One of my strongest childhood memories was the day my mother and sister and I moved into our new home right before my mother married my stepfather. For a girl of 8, a new stepfather, a new house, a new town, a new neighborhood and a new school was a lot to process. As we awaited the arrival of the movers, my sister and I curled up in our respective sleeping bags on the kitchen floor near a window, each with our own Nancy Drew mysteries. While the world I knew was changing around me, I was transported with Nancy Drew in her blue convertible on all of her adventures. It was a welcome escape on that rainy and confusing day.
So when, with no introduction from me, our daughter Sophie, who is almost 8, pulled out of her backpack one day The Mystery of the Old Clock, on loan from the school library, it was like seeing an old friend. Since then we’ve read various Nancy Drew mysteries aloud in bed, in the backyard, at the park and even while waiting in a long line for gymnastics registration. Our daughter’s fascination with Nancy Drew led her to want to have a mystery-themed sleepover to celebrate her 8th birthday in a few weeks.
Just two girls are invited to the sleepover so we thought it would be fun to make a mysterious invitation. We happened to have some blank jigsaw puzzles but you could cut up a piece of cardstock and it would be fine. Then Sophie wrote the invitation on the puzzle pieces and divided them into three envelopes marked Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Each day, for three days, we secretly delivered an envelope to the guests’ homes. I just wish we had been able to deliver them in a blue convertible. Note that the guests are asked to bring a flashlight because there will be even more mysteries once they arrive at the party…
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Love it! Inspiring idea for keeping it fun and creative with my own kids.
Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, and all the others. It is fun to see another generation getting hooked.
And for the mothers, try Kerry Greenwood’s new series about Phryne Fisher, more adult plots but the same feeling that the world will turn out all right in the end. That, of course, being one of the big differences between proper mysteries and thrillers….
Oh how I loved Nancy and her friends. And Trixie Belden too, nice to know another generation will be excited by the blue convertible and the ever curios Nancy.
I loved Nancy Drew when I was young too. My younger daughter has also been a big fan. I didn’t remember the blue convertible as much as that Nancy always wore “matching pumps” and had “luncheon”.
I’m sure your daughter and her friends will have a great time with the mystery birthday.
I’ll bet the little guests love the invitation! I hope the new stepfather was kind to you.
How fun that Nancy Drew lives on! I too was an avid Nancy Drew reader as a girl. I just packed my ND books up for my recent move. I’ve kept them with me for years. What else would I do with an old friend?
The sleepover idea is wonderful and hooray for Sophie for her own good detective work at the library.
Confession:- I have never read a Nancy Drew (sorry!) I was always a Famous Five girl myself.
Love the jigsaw invitations! My son and his friends are writing to each other in secret codes, and it is bringing back so many memories for me too.
That’s so clever! I bet the girls are so exited.