Easter! What a great time of year! With the cold weather now behind you and the promise of summer fast approaching what’s not to love about the spring? So, dust off your garden furniture, mow that lawn, are those weeds How did they get there? Pull them up and plant some pretty flowers instead because it’s time to get ready for the season of village fairs and garden parties.
Why host an Easter Murder Mystery?
Spring is a great time to reconnected with friends you haven’t seen all winter. At Christmas we like to spend time indoors with our families, for Valentines Day we’re spending time with that special someone. But by Easter? That’s the perfect time to catch up with your friends. It’s warm, the kids are off school, the birds are singing in the trees and the world is coming alive again. So why not spread some spring cheer and host your own Easter Party? You can even add a dash of excitement by turning it into a Murder Mystery game. Awaken your guests’ sleuthing skills while you feast on cakes and cocktails.
What a great idea! But where do you begin? Well, at Masters of Mystery you can choose for a wide selection of Murder Mystery Games. Everything you need is included in the pack. The theme, the story, the characters, the clues and a handy guide to help you as a host plan the perfect murder mystery party.
Good Easter Murder Mystery Games
Oh wow! There’s so much to choose from… What games would work well for an Easter Party? Well, it depends on what your vibe is. Do you want a classy garden party? If so, what about our Bridgeton and Jane Austen style game? A Scandal in Bodgerton is a great Regency Era party suitable for those wanting to host an elegant garden party. Or maybe, your guests would prefer something modern? If so then what about The Great Bakedown! A Bake off themed murder mystery? Whatever game you choose we’re here to help give you some great ideas to plan your perfect Easter Party.
A Regency Murder Mystery
You’re choosing our Scandal in Bodgerton Regency murder mystery are you? That’s fantastic. So, what are some of the things you need to think about? Well, lets have a look at some things you can do to really help give your guests that garden party vibe.
Decorations
Weather permitting you can have a beautiful garden party; the sun will shine and it’ll be great. But weather isn’t always on you side so we recommend having some sort of shelter. Put a gazebo tent up in the garden or use a conservatory. If you are planning a big party with a large budget, you can hire a hall with doors that open out onto a garden. Whatever space you choose to use, a few simple decorations can give your Easter Murder Mystery something extra.
Never underestimate the power of bunting. This can be purchased at a low cost from most bargain or homeware stores, especially during the Easter season and on into summer. It can be bought in all different shapes, sizes, colours and styles. It’s also simple to make.
You can use scissors, paper, string and staples, cut out triangles of coloured paper and staple them to the strings if you’re short on time, but we recommend something a little more elegant. Why no create something with fabric? Fabric shops, marketplaces and online traders can sell you assorted fabric squares to suit any theme or colour scheme. You can make your own bunting here.
Another thing you can add to a garden party is flower garlands. Available from most bargain and homeware shops at this time of year. Adding a vase of flowers to a table can also add a touch of elegance to your Easter Party too. Something bright and cheerful.
Food
Easter! A popular treat this time of year is of course chocolate! Below we’ve posted a few traditionally chocolatey treats that you can serve up to your guests at an elegant Easter Garden party.
A Chocolate Tart was a popular dish to be served either hot or cold and guaranteed to delight your guests. You can learn how to make a chocolate tart here
Chocolate brownies were a delightful bite sized treat to add to your afternoon tea. You can learn how to make traditional chocolate brownies here.
A rich chocolate cake might be served in the most elegant houses. Chocolate was expensive though and so only the best houses would serve it. But that’s what we want. To include a chocolate cake in your own Easter Party then follow this recipe for a rich, chocolate cake here.
For more information on traditional dishes you can serve at your Bridgeton and Jane Austen style Easter Murder Mystery Party, you can have a look at our Victorian Tea Party Blog here.
Drinks
What about some cool and refreshing lemonade? This can be bought from a shop or it can be made yourself with lemon juice, sugar and soda water. For those wanting something hot then you can offer them some tea. A fruity or herbal option or a simple and smooth Earl Gray.
For those who want something with a little more kick, you can serve wine, whisky or a little gin. Fancy having a go at some cocktails? We’ve got some lovely options from our 1920’s cocktail’s Blog entry, many popular cocktails of this era, have their origin’s in the 1800s.
