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The Wanda Witch Party Roundup Post

MeckMom — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 23:16:36 +0000

I can tell it’s getting close by the emails coming in…that wonderful time of year when dozens of you readers anonymously invite all your friends to a big party and take on my favorite pseudonym…Wanda D. Witch.

I hosted my first Wanda Witch party 10 years ago and I’m still going strong. We’ve done variations of it in 4 different states. It’s been the source for new friendships and awesome memories we retell with friends to this day. But the benefits don’t end there. Some of my favorite family memories happened while my husband and I were out scouting for clue locations with our kids. Here’s a picture of them last year as we were scouring the hills of Branson, MO for a good spot to hide a clue (I was pregnant with #5 at the time).

I’ve hosted loads of parties over the years, but I can definitely say that this one is still my all-time favorite. If you’re looking for a way to kick up your Halloween status or build up your friendship base, this is definitely the party for you.

Several of you have mentioned in your emails that you’d like a quick refresher on the party concept – and that you’d like them all the steps & free printables in one place. So for today’s post, I’ll be offering links to all the Wanda Witch info. Remember, if you’re new to this party you’ll want to read the posts in order.

Wanda Witch: The Ultimate Halloween Party (intro to the party concept)

2008′s Wanda Witch Clever Clue Giveaway (loads of great clue ideas in the comment section)

Hosting the Wanda Witch Party the Second Time Around (how to host the party w/out the anonymity)

2009′s New Wanda Witch Clue Ideas and Party Fun (fun new party twists and clue ideas)

Wow, that’s a lot of posting. We hosted another successful party last Halloween and I can’t wait to share the details (and free printables) with you. I’ll be posting all about it next week.

Good luck out there, Wandas! I can’t wait to hear about your successes (I love it when you email me or send me links to your party recap blog posts).

*As a side note, if you have questions about certain aspects of the party please try to post them in the comments area of that particular post. Lots of you have similar issues, so if you ask in the comments area it’s easier for other Wanda’s to learn from my replies. Thanks!

New Wanda Witch Clue Ideas and Party Fun

MeckMom — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:51:14 +0000

I’m sorry I didn’t get these up earlier in the week as promised. My memory card reader has been missing all week so my pictures were trapped on my camera. Hopefully it’s not too late for you Wanda’s to get a few ideas…

As I mentioned in my last post, when my husband and I hosted our Halloween party last year we made a few changes just to keep things new and exciting. Here are a few of the ideas we tried…

Team Bonding

One thing I love about this party is the opportunity it gives for you as a hostess to get new groups of people together. There’s something about three hours of working as a team that really helps people get out of their shell and get to know each other on a whole different level. Last year, we wanted to start that process a little earlier by encouraging my teams to get together before the night of the party. When we sent out our Team Roster (a list of all the teams and the assigned captains) to all the party attendees we also issued a challenge: bonus points to any team that performed a harmless prank on another team in the week leading up to the party. The rules were: 1 – it couldn’t cause any real damage, 2 – it had to involve at least 3 of the 6 team members, and 3 – they had to send us pictures of the prank for evidence.

I was amazed at how quickly the teams got to work. Within 24 hours the pranks were on. Houses were covered with balloons, cars were saran-wrapped, photos were photoshopped, outdoor decorations were held for ransom…I could go on and on. The effect was great. By the time the party started, they’d already had a week of bonding and their team unity was much higher.

Buried Clue Packets

In the past we’ve had a problem with clues being disturbed or damaged when they were attached to the ingredients. We decided to save ourselves a little trouble by giving the teams all their sealed clues at the beginning of the party instead. We didn’t want to just hand it to them, so we gave each team a picture clue that lead to the same destination (a big water tower in our town). The clue told them to look at the base of the water tower for their clue packets. At the water tower, my husband had buried the plastic-wrapped clue packets in shallow graves and marked them with glow sticks and fake headstones (pictured above). The teams had to locate their headstone and then use their hands to dig up their packet. It was kind of a fun and eerie way to kick things off. *One word of caution – you should have an extra set of clues on hand, just in case. One of our teams was unable to find their clue packet in the dark and it caused a big delay for them.

