I LOVE to plan parties, and for my sisters 11th birthday she asked me to plan her party.  I planned a couple different ideas and then let her choose. She ended up choosing the murder mystery party.  We bought a package from nightofmystery.com. We bought the all-girl package Killing for the Crown. This also has 5 optional boys. For those of you who don't know what a murder mystery is it is a party where someone is murdered" and the guests have to figure out who the "murderer" is. My sister also wanted a sleepover so that set some draw backs we had to figure out how to incorporate the murder into the sleepover at first we thought well lets not announce the murderer until the next morning but decided against that.  Eventually we just decided we would do it all the first day and then just have a sleepover. We have 2 houses 1 in town and one out in the rural area.  We decided to have her party out at the house in the country. My sister and her friends aren't very stylish so I brought all my dresses out there and recruited my best friend to help out with styling their outfits and doing their hair.  We also bought a red runner to make a red carpet. Ok so now I will get down to the nitty-gritty. INVITATION """"""""""""""" The package came with an invitation that you could fill out and then fold into quarters. We also put in a copy of "The Pageant Press" and a poem I made up to clear a few things you can feel free to use it if you like. It's a sleepover party Whoo-Hoo! So don't forget a change of clothes an your jammies too! Our professional stylists are sure to do over you so come in your sweatpants and your converse too. Make sure you are there exactly at four for Miss America one of you will score. Have your parents pick you up the next day at ten-thirty for the fighting is just about to get dirty. DECORATIONS """""""""""""""""" We ate outside on our oversized picnic table. We bought three white table plastic cloths and put one on the table and one on each of the benches.  We bought lilac place settings and put them on the table. We also made place settings which I placed strategically to get the most dirt out during dinner.  We rolled out the red carpet several feet from the table where I interviewed all the guests before dinner. COSTUMES """"""""""""" We dressed up all the girls with one of my dresses and did their hair and makeup. They all looked super pretty.  FOOD """"""" For dinner we had pizza and garlic bread.  CAKE """"'''' Instead of cake we had chocolate fondue. After we announced the murder the girls all got into their jammies and we had fondue for about a half hour.  FAVORS """""""""" We didn't have any favors but we handed out certificates for those who guessed the murderer correctly. The girls also voted on best actress and best dressed.  Also whoever had the most money at the end got a certificate.  SCHEDULE """"""""""""" 4:00 Guests Arrive 4:15  We dress up the girls 5:00 Party Begins 6:00 Dinner 7:00 Murder 7:15 Go inside for 2nd half of party 8:30 Announce Murderer 9:00 Fondue EXTRA """""""" After fondue we decided to have a dance party!  This was totally random and probably unnecessary but we did it anyway. We cranked up the music and found a youtube video of a strobe light and put it on full screen on all thre of our laptops.  This was A LOT of fun and the girls had a lot of fun.  I hope you enjoyed this post have fun with your party! "