Christmas Murder Mystery Dinner Party Game Kits

FAQS

1 How Do I Add Christmassy Magic into a Classic Murder Mystery Party?

Many hosts choose to run one of our classic mystery games and use a few simple tips to merge the decade theme with a festive feel. These suggestions apply to both in-person dinner parties and parties and also to virtual gatherings.

Decorations:  keep your festive decorations and then add a few extra theme-specific additions. For example, in Stacy's 1920s Speakeasy party (see her review above), she combined her Christmas decorations (swags of tinsel, festive baubles, and fairy lights) with the gold and black decorations typical of 1920s parties. The result was stunning:

Food: if running the game as an in-person dinner party or party, add a few festive touches to the food recommended for the theme. For example, if hosting "Murder at the 1970s Disco", serve one of the Poke Cakes typical of the 70s but then use colored cream, buttercream, or icing to pipe festive shapes such as reindeer, holly leaves, or stars on top. Alternatively, make another dish typical of the 70s - a jelly salad - and serve it in a star-shaped mold. Optionally, choose a red, white, and green color scheme to match typical North Pole party food.

Drinks: many hosts like to serve cocktails, especially if choosing a 1920s theme. To add a festive twist, rim the glass with red sugar sprinkles; then balance a cocktail stick threaded with icing sugar-dusted cranberries on the rim. Optionally, also add a sprig of icing sugar-dusted rosemary. Customers often include cocktails when playing at home or over Zoom.

Costumes: every theme comes complete with costume suggestions for each character. You could ask each guest to include an additional festive element with their costume. For example, hippies in our "Murder in the Swinging Sixties" could wear strands of tinsel, rather than flowers, around their heads. Alternatively, some hosts buy a pack of Christmas party booth props; these can be placed individually on guests' dinner table place settings or placed all together next to the spot where group photos are taken.

Music: each game has a suggested playlist of songs that are appropriate for that decade. In addition, consider including some festive hits that are also appropriate. For example, Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" would be ideal for "Murder at the 70s Disco". Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" would be ideal for "Murder in the Naughty Nineties".

For further ideas and tips, check our detailed hosting tips that are specific to murder mysteries run over the Christmas season.

2 How Family-Friendly are the Christmas Murder Mysteries?

"Is Santa Slayed?" is family-friendly:

• There is no violence, flirting, or bad language.
• Santa has been poisoned by a magical potion and is in a deep sleep rather than being dead.
• There are mentions of Eggnog throughout the game - but guests are free to imagine for themselves whether this is an alcoholic or non-alcoholic version of Eggnog.
• The game is written for adults but many children also enjoy taking part. (The suggested reading age is 11+ and children would need to maintain concentration during the rounds. If a child plays an optional character, then they could, if necessary, stop part-way through and the party could then continue without them.)

"Murder at the Christmas Party" is written for adults but many teens (13+) could enjoy playing a role:

• The gender-neutral roles have no flirting and could be suitable for teens.
• The male and female roles include mild flirting - guests can downplay or play this up as they wish.
• There is no bad language, no mention of drugs, and only mild passing references to alcohol.
• There are allegations that one or more characters are serial killers and allegations that one or more characters are trying to kill other characters - but there are no unpleasant details and everything is kept very light-hearted.