Double Destinations

One of the tricky parts about hiding ingredients is that you have to find a place that is both easy to write a clue about yet hidden from outsiders. We combated this problem last year by creating double destinations. The clue from their packet lead the teams to a small film canister (we called these Hint Canisters). Because the canister is small, it could be hidden in relative plain sight. Inside the canister, there was a paper that lead them to a black box holding their actual brew ingredient (we called these Clue Boxes). The boxes were larger so they were hidden within walking distance of the canister but in a much more discreet location.

For example, at one ingredient location the clue lead them to a large rock in a dry riverbed (it was painted with glow paint). The film canister was hidden under the rock. Inside the Hint Canister, the clue (again, written in invisible ink) told them to find their Clue Box at the back of a nearby cave. Similarly, at another spot the Hint Canister was hidden in a knot of a tree near the parking lot while the Clue Box was hidden under a nearby bridge.

Blacklight Fun

Last year we had kind of a glow-in-the-dark theme to our party. At the beginning of the party we gave each team glow bracelets and lanyards in their team color as well as one hand-held blacklight flashlight (purchased online for about $6 each).

They used the blacklights to read clues (written in invisible ink) and to find ingredients throughout the night. For example, one ingredient was hidden on at old, abandoned waterslide park. The clue from their packet and the corresponding Hint Canister lead them to the top of a set of three waterslides. They used their blacklight to find a large X painted at the top of the the correct slide and then followed the slide down to find their clue box. *A little tip – blacklight paint can be really expensive online (the tiny bottle pictured above was about $12). You can find glow-in-the-dark spray paint in the craft area of WalMart and it works just as well. Fluorescent paint also glows well under blacklight but it is visible in the daytime so you have to use it carefully. Also, whitening laundry detergent glows really well under blacklight. I kept one of the blacklights in my purse for the month leading up to the party so I could check how different things would glow in the stores without having to purchase anything first.

Alternative Clues

Because we didn’t have to worry about attaching the clues to ingredients or having everything color-coded, we had more freedom when it came to creating clues. Here are a few things we tried…

A rubbing on parchment of a famous town monument

An origami cat with a clue written inside to lead them to a pet cemetery

A chopped up picture of a riverbed that they had to assemble and read

A word search with all the party guests last names – the remaining uncircled letters spelled out the clue

A Google Earth satellite picture of a park with a highlight over the red train where the hint canister was hidden

A play on words with a street sign – the clue said to find the intersection of these two roads “A Pretty View” Ave. and “A Thiefs Child” St. – the actual intersection is called “Beuna Vista” Ave. and “Robberson” St.

Tiny Trophies

One last change we made was to give the winning couples a small ceramic witch hat trophy (sorry I don’t have a pic of these). We created them by spray painting a inexpensive halloween candle holders gold. We also had the winning team members sign our traditional GWC golden broomstick. Since we plan to host this party every year, the broomstick should be pretty crowded with names soon.

That’s about it. Overall, it was a great night! I can’t wait to do it again. Speaking of which, if hosted a party of your own last year and tried new ideas last year that you’d like to share, please feel free to add them to the comments below. I’m in the midst of planning the Haunted Halloween Challenge 2009 as we speak, so I’m sure I’ll have more ideas to post for next year. Until then….just thought I’d pass it on.

Hosting the Wanda Witch Party the Second Time Around

MeckMom — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:52:28 +0000

When I posted the Wanda Witch anonymous Halloween Party two years ago, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to pull it off again. Unfortunately since my name is posted on my site it’s pretty easy for party guests to figure out my identity. Of course I love Halloween way too much to just let the holiday pass me by so last year I decided to host my first non-anonymous Halloween party. I kept the same basic premise – an amazing race style bash with a spooky twist – but this time I skipped all the secrecy and just focused on putting together a great party for my friends. I called it our Haunted Halloween Challenge.

Since I didn’t have to stress over keeping my identity hidden, I had a little more time to experiment with new clue ideas and new challenge options. Some things worked beautifully, others… not so much. Over the next week or so I’ll be posting some of the most successful stuff from last year’s party. Many of you have emailed me over the last few weeks for clue ideas and party advice – hopefully the next few posts will help spark the creativity of those of you who are in the middle of your Wanda planning right now.

To kick things off I thought I’d share my invitation idea from last year. I planned to invite a lot of guests so I needed an invitation that was easy and inexpensive to create. I designed the invitation in my graphics program, printed it silvery vellum and then mounted it on a simple square of black cardstock with glue dots. Specialty vellum can be kind of expensive so I designed the invitations to fit two to a page so I could use as little as possible. I purchased the vellum (and the 6″ square envelopes) at Michaels and the black cardstock WalMart. Overall, each invitation only cost me around fifteen cents and took less than five minutes to create. I must say, I think it’s my favorite invitation so far.

