Nancy Drew Mystery of the 99 Steps Halloween Party Drew-O-Ween

My annual Nancy Drew Halloween Party - Drew-O-Ween was a lot of fun this year! My theme was book #43 The Mystery of the 99 Steps, the classic Nancy Drew book set mostly in France, so we had a haunted Paris/Ghostly alchemist theme going in the decor and activities.

In addition to the recreated 99 steps on the porch, there was a 99 Steps Trivia contest and prizes were given out - including a neat book cover puzzle sent from Betsy & Books on Bay in Savannah, GA. I fixed Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon and we had salad plus lemon bars, Rice Krispie treats and more goodies that Bess would have approved of!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nancy Drew Halloween Party - 2017 Drew-O-Ween

This year's annual Drew-O-Ween Nancy Drew Halloween Party was based on the classic Nancy Drew book The Mystery of the Tolling Bell, where we held our 17th annual Nancy Drew Convention in Maine this past October to celebrate this book. I combined the theme with witches and so we had a bewitching time as many witch silhouettes abounded as did glowing witch hats hanging from the trees! The porch was decorated as if the witches were in the Tolling Bell Cave cooking up something sinister in their cauldron as Nancy silhouetted in the window spied the ghostly cave ghost with his jeweled bell as bats flitted about. Madame was on hand to greet  guests sporting her crystal ball to foretell their spooky futures. Witches, skeletal cats and other night creatures greeted guests as they entered the party to find tricks or treats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tolling bell books graced the tables sporting the three different cover art as a mix of palmistry and fortune decor blended in with sinisterly sweet snacks like Reese's PB Cookie Cups, Rick Krispie Treats with cupcake picks made from our Nancy Drew Party Kits, and a PB cream cheese Reese's ball to spread on yummy cookies. The menu included homemade lasagna rolls,  parmesan chicken, salad and cream cheese and olive/beef tortilla pinwheels. Brewing up some fun was Madame's Sleeping Potion Punch.

 

Witch legs in pumpkins greeted the guests along with goody "bag" Nancy Drew silhouette cauldron's filled with witchy delights like Hocus Pocus socks, witchy notebooks, witches fingers, magnifying glasses and lots of candies. 

 

 

 

 

I decorated my collection with a few spooky skulls, skeletons and vintage style decor lurking among the shelves of vintage and modern Nancy Drew books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guest activities included a crafted black letter N with Halloween and Nancy Drew baubles and then we took Sleuth Dean's Mystery Title Generator and created our own synopses of Nancy Drew mysteries based on our personal titles which was lots of fun and humorous! Clever costumes included Tori and Karen's Nancy Drew outfits from the original Tandy Tolling Bell cover and the Froken Detektiv Norwegian cover. We rounded things out with our Nancy Drew treat container gift exchange which is always sure to delight!