How to host a murder mystery party

Planning a murder mystery party is the perfect way to entertain your guests while showing off your creative side. With just a few simple tips, you can create an unforgettable evening of intrigue and suspense that will have everyone guessing until the very end. So gather your friends and family, and get ready to put your detective skills to the test! How to entertain like a pro and host a murder mystery party.

To start with you need to purchase a game pack. This is the same brand as the one I found at TKMaxx.

The Key to hosting a stress free dinner party

I love to entertain and I also love to socialise with my guests. The key to being able to do both is organisation. Planning a meal that can be prepared ahead of time and reheated on the day is a necessity. There are many options for doing this that can still feel like a fancy dinner party.

How to entertain like a pro – Be organised!!

When hosting a simple lunch, dinner or even a large Christmas the only way to get through it without collapsing under the weight of all there is to do – a lot of lists!!!

• Compile your guest list – this game can accomodate up to 13 players. I will have 9;
• Assign each guest a character. I just drew the characters out of a hat for each person.
• Email invitations (I created a simple one Canva) to your guests and enclose a copy of their character card. This card includes details of their character (eg age, occupation and also any odd traits they may have). These cards will also give your guests an idea of how they should dress and any props they will need. I have chosen to keep this very casual and my guests have been told that they can dress up if they want to otherwise just dress nice for a “movie Premier”.
• Organise your menu making sure to include either pre brought items or food that can be made ahead of time as I did. The last thing you want is to be held up in the kitchen for long periods of time when the game needs to be played!!!
• Read through the paperwork from your Murder Mystery game, so you have all that you need to set the stage. In this case we need to have a “body with a bloody injury to the head”. I purchased an old white sheet from an op shop and traced an outline (Tony was the model) and we spray painted a blood spatter in the head region.

Keeping Lists is a must

At least a week preferably two weeks prior to your event, prepare the following lists:-

• Food you will be serving – print this out and have it handy, it will be a quick reminder of what you need to do. If you’re not a confident cook or just cant be bothered. Look at alternatives so you can just reheat on the day for example:-
  • garlic bread for a starter, pizza for main and then dessert could be Tiramisu with some chocolate to serve for coffee.
  • nachos or bean dip for starter, store bought enchiladas for main served with rice and beans, fruit tray for dessert and assorted cookies for coffee.
• Things that need to be attended to eg invitations to be sent, dead bodies required, table setting, costumes, gifts for prizes etc.
• Shopping list for food. I had two lists one for my full shopping and one for the things I need to get the day before.
• A list of when you will need to attend to each item. For example, a week before the party I ordered all non perishables and drinks. I also cooked the filling for both pies and froze them. I could have also made the Sticky Date pudding but I knew I had a lot of time the day before the party so I didn’t bother.
• Include in this list when you need to remove things from the freezer. If you can, set your table at least two days before the event so it gives you time to get all the game props set up without rushing.

The Food for the Murder Mystery Party

As part of this game there are to be the following courses:-

• Welcome drink
• Starter
• Main
• Dessert
• Coffee

Welcome Drink

I decided to keep this simple – I had a bottle of Salted Caramel liquor from our trip to Bundaberg last year so I made up a little shot by incorporating some of the butterscotch sauce from the Sticky Date Pudding.

In a shaker add the following:-

• 1/2 ounce liquor
• 1 ounce cream
• 1/2 ounce milk
• 1 teaspoon butterscotch sauce
• pinch of salt
• Ice

Shake together and then drain into two small shot glasses. Top with fresh nutmeg. I multiplied this recipe by 4 and had enough to fill 9 small shop glasses. It would have been better to do 5 x though as the glasses were a little underfilled.

Starters

As the game is played around the table I opted for small finger foods:-

• Miniature Ham and Cheese Toasties – To make them you need a long french baguette thinly sliced. Butter one side of each piece. Place the buttered side down in sandwich press, top with Dijon Mustard, shaved Jarlsberg cheese and shaved ham. Top with the another piece of bread (buttered side up). Once hotplate is full lower the press and cook until brown and the cheese has melted. I chose to make these ahead of time so didn’t butter them until I was ready to cook. Hint for the perfect toastie – don’t preheat the press!!

• Mac and Cheese in shot glasses – I made the mac and cheese the night before ready to be reheated and served in small shot glasses.

• Pork and Apple meatballs. These were also made the day before and reheated just before serving. They were so delicious.

Mains

I chose to do a self serve dinner so we could keep the table centre free for the game. The options were

• Apricot Chicken Pie. The filling for the pie was made a week before and frozen. I then thawed the day before, added the pastry and then kept in the fridge overnight ready to bake on the day of the party.
• Pork and Fennel Pie. I made these mini pies a week before and froze them ready to reheat on the day.
• Potato Mash. I made the mash early in the morning ready to be reheated.
• Steamed greens

Dessert

• Mini Biscoff Cheesecake
• Sticky Date pudding with cream and ice cream. I made the pudding and butterscotch sauce the day before and reheated both in the microwave before serving. Easy peasy.

Coffee

I set up a coffee station so everyone could help themselves to drinks and created a chocolate and fruit board for everyone to nibble on while we continue to play the game. I added as much to the board as I could prior to the day and only needed to add fruit and cookies on the day. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the finished board but this one gives you the general idea!

So what are you waiting for? Get your party planning head on and start thinking about who you want to invite. It’s going to be a night they won’t forget – full of intrigue, mystery, and delicious food! What was the best party you ever hosted? Let us know in the comments below.

If you’re not keen on a Murder Mystery Party what about an Escape Room game??