Unfortunately, I created the file in my Adobe design software, so posting it on the site wouldn’t be very helpful. However, you are more than welcome to click on the pictures above and duplicate the idea. Of course, if you’d like to save yourself a lot of time, you could also just order the printable file in my Etsy store. All you have to do is place the order and send me an email with your party information. I’ll edit the invite details for you and then send the finished file to you via email within 24 hours. Just think, in less than two days you could have a set of fabulous, inexpensive invitations right in your hands. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

Don’t forget, if you haven’t had a chance to comment on the MyNurseOnCall post, you’ve still got time. There are still three $25 Target gift cards up for grabs so hop on over to that post and join in! More Haunted Halloween Challenge details to come soon. Good luck to all you Wanda’s out there! Just thought I’d pass it on.

Wanda Witch Giveaway Announcement

MeckMom — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 06:29:33 +0000

Hey everyone. Sorry I’ve been neglecting the blog this week. My big Halloween party happens later tonight and I’ve spent the whole week prepping for it. I promise I’ll make it up to you next week with several fun Halloween posts.

First off, I want to congratulate our Wanda Witch Clever Clue Giveaway winner – Sneaky Witch from Wyoming. I was so impressed that she managed to host this party twice in the same town without revealing her identity. Since she can’t publicly take credit for her many, many hours of effort, I thought she could use a little kudos. Congrats, Sneaky! I’m totally impressed with your Wanda style. I’ll be contacting you soon to get your shipping info. I hope you enjoy your awesome letters. Thanks again to Alison from Ally’s Attic for the fantastic giveaway.

Since I’m short on time today, I thought I’d repost one of last year’s favorite Halloween posts. Loads of you downloaded this simple little advent calender last year. If you haven’t had a chance to print yours out this year, you’ll want to get it started today. Here are the details from the old post…

Perhaps it’s my own fault. Maybe decorating for Halloween five weeks early naturally creates holiday over-anticipation/impatience in my kids. Whatever the reason, my kids are constantly dragging their costumes out of their closets to ask me if it’s time to trick or treat. Yesterday, after answering that question for the 493rd time, I decided I needed a way for the kids to keep track of the countdown themselves. So, I created this simple little countdown poster to do just that.

Much like the Christmas Advent Poster I posted last year, this simple little chart hangs out on our fridge for easy access to my three kids. Rather than use stickers to mark the days, I opted to go for something a little more Halloweenish…googly eyes. Each morning at breakfast during the last two weeks of October, my kids get to add one googly eye to the poster. They start at the fourteen and work their way down to the one so they can know at a glance how many days are left until the big day.

To make your own handy chart, simply print out the file below on heavy white cardstock. If you’d like to give it a little more strength (like the one pictured), trim the edges and glue it to a sheet of black cardstock. I designed the file to use 12mm wiggle eyes, but you could use whatever size you have on hand. Ideally, you’ll want to look for the wiggle eyes that have adhesive backs. If you can’t find those, just use glue dots or keep a bottle of Elmer’s in your kitchen drawer.

If your kids have other Halloween activities to look forward to (class parties, family traditions, etc.) you can track those on your chart as well. Simply use a marker to add a little color to the party date. For example, our church Trunk or Treat Party happens on the 26th so I used an orange marker to highlight the number 5 circle (I did this after I took the pictures for the blog). If my kids want to figure out how many days are left until the party they just count the open circles between today and the orange circle.

Cheap, easy and totally kid-friendly. I think this chart will be a party of our Halloween festivities for years to come. Just thought I’d pass it on.

Download: www.meckmom.com/mmdl/Halloween Countdown.pdf');" href="http://www.meckmom.com/http//www.meckmom.com/mmdl/Halloween Countdown.pdf">Halloween Countdown.pdf

Announcing the Wanda Witch Clever Clue Giveaway

MeckMom — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:19:56 +0000

Hey everyone. Happy October! It’s my favorite month of the year and to celebrate I’ve decided to kick things off with a fun and fabulous giveaway.

Loads of you took on the Wanda Witch party last year and from what I’ve heard – you had a blast. Judging from the emails I’ve been receiving in the past two weeks there will be many more Wandas coming out of the woodwork this Halloween. I wish you all the best of luck and hope you’ll comment on your successes here.

