I used this game as a birthday theme...stepping up in years, I wanted more than just a cake and ice cream with gifts. It became the talk of the town in preparation.
To set the mood, I had 51 balloons bouncing around and dozens of roses...to represent the leftovers of the previous night's 10th anniversary party.:) Took brown paper and drew wine barrels to help turn one room into a wine cellar. Another room had signs leading to the Gift Shop, which was temporarily closed due to Malcolm's death, and yet another room was set up for interrogations.
I really think I may have gone a bit over the top. I set up a calendar with events that lead up to the anniversary party showing vacation times, seen visitors within the gift shop, etc. Set up a "Sale" sign for the Melee wines until the press got a hold of the news, designed napkins with Melee's emblem, and things of this sort. (I spent a good week thinking of all the different props to set up...I became so involved with the short descriptions of the characters that I started talking to people as if they were real...my husband started worrying about me and friends that were attending wanted to know "who" was I talking about.)
I didn't have a sit down dinner party. I had it as an evening of wine and finger foods and allowed guests to roam around and mingle as they played out their characters' personalities. Several bottles of red wine had Melee's wine label and a small sign was set up in the presentation.
I am including 3 photos from the event. You'll notice that everyone had a name badge that had their character name and position/job title. They helped keep us straight on who was whom. The detectives were each given badges and small spiral notebooks to keep track of notes using stubby short pencils.:)
Anyway, it was a blast. I cannot thank you enough for all your creativity and work that goes into each "case." Party guests requested that I don't forget about them next year.
One thing I must tell you, no one outside of myself, had ever attended/hosted a murder mystery before. They were all nervous for about the first 30 minutes until they realized that it wasn't a play and we were all just having a fun time.
Thank you again. This was the best birthday party ever. And I, like my guests, can't wait until next year.
Still Smiling,
Wanda Merical
Fayetteville, NC
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