Deuces on a Dime - February 2008 in Canada!

[jennybean16]

Deuces on a Dime

My hubby's birthday is in February and I wanted to make it special. I was talking to one of our friends in early January, and he mentioned going to a murder mystery party in December. As soon as he mentioned it, I knew that I wanted to throw a surprise murder mystery party for my hubby!

I had never to been to a murder mystery before, but I had always wanted to try one. They looked like so much fun! After reading the rave reviews here, I decided to purchase the Four Deuces teen version. I knew it would be tricky planning as well as attending my first murder mystery party. The other tricky part would be keeping all of this from my husband.

I purchased the game in early January, so I gave my self a month to plan everything. I sent out invitations right away to 17 of our friends. I almost invited a few more because I was sure some people wouldn't be able to come (we had four pregnant ladies in attendance!). Wow! It's a good thing I didn't, EVERYONE RSV'd that they'd be there!

I am amazed hubby didn't figure out what I was up to. I kept a notebook near our computer desk so I could jot down ideas as they came to me. I decided early on that I wanted a black, white and red theme. I perused the stores every time I went shopping for black, white and red inspirations. I had trouble falling asleep several nights because I was so excited and ideas kept hitting me. I would have to scurry over to my notebook and jot down the idea before my brain would let me sleep . As you may have noticed, I am calling this entry "Deuces on a Dime"

[2coolbaby]

Thanks so much for sharing. Babyface is just soooooo cute!

I have a couple questions. First, if you have the link to the checkerboard cake, would you mind sharing it or the recipe itself, if you have it. I would love to post it on our roaring twenties theme page.

I wanted to ask if you hid the weapons in the locations as we instructed in the Weapons Instructions? We have been thinking of just combining the weapon and action cards to be drawn from a hat, instead of the scavenger hunt. Then giving a link to the scavenger hunt for those that want to go that route. If you have an opinion on this, would you mind voting or posting on the idea here:

http://www.dinnerandamurder.com/forum/v ... php?t=1411

[jennybean16]

I'm actually having a bit of trouble finding the cake recipe I used. To be honest, I didn't even follow the recipe perfectly. I had a bit of trouble with it, and probably wouldn't do it the same way again. I would recommend the directions I found here at the Wilton website: http://www.wilton.com/recipes/recipesan ... hecker.cfm
I attempted to do a similiar thing but in round pans - quite stressful, I don't recommend it... . I also like how these directions allow for packaged cake mixes - so much easier than making cakes from scratch, especially when you're trying to plan a party.

I should have been a little more clear about the murder weapon thing. I read the directions for hiding the weapons, and I chose to hide them behind pictures and in 'less obvious' places. Perhaps a little too 'less obvious' . To be fair, two people came SO close to finding a couple, but they just didn't look hard enough (they quickly peeked or quick reached their hand in, but just missed it). So, it was more human error on our part than your directions.

If I did a party again, I would probably go around and check all of my hiding places after the scavenger hunt. That way, if none of the weapons were found, I'd know and I could throw them into the draw for action cards. I liked the scavenger hunt and I think my guests did too, so I'd be disappointed to have to skip it and just throw them in the bag.

Just some of my thoughts .

[2coolbaby]

That cake does look easier. I could see doing chocolate and red velvet cake with a devil food icing.

[Brigs]

Hey there,
So how did you make it into a surprise for your hubby without him having all the information and also making him part of the night and not just sitting around watching everyone else play?
Im thinking of throwing a surprise bday party/ murder mystery night for my boyfriend... but don't know how to keep it from him and still make him a character!! you're expertise is needed.
Thank you

[jennybean16]

I had to be really sneaky! There are a couple places in our home I know my hubby doesn't really pay attention to (i.e. the laundry room, my closet, etc.) In fact, I was making my dress for about a month before the party, and it was hanging on my mannequin and he never noticed!

I used cash and checks to pay for as much as I could. It also helps to have 'partners in crime'. My mom and sister were able to hide things for me too. The trickiest party was decorating on the day of the party - there was a bit of a time crunch to get everything ready in time. If you can have the party at a different location other than your home, I'm sure decorating would go much more smoothly.

As far as keeping him involved and giving him a character, I chose "Sly" for his character since Sly is a secondary character. I assumed my hubby wouldn't have to be too prepared, and it worked out great! (Apparently the mayor is great character to pick as well. I like "Sly" for my hubby because he likes to play cards - esp. poker )

I got his costume figured out beforehand, and I had everything he needed up in our bedroom on the night of the party. Once we all surprised him, I sent him upstairs to get ready. I made sure he saw his information packet and told him to read about his character. It helped that he had done a murder mystery party before. It also helped that he's pretty good at thinking on his feet. So everything worked out great - we all had a great time and I definitely surprised my honey!