This year, I’ve received several emails from you Wanda’s out there asking for more clue and challenge ideas. Rather than post only my own, I thought it would be fun to throw the challenge back to you. Several of you daring readers have hosted the party and many more are giving it a go this year. My hope is that you’ll share your favorite clues and challenge ideas in the comments area of this post. If you have attended a Wanda Witch party and enjoyed a particluar clue or challenge, I’d love your feedback too. My goal is to create a big clue/challenge idea bank that future Wandas can draw from and enjoy.

As an incentive, I’ve got a great witchy giveaway for one lucky commenter. My incredibly-talented friend Alison has generously donated some fabulous Halloween decor from her popular Etsy shop. This be’witching’ hand-made letter set is perfect for your Halloween mantle or table. The letters are beautifully crafted – like all of Alison’s creations – and are loaded with trendy accents and finishes. The tallest letter is about 11″ high and roughly 7″ wide. For a full description and more pictures click this link to Alison’s Etsy Shop. Click here to visit her new website and see more of her crafty creations. She has several of her products listed, but she’s great with custom orders if you don’t see exactly what you’re looking for.

The shipping is on me so if you’ve hosted, attended, or are planning your own Wanda Witch party, just leave a brief description of your favorite clue or challenge idea. You’ll automatically be entered to win the giveaway. The contest will be open until midnight two weeks from today (deadline: October 15th, 2008). Just thought I’d pass it on.

*For those of you that are still trying to protect your identity, feel free to leave your witch alias in the comments area. As long as your email address works, I will be able to contact you when you win. Thanks everyone!

**THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING!

Wanda Witch Update: RSVP Troubles?

MeckMom — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:20:28 +0000

After reading a few of the latest comments, I realized I neglected to post this important tip: What to do when you haven’t heard back from your guests.

An anonymous party invitation can be a little intimidating to some people. Sometimes, you have to give them a little hint to help them feel more comfortable. This has happened to me twice. When I was hosting my party in Erie, I had only heard from 2 of the 30 couples before the deadline. In Kansas, I had heard from about half of the invitees.

I knew they would come if they had some idea of who I was, so I decided to send them a follow-up invitation. In my case, almost all of the invitees were members of my ward (an LDS congregation) so I mentioned on the follow-up that they see me each Sunday and that they should join their ward friends by coming to the party. In addition to giving them an idea of who I was, it also gave them a clue as to who else had been invited. For most people, this was enough to make them feel comfortable RSVPing. Here’s a sample of the clue I gave my guests:

While forming the teams for our fun, festive game,
We noticed the absence of your names.

If you haven’t emailed because our anonymity spooked you,
You need not fear; we’ll give you a clue.

Each Sunday you see us when we’re not casting spells.
Our real names we can’t give you…but you know us well.

We’d hate to see you miss out on the fun.
We’ll give you one last chance to join everyone.

Just send us an email before Friday at eight (pm).
After that, the teams are set…you’ll be too late.

Don’t miss this last chance to join your ward friends
Email us quickly before the deadline ends.

Eerily yours,
Wanda, Zelda & Hilda Witch
WandaWitch@gmail.com

If you find yourself in this spot, don’t stress. As Christi mentioned in her great comment, a simple email to your guests from your secret account is a great way to check in with your guests. If you don’t have email addresses for all your invitees, try this inexpensive post card alternative. Use the files below to create the post cards and then print them on heavy white cardstock. After printing on both sides, cut them and use post card stamps to mail them. Whatever method you choose, just make sure that your follow-up gives your guests some idea of who you are and a little idea of who else was invited. Trust me, once they understand that they’ll be in on the buzz in no time.

I hope that helps! Good luck everyone. Let me know if you have any trouble working with the file. Just thought I’d pass it on.

Download: www.meckmom.com/mmdl/WW_followup_postcard_back.doc');" href="http://www.meckmom.com/http//www.meckmom.com/mmdl/WW_followup_postcard_back.doc">WW_followup_postcard_back.doc

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Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 10

MeckMom — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 04:35:37 +0000

At long last, we’re at the end of the party planning process. Hopefully you party planners will now have everything you need for your big bash. Remember, if you have any questions as you go through this process over the next few weeks, feel free to email me.

