Murder Mystery Party

A Birthday Party at the Scene of the Crime

How to Set up your Murder Mystery Party

Television shows such as CSI (and the subsequent CSI Miami and CSI New York), NCIS, and Cold Case Files have made crime scenes and crime investigations the new murder mystery parties. They are a great deal of fun when properly planned and well executed but leave a lot of room for failure if poorly planned or inflexible.

If you are considering a party such as this, a great party for tweens, for teens and adults alike be sure that you either have an actual mystery to solve as the evening progresses or that you simply use the theme as a backdrop. There is no real right or wrong way to do a birthday party but if you want to throw the party that everyone will be talking about you'll need to create a crime for the scene you're investigating and leave clues all around to help with the investigation.

If you want to plan a simple Murder Mystery game, you can take your cues from the game "Clue".  It's a great way to get started planning your own murder mystery party. 

If you want to plan a more elaborate murder mystery, here are some great theme packages.  Many people are comfortable planning their own mystery party, but if you're not, you can get more information on each them by clicking the links below.

Murder in Margaritaland       Tropical Mystery      Outdoor Mystery     Pool Party Mystery     Murder at The Deadwood Saloon

Wild Western Mystery        Classic Whodunnit      Murder of a Millionaire    80's Mystery      Vegas Murder

As you can see, you're only limited by your imagination.  And these are just a start!  Get a complete listing of mysteries here.

Themed murder mysteries!

If you have a fairly conservative group or are having a teen party, these mysteries are Great!

Clean Murder Mysteries       Mysteries for Teens

Decorating your crime scene party can be a lot of fun with crime scene tape and chalk outlines on the floor. Be sure to make them realistic in size by having someone actually lay down for you to draw the outline. You can leave fake footprints, fingerprints, and clue cards throughout the room (not too well hidden unless you want people snooping). You can even enlist plenty of help when leaving the clues and decorating because of the novelty of this sort of party. You do not have to limit the festivities to one room and you can, if you are feeling truly adventurous, have a different case going on in different rooms and have the kids draw numbers for teams and race to solve the crime first.

Of course your decorations need to fit the theme...and that's why murder mysteries are so great.  If you find it easy to do a 70's or 80's theme party, then set your murder mystery in the 80's.  If you like casino fun, theme your murder mystery with a Vegas theme....and you'll have a blast.

You can find a huge assortment of decorations to fit almost any theme at Makes Parties

You might also do well to set up a lab, complete with microscope and tables dedicated to sorting out the evidence and make notes for the shocking conclusion of the crimes in question. Of course you will want to make the crimes simple and solvable by leaving clues that the kids will have no trouble finding or deciphering without making it too easy. Use your favorite tv episode for inspiration if you must and throw in a red herring or two to keep things fun.

Young and old alike, everyone will have a good time arguing over the clues and trying to determine who really committed the crimes (and of course making up their assumptions and stories as to why the crimes occurred in the first place).

Costumes add a lot to your murder mystery party...especially if you're having a party for teens.  Your invitations should match your party theme and they can be in any format, but make sure your guests are aware that they're coming to a murder mystery party.  You might say on your invitation that they're a suspect and should dress accordingly.  If the theme is a Vegas Murder Mystery party, they'll understand that the dress should fit a casino.  If your having a wild west murder mystery, then your suspects should come dressed for the Wild West.

For food you can have an actual CSI cake or go with cookies that are shaped like footprints or thumb print cookies for an excellent play on words. Of course by the time kids are old enough to enjoy a party such as this they probably would be happy with good food rather than themed food and pizza, sloppy Joes, finger foods, chips and dips, and cookies and cake will make an excellent food addition to the party without needing to fit in with any one theme. Be sure to have plenty of pop and bottled water on hand though because crime solving is thirsty work.

In real life it is best to leave the jobs of solving crimes up to the men and women who were trained to do so. In the world of birthday parties however, crime solving and crime scene investigating reign supreme as the next great thing in birthday party ideas. 

What would you do with $120 Million?

$120 Million Jackpot
Giant Jackpots!
Huge Shopping Savings!

Enter today at Jackpot Rewards

Visit Jackpot Rewardsto see what our winners say. Jackpot Rewards is the new destination for sweepstakes and shopping, with giant jackpots and huge cash back savings on shopping.