My daughter loves Murder Mystery parties, so we looked through several websites and she picked a Princess theme. But she and her friends are 12, so she decided to have all of the girls dress up as a modern fairy tale princess would. We decided to go for a really elegant look. We bought some inexpensive invitations and dressed them up with gems and ribbon. We addressed them using calligraphy, and stamped them with wax!
When we decorated, we continued with the really classic and elegant look.
I covered the brick pillars in my dining room with black plastic tableclothes and lace-like curtains. Then I put profiles of my daughter to decorate the pillars. One was created at the Magic Kingdom when she was little. Then I created one of her the age she is now for the opposite pillar. I made place-cards for each character/girl, using the profile idea.
We bought mirrors for each girl, and went for real glass stemware (that we bought at the dollar store) so that each girl could take that home as well. A silver charm representing the princess they were being was tied around the stem.
I laced the table and the chandelier. Used the china handed down from Grandma, and cloth napkins. We tied a ribbon around a bead bracelet to make a pretty napkin ring that they could take with them. My daughter wanted everyone to have their own pretend little tea candle, so we added that to the top of the upside down tea cup. I draped jewelry over the sides of the picture frames and anything that resembled a pearl neck lace from the lace covered lighting.
I like to display photos of the birthday kid growing up, so I used pics of my daughter dressed up as different princesses.
I also dressed her up about a week early, and we had a fun photo shoot in order that we would have current pictures to display at her party.
My daughter wanted the girls to sign a photo mat with a real feather pen, so she had a memento from the party. 
I also made a game where we used different pictures of my daughter through the years, and the girls tried to figure out which picture was a certain story book character featured at her party. For example, a picture of her with a pumpkin would be labeled “Cinderella”, while a picture of her reading represented “Belle”.
I had placed items throughout the party area that represented the characters as well, and for our second game, the girls took a list and matched up the items with the character. (For instance, a little bird hanger reminded us of Snow White, and a sleep mask for Sleeping Beauty. )
We served Chicken Gnocchi soup and Tiny Chicken Pot Pies. The girls all burst out singing “Let it go” at one point and entertained themselves by making their glasses “ring”. But they also had the whole murder mystery to act out.
I used plastic cups to make a “bouquet” for the rose cupcakes. Apparently, we shouldn’t have asked for whipped icing, because it wasn’t as perfect as I pictured! Also, the candles wouldn’t blow out!
We finished with a chocolate fountain and some funny pictures. It was a fun party, extremely feminine, and just perfect for our new 12 year old!
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Disney Planning & Parties 