Mystery Murder Birthday Party Ideas

Whether you're a sleuth, a suspect or the murderer, these parties provide fun for everyone.mysterious books image by Stephen Orsillo from Fotolia.com

Murder mystery parties are popular these days and they can be huge amounts of fun. They offer not only the chance to solve a mystery, but also the chance to step into a character and maybe even be the murderer for your birthday. There are endless possibilities, but also many things to consider along the way. With some preparation and thought, you can host a mysterious murder party that will leave your guests talking for years.

Age Ranges

Consider the age range for which you're planning the birthday party. A mystery party for teens will need different sorts of clues, settings and characters than a mystery birthday party for adults. The clues should be sophisticated enough to challenge the guests' age range, but should not make the task impossible. While sleuthing parties provide fun for all ages, reserve murder mysteries for mature teens and adults.

When you send out your invitations, make sure to send along some information and background on the character the guest will be playing at the birthday party, along with a few ideas about the costumes. This serves as a wonderful jumping-off point and lets your guests begin getting into character even before they've come through the door. Keep the costume ideas general so guests have plenty of room to play with it and make it their own. Your guests will surprise you with their ingenuity and whimsy. Have a camera handy so the guest of honor can have pictures. The guests will also enjoy receiving pictures of themselves in costume.

Clues should be fun, but remember to adjust the level of difficulty to suit your group. Unless you're hosting a party of ethnobotanists, you probably don't want to use an exotic poison exclusive to a tribe in South America as a clue. Puzzles make great clues, especially when everyone can put in his own idea on how it's to be solved and what it might mean. Even a jigsaw puzzle of ripped-up paper can serve as a wonderful clue, and can be even more mysterious if there's a piece missing. Games can also add to the fun, especially if there are theme-appropriate prizes waiting for the guests who win them. Clues can also be simple and direct, such as fake plane tickets indicating that one of the characters wanted to get out of town quickly, or fake pictures of two characters having what looks like an argument. You don't have to fake the pictures, either. The clue can simply be a description of what is found. You could even leave a clue to lead your celebrants to the birthday cake. Be creative and have fun.

Mysteries have to take place somewhere, so choose a setting and a theme you think your guests could really get into. Whether it's Paris in the 20s or a western mystery with gunslingers, a sheriff and a few landowners, a good setting builds an extra level of theme into the birthday party. It can also narrow down costumes and characters, and help your guests come up with ways to play their characters and ideas for their costumes. This is also a good idea if the party is a surprise to the birthday girl. You can tell her that it's a theme party and the setting so she can dress appropriately, but let the murder mystery be a total surprise.

If all of this feels a bit overwhelming, there is always the option of ordering a murder mystery birthday party kit. There are several companies that create these, including everything from instructions on how to host the party, characters that include backgrounds and possible motives, materials that help the guests sleuth out the killer and clues that lead the game forward. Some even include materials such as coroners' reports and messages written in code.