Step 15: Print Your Emergency Clues
Every now and then your clues will be too tough for a team to handle. Stocking their cauldron with emergency clues will keep them from falling too far behind. To create them, use the file below and your Clue Hunt Agenda to create the emergency clues for each team (you’ll want to print them on that team’s paper). Once they’re printed and cropped, seal them in numbered envelopes or fold them into quarters and staple them shut. Add each team’s emergency clues to their cauldron.

Step 16: Print Your Ending Destination Sign & Tally Sheet
There’s a good chance that your team may not be the first to arrive at the ending destination so it’s important to make signs for the early-arriving teams. On the day of the party, place the sign just outside the front door so that it will be easy for the teams to spot. You’ll also want to print out a scoring sheet and place it near your Grand Cauldron in your house. The teams will mark their arrival times on the sheet and you’ll use it to track everyone’s points at the end of the party.

Step 17: Prep Your Ending Destination
You’ll have tons to do on the day of the party, so try to set up your ending destination in advance…if at all possible. We’ve done several different arrangements for our ending destination. For one party, we ended at a friend’s jack-o-lantern lined, wooded backyard and had a big bon fire. In Erie, my apartment was so tiny that I was forced to have people go through my house to get food and then set up the seating and decorations in the backyard. In Kansas, we set up the backyard and then were forced to move things inside when the weather didn’t cooperate. Regardless of where you choose to set up your party, get as much done as you can in the days before the big event and you’ll save yourself tons of stress.

Step 18: Hide Your Clues/Ingredients & Cauldrons
Generally, my husband does this while I prep the house on the day of the party. You’ll want to postpone it as long as possible to avoid any unwanted attention. When you’re ready to hide your clues, grab your ziploc bags of ingredients and your labeled sprinkler flags. Place your flags low in the ground within about 50 feet of your clue spot. For example, if I were hiding a clue in the brush along a walking trail, I would put the sprinkler flag near the trailhead sign. Once you’ve got your ingredients hidden, sneak over to the starting destination and hide the cauldrons (they should have clue #1 and all the emergency clues inside).

Step 19: Show Up at the Starting Location and Find Your Captain
This is the point where you start to enjoy the fruits of all your labors. All the work and stress is behind you and you just get to sit back, relax and play along. Trust me, you’ll have so much fun watching the teams scramble to find their ingredients and decipher your clues. It can be tough to keep a straight face. My favorite part is when they decode their last clue and it finally dawns on them that their host has been in their car all night long. It’s so great to watch the stunned looks on their faces, you’ll love it.

Step 20: Tally the Points and Award the Winners
Once all the teams arrive at the ending destination and they’ve had a little time to fill up on Krispy Kremes and Hot Chocolate you’ll want to tally the scores. Grab the Tally sheet and the point breakdown (it’s on the second page of the Captain’s Instructions) and determine your winners. Once they’ve been announced, award each couple their golden broomstick and snap a few pictures of the teams. After that, sit back and enjoy the bustling conversation as the teams compare their experiences and brag about their conquests. I promise you, it will be a night you’ll never forget!

I know that’s a lot to take in and that most of you are just getting started in your party planning. I’ll post a week-by-week checklist for you below. This should help you keep track of your many pre-party to dos. Good luck, everyone. I hope you love this party as much as I have. Don’t forget to email me pictures of your adventure. I’d love to post your clue spots and challenge ideas for my other readers.

***For those of you that are waiting patiently for organizing tips to resurface in my blog posts, I promise they’ll be forthcoming. Now that I’m finished with my party tutorial, I’ll get back to my weekly postings on bright ideas and simple solutions. Just thought I’d pass it on.

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Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 9

MeckMom — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 04:02:38 +0000

Okay all you fabulous party planners out there, you’re in the home stretch now. Just a few more steps and you’ll be ready to roll.

