Host a Murder Mystery Dinner Party

If you are looking for a fun and exciting evening for your friends and family, a murder mystery party at your home is the way to go. Use these simple steps to make it a fantastic night of great food, investigation, suspicion, and intrigue for everyone.

6 Steps to Hosting a Murder Mystery Party

1- Choose a Theme

The first step to creating a murder mystery dinner party is figuring out what type of crime you want to solve. Your entire night will center around this theme, so choose something that really clicks with you. Some theme ideas are:

• Casino Night
• Cruise Ship 
• Mardi Gras
• Secret Agent
• Cocktail Party
• Roaring 20's

2- Invite Your Friends

After you choose your theme, you’re ready to set the date for your murder mystery dinner party. Send out invitations that match your theme. For example, if you’re hosting a Mardi Gras murder mystery at your home, you can make invitations with glittering masks and feathers on them with the info about the night's event.

Make sure to set your date far enough for friends to plan their schedule around and get their character costumes in order. A four-week notice will usually work for people to have enough time to plan and order all their costume pieces.

3- Accessories

As you plan your murder mystery dinner party, place themed accessories and decorations throughout the house to help your guests stay in character. If you plan a cruise ship theme, you can add Titanic background music, palm trees, leis, beach balloons, seashells, and pineapple cups around the house. For a night at the casino, have a craps or poker table, dice, cards, chips, and honeycomb casino decorations spread throughout the area. You can go as far as you want with accessorizing your home for the party of a lifetime.

4- Food

Hosting a murder mystery dinner party can't go without some great-tasting food. You can even request that each guest bring a themed dish to get an extra special food display for the night. Set your tableware to the party's theme to bring it together for a fun night.

If you are planning a Roaring 20's party, serve spiced mixed nuts, champagne cocktails, deviled eggs, an ice cream bar, and seafood. For a Marty Gras party, offer king cake, shrimp creole, cajun mac and cheese, and jambalaya.

5- Share the Memories

If you don't have a murder mystery character at your home taking photos, like a journalist or photographer, have one or more cameras for anyone to pick up and snap some pics of the evening's events. You’ll immortalize these memories for everyone to look back on for years.

6- Prizes

At the end of your murder mystery dinner party, prizes are a must! Obviously, award the one who solves the puzzle, but also give out prizes to who is the best dressed, who played their character the best, and so on. Plan prizes for your guests and ensure they include everyone, so everybody ends the evening feeling like a murder mystery pro. Some gift ideas might be:

• Alcohol
• Gift cards
• Award certificate
• Themed gift bag

Plan Your Party Today

Ultimate Party Super Store has all the items you need to decorate and create the perfect murder mystery at home. Hosting a party has never been so easy with our store's selection of theme ideas and costumes. We offer in-store pick-up, curbside pick-up, local delivery, and shipping. Shop our premier supplies today and start planning your exciting murder mystery dinner party.