My favourite birthday party of all time.

Today, I’m taking part in a blog link-up with the lovely Margot of Newfoundlander at Heart as part of the blog party she’s hosting during September.  Margot has asked all the bloggers who are participating in the link-up to share one of their favourite birthday memories.

I’ve had a lot of birthdays (well, not a lot, but many).  I like to make a huge fuss of my birthday, no matter how old I get.  I’ve thrown all kinds of birthday parties, but I think that my 23rd birthday party was the best one yet.

I turned 23 just a few months before I started this blog.  At the time, I was completely obsessed with classic Hollywood films and film stars.  I loved watching films featuring the likes of Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn and my favourite, Marilyn Monroe.  I toyed for a long while with the idea of having a ‘Golden Years of Hollywood” party.

I had also thought that it might be fun to throw a murder mystery party.  I hunted high and low for a murder mystery party kit that had an old Hollywood theme.  While there were plenty around, most of them seemed kinda cheesy, or they required huge numbers of guests or lots of space.  I knew I was only going to have about eight guests, and the party was going to be at my house so space was limited.  That’s when I came up with the idea of writing the script for the mystery myself.

There were some downsides to this idea.  Firstly, it was going to be a lot of work, and I really didn’t know where to begin.  Also, it meant that I wouldn’t be able to take part in solving the mystery, because I would know who the murderer was.  However, I ploughed ahead and churned out a pretty good script.

Me, at the beginning of the party.

I was able to cast my friends in roles I knew that they’d enjoy playing.  I cast one of my sweetest friends as Audrey Hepburn.  My childhood best friend is a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz, so I thought she’d be perfect as Judy Garland.  My mate Mandie, the minxiest minx there is was divine as Mae West.  We had a cast of Hollywood greats including Elizabeth Taylor, Groucho Marx, James Dean and Errol Flynn.  I gave Ross the role of my ultimate screen heart-throb: Clark Gable, while I got to step into the stiletto-heeled shoes of Marilyn Monroe.

Ross, barely able to contain his excitement as Clark Gable.

Because I was writing the whole thing myself, I was able to be as creative and dramatic as I liked.  I started the evening with my guests arriving to find me in my robe, feigning that I hadn’t had time to dress yet.  When I went to the bathroom to slip into my dress, Ross explained the rules of the game to my friends.  When one of them went to the bathroom to collect me, they found me lying spread-eagled in a pool of blood!  And thus, the sleuthing began. (Sadly, nobody took any photos of me lying dead in the bathroom).

Ross and Mandie, lamenting my untimely demise.

The guests went through a series of tasks, strategically revealing clues and uncovering secrets.  At the end of the evening, they had to write down who they thought the murderer was.  It turned out that the murderer was sweet and not-so-innocent Audrey Hepburn.

My friend Kath, as Audrey Hepburn

It was such an awesome night.  I had a fantastic time, and it was certainly the most memorable birthday party I’ve ever had.

It was also the night I did the dance to Thriller dressed as Marilyn Monroe.

What is your favourite birthday memory?  Have you ever been to a murder mystery party?

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the link-up posts!

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