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The Third Formal Historical Holiday Costume Ball
You can read the details of the Murder Mystery story we devised for this party here
The Idea
Tyler says: Well, everyone does a Roaring 20's party sooner or later, and those boxed murder mysteries really do sound fun. Also, have you ever heard of the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train?
At any rate, we were tickled pink writing our ridiculous mystery story, and I think that justifies everything that was to follow...
Emily says: Tyler and I decided that the Third Formal Historical Holiday Costume Ball, or FHHCBIII, would be a 1920s Murder Mystery.
Jay Gatsby, played by Tyler, and Elinor Glyn, played by Emily, were murdered on New Year's Eve 1928. A week later, our ghosts throw a fabulous party and invite all of the suspects, as well as everyone else we know, to determine who killed us.
The Set-Up
We had a desire to shake things up and have a party somewhere other than Hale's Pass. We decided to throw this party at Tyler's house. Because the venue is therefore free and already decorated, our minds and wallets were at rest. The problem with the venue, though, was that it didn't feel very fabulous.
As Emily says, we wanted to have this party someplace besides Hale's Pass. I was rather of the opinion that my eclectic home could pass for Gatsby's mansion, and besides, being a speakeasy, I wanted a place that we could serve liquor with impunity, and the last time we had liquor at Hale's Pass, Very Bad Things Happened. Also, without a rental fee, more money could be spent on alchohol and food, our primary decorations.
Unfortunately, for some reason, the venue did NOT feel very fabulous. I have no idea why.
Because Tyler does not have the room or equipment to host a sit-down dinner for more than thirty people, we opted for a "grazing" buffet of finger foods.
For prizes (and to distribute clues) we played Hunt the Slipper and Silhouettes. We had hoped to do a Rainbow Labyrinth and an amateur Vaudeville, but people were having too jolly a time for that to happen.
Everyone was beautiful. There were 32 guests. Some costumes were slaved over and hand beaded, others resourcefully put together from sheets and tablecloths (and still quite fabulous,) or from thrift store finds and hot glue.
Food
The theme requires that drinks be an important part of the menu, and the venue requires that people not all sit down at a table to eat. Besides a full bar (and bartender!) the menu would have to consist of small, appetizer-ish foods. In researching the food of the 1920s, we learned that Chinese food was gaining popularity, as was Italian food and vegetarianism.
We had an extensively open bar. Once again, our help (a bartender, and a back-up bartender in case the first one flaked) flaked on us, so - once again, we had to rely on my Mummy (who had been a professional bartender years ago). While in the past liquor has helped loosen guests up enough to play games and think "To hell with looking silly," on this occassion, it caused guests to think "To hell with the damn murder mystery! I'm drinking heavily!"
For the nibbly buffet, we decided on Chinese food. There were egg rolls, pot stickers, asiany meatballs, egg flower soup (courtesy of Miss Poppy,) barbecue pork, fried shrimp with three different sauces, fortune cookies, other cookies, cream puffs and carrots. There was also lots and lots of alcohol and Tyler's mum acted as the bartender.
Lessons Learned
Alchohol is not always a social lubricant
Where the hell can we have a party that isn't Hale's Pass and meets our exacting standards?
Some guests will always be getting lucky in one of the disused rooms.
The venue did make for a lack of fabulosity, so we will probably seek a new place for the next party. All in all, though, it was quite successful. We have finally determined the perfect amount of food so that the only leftovers were a few slices of barbecue pork and some soup and fortune cookies for breakfast the next morning.
We also decided after this party that "Hunt The Slipper" needs to be retired. For future endeavors, we have a stash of games to play.
The morning was pleasantly relaxed (and fun, with six partygoers and two house occupants) as there was no deposit or time constraint.
You can see a few more pictures from this party at the photobucket album for the event.
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