Get a clue party

I promised Haley we would do a birthday party for her, but it needed to be in Aug. I figured that would give her some time to make new friends and we would be settled by then. So we picked the 1st Saturday in Aug to have a Nancy Drew party. When we were making the invite list she really wanted to invite boys... so we decided to call it a get a clue party. I googled for ideas and took many of things from here and here. 

For decorations, I used large black magnifying glasses I got from the dollar store. Then we just put question marks everywhere. I rented a helium tank and so we could hang question marks from the celling.

As the kids arrived we had detective ID badges with their name and team color. The kids were divided into two teams and they all hunted for the same clues but in a different order.  We all had ID tags, Eric and I were Agents and Lucy was the photographer.

Here are some photos from the sleuthing. I listed the clues down below. 

For party favors I gave everyone a wrapped gift and then we did it gift exchange where they could steel what someone else had ect. I bought Nancy Drew books and Hardy boys books for the exchange. 
We also played a game of detecting who they were (name taped on their back) by only asking yes or no questions. They got into this game way more then I expected. They kept asking for more names, so we played three rounds.

Ruby helping clean up. Like their Dad, the girls LOVED sucking the helium out of the balloons and talking funny.

Haley had wanted a hedgehog for her birthday... but she changed her mind and decided that she wanted a white dumpy tree frog. I opted for a lock on the cage to avoid any "accidental drownings" like we had with the hamster.

Introducing the newest member of our family... Kinko!

Overall Lucy did a great job as the photographer. She loves taking photos of herself and I guess she just couldn't resist.

Here are the clues from the hunt. Fyi- the hunt tool about 45 min. 

(The 1st clue was written really large but the paper was torn into pieces and they had to tape it together to read the clue.)

1. The large BROWN house is holding a clue. Near the front door is the best place to view. You will need to HUNT for the clue, but don’t smash the FLOWERS. 

(One of the girls at the party has the last name of Hunt. She only lives 2 blocks away so of course I needed to use her house! Orange plastic flowers stuck in the dirt with clue bags/ puzzle pieces)

2."A secret massage has been MAILED to you, hurry FOUR your next clue!"

(This clue was in a SUPER small font that you had to use a magnifying glass to read. There was a key to our community mailbox . Our box number is 4. )

3. You are not going to MEXICO but you will need to travel by foot South then West to find the street with a HOT VIEW not far from you. At #3735 you will find a sweet clue to keep you alive! 

(3735 Calle Vista with Clue with tootsie rolls - You’re on a roll- note for Zoo)

4. You’re on a roll! 

There is a Zoo keeper named HALEY. Go to her zoo and find the animal with your teams color for your next clue.

(Two different stuffed animals in Haley's room with the teams tape colors on them)

5. SOMETIMES IT’S HARD TO SEE A CLYE SO

CLOSE. 

THE HIGHER SOY GO THE EASIER IT QILL BE, SO

 

JYMP, JYMP, JYMP YP HIGH TO SEE QHAT YOY 

CAN SEE. 

(They had to use the code key to transcribe this message. They had to jump on the trampoline to see the sign in our upstairs window that said Freezer.)

6. As a detective you need to use all the proper TOOLS in your bag. You also need to be smart and   _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ,  _ _ _  you can find all the clues in the house.

(crafty and sew were writen in invisible ink so they had to use the spy pen light to read it. Clue was in my craft room on the sewing machine)

7. Look UNDER the APPLE but not one you can eat. It’s as easy as 1, 2 to find the next clue. 

(Dictionary under Apple computer. On page 12 it says go to page 185. On pg 185 Mirror is circled and it says downstairs.)

8. RORRIM, RORRIM no eht llaw ohw si eht tseriaf fo meht lla? sI ti ruoy maet... ll’ew ees. kooL ni eht nevo.

(Message written backwards ... last three words are look in the oven)

9.  You guys are good, your doing great. Figure out this clue.... I hope it’s not too late. It’s in the back, green and can slither through the grass but it is currently coiled up.

(Phone with phone number and puzzle piece on the hose)

10. Call 840-1570 and ask for Hector for your next clue. 

(I was in my closet and answered like a farmer man... "You are so HOT, oh so HOT! If you wanted to be any hotter you would need to be in front of a fireplace.) ***This was my FAVORITE clue. They were all so nervous to talk to a stranger, Haley handed the phone to someone else in her group. 

Once in front of the fireplace they were told to put together all the puzzle pieces they collected.

Both teams had to combine their pieces to find the cake!