Step 14: Plan Your Clue Hunt Agenda
Sending all you teams to the same locations at the same time would make the game too easy. You need to keep them guessing by sending each team to the various clue spots in a different pattern. All this information can be tough to keep track of mentally, so I like to organize it on a clue hunt agenda. To make your own, simply download the file below and fill in a route for each team. You may want to reference your Team & Clue Breakdown to help you remember what ingredient you’re planning to hide in each location. Try not to follow a set pattern, you don’t want the teams to catch up to each other and then simply follow each other along the race. Start each team in a different location and then choose a route for each team. It’s okay if the teams overlap locations a little. In other words, it’s okay if the blue team and the green team are both scheduled to be at the cemetery on their third stop. Just make sure they don’t match each other on the fourth stop as well. Here’s an example of what a completed team agenda would look like:

Orange Team:
1st location: Zuck Park (starting location)
Ingredient: Cauldron
Clue leads to: Cemetery

2nd location: Cemetery
Ingredient: Mouse
Clue leads to: Beach

3rd location: Beach
Ingredient: Snake
Clue leads to: Pier

4th location: Pier
Ingredient: Skeleton
Clue leads to: Tower

5th location: Tower
Ingredient: Spider
Clue leads to: Pond

6th location: Pond
Ingredient: Bat
Clue leads to: My house (ending location)

An agenda like this is critical to keeping track of the little details. For example, by glancing at the agenda, I can see that the Orange team will be visiting the Pier on their fourth stop, that they will be searching for a skeleton, and that the clue attached to their Orange skeleton will lead them to the Tower. Although all the teams will be finding skeletons at the Pier, the clues attached to the skeletons will vary based on their team’s assigned route. You’ll understand why this is critical in our next step.

Step 15: Attaching Your Clues to the Ingredients
It’s really important that you go slow during this part of the planning. By attaching the wrong clue to the wrong ingredient, you can send your team completely off course. Here’s how I keep it organized. First, print out all of your clues on the various colors of paper, crop them and then sort them into piles by color. Next, separate your ingredients into piles by color. Use your Clue Hunt Agenda to help you figure out which clue to attach to each ingredient. My advice? Don’t actually attach them until you’ve laid out their entire route. Just spread out the team’s clues on the table and place the ingredient you’ll be attaching on top. Once you’ve got the route for that team laid out, roll each clue, slide a spider ring on to it and attach it tightly to the right ingredient with thin black ribbon or clear thread. Here’s an example set up using the agenda above:

Orange Team:
1st location: Zuck Park (starting location)
Ingredient: Cauldron
Clue leads to: Cemetery
(place clue with mouse in the Orange cauldron)

2nd location: Cemetery
Ingredient: Mouse
Clue leads to: Beach
(attach clue with snake to Orange mouse)

3rd location: Beach
Ingredient: Snake
Clue leads to: Pier
(attach clue with skeleton to Orange snake)

4th location: Pier
Ingredient: Skeleton
Clue leads to: Tower
(attach clue with spider to Orange skeleton)

5th location: Tower
Ingredient: Spider
Clue leads to: Pond
(attach clue with bat to Orange spider)

6th location: Pond
Ingredient: Bat
Clue leads to: My house (ending location)
(attach clue with Witch to Orange bat)

Once you’ve got all the ingredients attached to their proper clues, sort them into piles by ingredient and toss them into ziploc bags. Use a magic marker to label the bags with their clue location (ie the bag of spiders will be labeled: Tower). Once you’ve got all that set, hide them somewhere that you’re kids won’t touch them! I learned that tip from experience. Last steps will be posted tomorrow…thanks for hanging with me this long. Just thought I’d pass it on.

Download: www.meckmom.com/mmdl/WW_Clue_Hunt_Agenda.doc');" href="http://www.meckmom.com/http//www.meckmom.com/mmdl/WW_Clue_Hunt_Agenda.doc">WW_Clue_Hunt_Agenda.doc

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Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 8

MeckMom — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 04:24:33 +0000

We’re getting close…only 3 posts to go. By next Monday you should have everything you need for your fabulous party. Now on to the next step.

Step 12: Create Your GWC Trophies
Remember how we talked about a “coveted golden broomstick” on our invitation? Now it’s time to make them. Don’t worry, you can whip them out in about 5 minutes. To make them you’ll just need three things: a natural-style witch broomstick (I found this one at Target for $3), a can of gold spray paint, and a magic marker. Use the spray paint to coat both the handle and the broom (you may need 2 coats) and then use the magic marker to add ‘GWC Challenge 2007 Champion’ to the handle. Chances are this fun little trophy will end up on a shelf in their garage so don’t stress over creating something perfect, just something that will look great in a picture. Since my teams are usually made up of three couples, I make 3 trophies and place them in a prominent place at the party destination. You’ll give them out once all the teams have arrived and the points have been tallied at the party.

