Cookies, in honor of the infamous berries that kill you with one bite. Don't worry, these are non-toxic and oh so yummy!

We had to have an item in honor of Katniss Everdeen, so we went with Girl on Fire Cupcakes. Simple vanilla cupcakes with yellow and orange icing on top to look like fire. We then added crushed up oreos around it to be the coal!

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Most of these ideas were created by me, but you're obviously more than welcome to use them for your own Hunger Games party. If you have any food-related questions, just shoot me an email or leave a comment below. I'd love to hear what you think about this food and maybe even what you did or would do for your own HG-related gathering!

The Hunger Games Party - Decorations!

source

I love throwing parties for my friends and this past May, it was my birthday month, so I essentially threw my own b-day party...but with the awesome Hunger Games theme! I'm going to try and get all the HG posts up this week so you can see just how I set the whole thing up.

Today, I'm going to start with the decorations. It was very simple. I didn't feel the need to go all crazy. I essentially found funny Hunger Games-related pictures online, printed them off, and then taped them to red cardboard (red for the girl on fire of course). After that, I just spread them around my living room and voila! Simple decorations that can easily entertain the guests.

You Know You're Obessed with the Hunger Games... poster (found these online)

Voldemort approves of President Snow...

I have about six or seven more of these type of things, but I don't want to overcrowd the post with similar things. You get the idea. If you want the links to where I got these, I think I still have them, so just let me know!

Now, some other decoration ideas...I looked up songs that people felt fit the books (that weren't on the actual movie soundtrack) and made a list of two playlists that I taped to my stereo. One is songs that fit the series in general and the other is a fire-themed playlist.

Next, if you've read all the HG books then you know that Katniss and Peeta put together what I call a scrapbook, but it's a mix of information about friends and things they want to have on hand. So I got a small red scrapbook and put out some supplies for a Katniss and Peeta's Scrapbook Station. Nobody used it, but it was still kind of cute. If you have a party with just girls, I think it might go over better...have everyone work on pages and then add your party pics later. That was my plan but I guess I'll just do the scrapbook on my own! haha

Finally, I had a fire pit for when it got dark out so we could roast some s'mores. I went with the idea of a Girl on Fire (pit) just to be a bit quirky. I even had "Roast President Snow" for the s'more making, but I never got a picture of that sign. My bad!

There you have it...my simple, yet fun, Hunger Games decorations. Keep watching the blog this week for the food (I went crazy on this!) and the games/prizes! I'll even share a picture of me as Primrose Everdeen!

DIY Superhero Kit

Outside of Box

I found this idea online and decided to make a DIY Superhero Kit for my dad! It was perfect and he loved it. The above picture is the outside of the box and the below picture is the inside. To find out where to get the printables, what I actually put in the box, and how I made it my own, then please check out the Guest Blog I did at Daily Dose of Ramblings. This blog is run by Mandy, who I've known since I was about eleven (so a long time!) and she kindly asked me to do a post while she was on vacation this week. I decided to share the gift I made for Father's Day!

Inside of Box

I know I haven't posted too much on this blog yet, but it will be full of parties, crafts, and all things creative, so if you're at all interested...please follow along and I promise to try and posting more regularly. I already have two parties and one craft item to post about, so keep an eye out! And remember, if you comment me, I will comment you back on your blog.

However, since this is a guest post...you are more than welcome to post here, but please check out Mandy's blog and actually comment on that post too! Follow her as well. Perfect for those that are married, have kids, own a house, like to cook, and/or be creative!

Need Ideas: Wicked (The Musical) Themed Party

Sometimes I need help with planning a party too. I'm currently working on a Hunger Games themed party for May (my birthday month) but luckily, I've come across and even made up plenty of ideas for the day. However, a friend of mine has been in Spain since January and he will be back for about a month in July. I'm missing him a great deal and I can't wait to spend some time with him before he has to go back until December. He LOVES the musical Wicked, so I thought it would be perfect to do a Wicked Welcome Home Party!

Unfortunately, I've looked around and I haven't seen that many posts online about Wicked-themed parties. There are some Wizard of Oz ideas, but if you've seen Wicked, then you know those wouldn't ALL work or keep with the overall theme.

Here's the basics of what I'm thinking-

Green and Black colors
Green colored candy (maybe a candy bar?)
Cupcakes: Green for Elphaba and Pink for Glinda (or Galinda, if you will)

I figured I'd let this be my first post, while we wait for people to submit their own parties and for me to actually host some parties where I can post pictures!

If you want a particular discussion post, please let me know that as well. I love getting opinions from people on all sorts of party matters!