Sunday, November 1, 2009

Spooky Nancy Drew Halloween Party Theme

Weeks of planning and designing=one fun Nancy Drew Halloween party! This year I had a Nancy Drew Halloween party. The theme was the 21st Nancy Drew book, The Secret in the Old Attic. I tried to recreate the attic on the front porch complete with items mentioned from the book: trunk, wardrobe with skeleton, cobwebs, spiders, old bottles, sheet music, an old table, hat boxes, a Currier & Ives print and so forth. The Nancy Drew silhouette is featured prominently in the front window.

Inside in the dining room, we had tables set up with vintage Halloween party collectibles and lots of goodies. Take a moment to weed through all the photos from our party from the set up of the porch to the end result and the party festivities plus my Old Attic goodies I gave out the next evening on Halloween to all the trick or treaters!


Spooky Spiders & Webbing in front side window

Spiders light the way on this outside light

It began with a wardrobe - made from 2 cardboard
boxes which were painted brown

Nancy Drew silhouette pumpkin

Silhouette pumpkins by the front door

Poster of Old Attic - Tandy illustration

Skeleton in the Wardrobe & Lots of Spider Webs!

The Attic is Taking Shape with Spooky Footprints!

Might there be a secret behind the wardrobe?

Maybe something hidden in the wardrobe?

Footprints from Martha Stewart Crafts Line, sold here

Old Attic Nappi Cover Poster to set the theme

An old suitcase doubles for the trunk and a candle nearby

Battery operated old-time candle found at Michaels, good for photo op

Lots of sheet music, part of our party game

The Secret in the Old Attic Party Banner

Crepe Streamers, Orange Lanterns, and Vintage Collectibles

Group Photo in front of the collection!

Everyone checking out the collection spanning nearly 80 years!

Treats

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Nancy Drew Old Attic Picks

Yum!

Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Ball & Ginger/Chocolate Cookies

Treats & Appetizers

Awaiting Dinner: Lasagna, Parmesan Chicken, & Salads

Festive Tables Set

Old Attic Treat Boxes for Each Guest

Featuring spider web boxes and ribbons, Old Attic Sticker, & Spider

Goodies: Candy, Googly Eye Rings, Stretch Skeletons, & Keychains

Opening the treat boxes!

Old Attic mystery hunt: Letters on spiders
unscrambled to spell W A R D R O B E

Mini Old Attic books to be found in wardrobe as prizes

Spiders with letters on sheet music -
we hunted for sheet music like Nancy in the book!

Our Nancy Drew Halloween Treat Bag Exchange!

Pumpkin Basket with book covers and lots of ribbons and treats!

Neat Old Attic bag

Another Old Attic bag with image above and silhouette below:


Iron On Transfer Bag with treats!

Neat Mysterious Letter Collage Frame!

Dede, Gail, and Judy brought me this neat
Halloween/Nancy Drew decorated pail shown above and below:

HALLOWEEN NIGHT TREATS:

I made nearly 200 goody bags for the kids featuring Nancy Drew & the Hardy Boys stickers - And ran out of them! Normally we have around 130 to 150 kids, this year over 200! WOW! Or as Nancy's friend George would say, HYPERS!


Little Kids got candy and play-doh plus a bookmark for the girls!

Older kids got candy, spiders, stretchy skeletons, googly eye rings,
and girls got bookmarks. Hardy Boys Skull Mountain sticker pictured above

Inexpensive Jack O' Lantern buckets (great suggestion from Ronda!) lit up with battery operated tea-lights make the perfect lanterns to line your walkway!

Nancy Drew silhouette hurricane next to Old Attic poster

Just before dark, the scene becomes more spooky!

This Halloween was lots of fun and using the Old Attic theme was easy to do. The kids squealed and were delighted with the theme and the goody bags. When I was a kid, I loved getting the treat sacks, so I like to do that for the kids at Halloween!

Jenn:)

9 comments:

  1. That is so cool! You did a fabulous job! I am a HUGE Nancy Drew fan, and still love her and read her as an adult. You created a wonderful atmosphere and congratulations on a job well done!

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  2. Thanks Amanda! Check out our Nancy Drew group: http://www.ndsleuths.com

    Jenn:)

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  3. Your Nan-party is too, too cool for words! I can't wait to share your blog with my daughter, who lives and breathes Miss Drew. Thank you so much. It's wonderful!

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  4. Thank you :) Hope she enjoys it!

    Jenn:)

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  5. What a fabulous idea!! Halloween and Nancy Drew are two of my favourite things - never occurred to me to combine them. Impressive collection too :)

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  6. Wow, this is truly impressive... I wish I lived near your house when I was a kid!!!

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  7. Thanks, the collection is much bigger than my vintage Halloween collection. I love spooky themes and Nancy Drew was just perfect for this year's decorations.

    Jenn:)

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  8. You have been busy! It all looks fabulous.

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  9. You did a great job! Thanks for sharing with us!!

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