Step 13: Send Your Captain’s Instructions
In order for your captains to inform their team about the hunt rules, they’ll need a little information. About ten days before the party you’ll provide it to them. The file below will provide them everything they need to know and get them all revved up for the big night. You’ll want to update the file with your specific party info (like the team members, party starting time, and other little details). If you’re short on time, the easiest form of delivery is to simply mail the instructions to the team captains. However, if you’d like to add a little mystery and up your buzz factor, opt for hand delivery. Print out a set of instructions for each team captain couple, roll them and slide a spider ring on the roll to hold it in place. You can’t risk being seen, so you’ll need to head out at a crazy-late hour. When I did this with my friend we went out at 4am, tied the instructions to the captain’s doorknobs, and then treated ourselves to bright and early breakfast. If you used email as your RSVP option, you could also send email the attached file to the captains and copy the other team members on the message. Whatever method you choose to get the info out, just make sure your captains have plenty of time to spread the word to their team members.

Just so you know, at the end of the captain’s instructions there is a little sentence about enlisting spooks to watch over each location. You won’t actually do this, I just add this in to keep the guests on their toes. It’s really tempting (especially for the guys) to give themselves an advantage by messing with another team’s ingredients when they’re in a clue location. If you tell them that you’ve got someone watching…they’ll assume every passer-by is a potential spy and hopefully leave the other ingredients alone.

Remember, one of the captains will be contacting you to inform you of the party rules so keep up a good poker face and play along. Good luck Wandas. More to come soon…just thought I’d pass it on.

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Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 7

MeckMom — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 04:50:18 +0000

Now that you’ve had a little time to scout some great spots and plan some tricky challenges it’s time for your next step in the planning process.

Step 11: Come Up with Clever Clues
Okay, of all the steps in this party, this one is probably the most time intensive. It’s not particularly difficult, it just takes a little time and requires just a bit of creativity. A good Wanda Witch clue should give your guests just enough information about their next ingredient location without making it too easy. You want to be a little cryptic. The goal here is to make the teams work together to figure it out. I tend to write my clues in sort of a rhyming riddle, but your options are completely open. If rhyming isn’t your thing, try tricky word puzzles or encoded messages. The method isn’t important, as long as it gets your teams to the right spot.

Here’s a sample of one of my previous clues to give you an idea of where to start. This clue lead to a small dock on the shore of Graveyard Pond (yep, that was its real name) in Erie, PA. It wasn’t particularly brilliant, but it seemed to get the guests where they needed to go.

Across the road from Perry’s Monument,
You’ll find a forest path.
It follows the shore of a pond that bore,
The graves of soldiers past.

Graveyard Pond holds many secrets,
At its murky base.
Along the trail, you musn’t fail,
To find a docking place.

Look for a clearing amidst the brush,
A place for boats to tie.
Below the surface your bone awaits,
Your clue is sealed inside.

Once you come up with your clues, use the clue frame files below to print out your clues on each color of paper. The silhouette of the ingredient on the clue should match the ingredient they will find at that location. For example, the clue I listed above was printed on the skeleton clue frame.

To lead the guests to their final party destination you could write another clue, but if you’re handy with a copier or Photoshop you may want to try this tricky method instead. Use an internet map (like yahoo or mapquest) to map your home address. Copy and paste the image into Photoshop and delete all the street names. I usually leave one or two clues to give them an idea of what part of town their dealing with (like the freeway number shown in this clue). From there, they’re on their own to figure out where the map is leading them. It’s a great way to keep your guests guessing until the very end.

Since the clues are such a big part of your planning (and because there are a tons of downloads associated with this post), I’ll hold off until tomorrow to post the next step. Good luck, all you Wandas out there! Happy clue writing. Just thought I’d pass it on.

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New toad clue frame available - thanks for sharing, Brooke!

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MeckMom.com » wanda witch

The Wanda Witch Party Roundup Post

Wanda Witch: The Ultimate Halloween Party (intro to the party concept)

Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 1 (getting started)

Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 2 (making a plan)

Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 3 (finding clue locations)

Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 4 (create invitations)

Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 5 (gather supplies)

Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 6 (set up teams & plot locations)

Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 7 (create clues)

Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 8 (make trophies & send out captain instructions)

Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 9 (plan clue hunt agenda)

Wanda Witch Party Plan: Part 10 (day of the party to-dos)

Wanda Witch Party Plan: RSVP Troubles? (what to do if no one is RSVPing)