Costume
What can you and your guests wear? The costume style of Bridgeton and Jane Austen is very specific, but you don’t have to go out and spend a fortune on a Regency dress. In fact, ladies may find that they have something that would work in their closets or they can pick a summer dress up from a charity shop. The cut of the dress was the key factor in the early 1800s, it was Empire Line. These dresses were made with the waistline sitting just under the chest, rather than on the hips or the waist. For the gents, fashion didn’t change too much throughout the 1700s and 1800s. Smart trousers, waistcoat and tailcoat with a cravat would work. If your budget stretches to period accurate clothing then these can be purchased from costume shops and online retailers such as eBay and Amazon.
A Bake-off Murder Mystery
It’s a Bake down! You’re choosing our Bake-off themed murder mystery? What a great idea. It’s bake off so of course we need a tent in the garden. These can be pulled out of storage or bought from your local homeware or garden centre or online here. Set up a long table with chairs around it and put up your bunting.
Next, the food. Now Bake off contains many classic dishes. Each week contestants would compete to bake the best biscuits, pies, cakes, scones etc. that they could. Let’s have a look at some of the popular recipes that have appeared on Bake off and how you can make them yourself.
Macarons are a delicate sandwich cookie that comes in a variety of flavours. There is no one way to make a macaron cookie but here is a basic recipe for you to follow. You can then add flavour and flare as you see fit.
Scones, usually served the jam and cream or sometimes butter, scones are a simple recipe and often appear on the show. You can make your own bake-off scones here.
Shortbread biscuits, thin and sweet biscuit, that can be bought from a shop, if you’re feeling lazy or made from scratch with just three ingredients. Have go here.
Pork pie, what a great savoury snack for a garden party. These are not the easiest to make, you can just purchase them from the shop but if you want to challenge yourself then you can have a go at making your own pork pies here.
On top of your bake-off dishes, you can add your own dishes. Why not add some finger sandwiches? Whether you choose something simple like egg and cress or ham and cheese or whether you decide to be a bit more adventurous and serve smoked salmon and lemon or cucumber and cream cheese. Finger sandwiches are a great dish for your Easter Murder Mystery party.
Drinks
What are some Easter themed drinks you could add to your party? When you think of Easter you think of spring colours, pale pinks, blues, yellows and greens. Here are some fun Easter drinks you could serve at your Easter Murder Mystery Party
Pink Lemonade, it’s lemonade but it’s pink. To create this spring drink is actually quite simple. You simply add a cup full of cranberry juice into your lemonade mix. You can see how to, here.
In addition to the traditional lemonades, you could instead add some limeade to your selection or you can make some spring mocktails too.
Berry spritzer: Using fresh berries and mint leaves, lime juice, honey, soda and some ice. You can make a berry spritzer here.
Elderflower mocktail: Made with elderflower syrup or cordial that can be bought from most food retailers and takes 5 minutes to make. Learn how, here.
For those who want something alcoholic there’s a few cocktail options for you too. See below for some suggestions of spring cocktails to make at home for your Easter Party.
The White Rabbit Cocktail: It’s a blend of gin, amaretto, cream, lemon curd and vanilla, finished off with some pretty flowers. Learn how to make it here.
Chocolate Martini: Made with Irish cream, coffee liqueur and vodka. Learn how to make it here.
Celebrate the first signs of spring with the cherry blossom cocktail. Containing cherry liqueur, gin, orange and lemon, its full of spring flavours. You can learn how to make it here.
Lavender Lemon drop. Doesn’t that just sound full of the joys of spring? Made with fresh lemon juice and lavender syrup and mixed with vodka. It’s recommended that you chill the glass before serving for the best effect. Follow this step by step guide to make this drink here.
Fun and Games
No Easter party would be complete without some games now would it? We’re already going with a fun Murder Mystery but why no give your guests and their characters something extra in between questioning?
There are some traditional fairground games that you can create for your guests at home. Why not set up a coconut shy? Set up some coconuts on some spikes in the ground and get your guests to compete, by throwing bean bags and trying to knock them off. Or pick yourself up a croquet set. Cards and chess were also popular games and could be set up indoors or outdoors.
For larger than life games you can buy things such as Giant Jenga and other similarly oversized games that can be played by your guests at your party.
As this is an Easter Party, why not set up a treasure hunt? You could hide Easter Eggs around the house and garden. Our Murder Mystery games will have clues included within your game box, why don’t you hide them around and get your guests to hunt for them between the rounds?
Easter is a great time of year, with spring in the air, there’s plenty you can do to bring your murder mystery party out of the parlour and into the garden instead. Get some fresh air and brush away the winter cobwebs. There’s tons of exciting things you can do outside and we hope you can find lots of fun with your friends this spring.
