Over the last few years, I have enjoyed murder mystery parties and have been finding excuses, such as my birthday, to solve pretend cold cases with my family. We would get these cold case files, pretend to be detectives, and solve the crimes together after looking through all the evidence. It has been something I have enjoyed so much that one of the activities my mother and I did while in Rochester, MN for the first time, getting my brain stuff situated is solved a cold case together. It took us a few days because neither of us was thinking clearly, but in the end we came to the conclusion that the best friend had done it and we were right. 

While I enjoyed being the detective, I had heard of murder mystery dress up events and role play events that I had wanted to either attend or host but no one I usually did the cold cases with (except my mother of course) seemed interested in it and I didn’t want to plan a party no one was going to go to. But finally, the perfect chance presented itself! 

As stated in previous posts, I am getting ready to move this summer, as are my parents. They will be leaving the state within the month, and I will be heading to a different state about a month later. My poor brother, bestie, and other friends of mine are being left all alone. I figured it would be the perfect time to do one final bash outside of the box of what we would normally do, and, during my second trip to Rochester, MN were I spent a week more or less alone in a hotel room, I had nothing much better to do then plan a party. 

There was a game shop across the street where my hotel was located, and it had boxes for murder mystery roleplay parties that had almost everything one needed to plan the event. I chose the game “Death by Chocolate” and got cracking making my guest list, menu, seating chart, picking the date, and assigning characters that I thought best fit the people invited. I was nervous about who would come and if people would like it, and nervous about the energy I was going to expend to make this party happen, due to the fatigue I had been having. Some of the people who care about me showed no interest in the party at all, so I made sure to plan it on a day they would not be home so they wouldn’t be obligated to be there and pretend. Others in my friends group showed some reservations about participating because it was outside their comfort zone but knew it was important to me, and so they RSVPed yes despite their fears. 

The theme was 1900 Paris during Easter Sunday. The “guests” were all people somehow associated with the chocolate-making business. The event was to take place around a three-course meal, preceded by available snack foods to munch on while we took the time to get into character. 

Guests arrived mostly on time and dressed to impress. My mother, father, brother, and friends had put real effort and thought into their outfits, and it showed. People posed for pictures, explained the inspiration behind their chosen fashions, and discussed the thought process that went into the little details. One friend had spent the whole night making her headpiece for the event by hand. My mother had looked up pictures of archeologist from the time frame and fit her outfit to that, my dad had found a shirt that had reminded him of a chefs coat and shaved is facial hair to fit his look, and my brother- though not in the period- had showed up in his fitness gear laughing about how he’d considered going more into the period but looking at pictures made him think underwear over tights and he figured no one wanted to see that. 

I had spent the day before and that day preparing my meal. The box came with a suggested menu, but I chose to make one instead that fit my needs to expend as little energy as possible and that fit the dietary needs of those included, as some people present had food restrictions due to health, allergies, or recent medical procedures. 

I laid out a meat and cheese tray, veggie tray, and fruit tray that were all gone by the end of the night. My father mixed drinks for those who required liquid courage and earned the reward for the best bartender at the end of the night. The first course consisted of salad with three choices of dressing and choices of croutons or no croutons. The second consisted of French Onion Chicken and veggies made in a slow cooker, served over rice (also made in a slow cooker) with a choice of croissant or gluten-free baguette. The dessert consisted of a chocolate raspberry mousse, homemade with three ingredients, that was low sugar and diabetic friendly which I had made the day before and chilled. 

The meal was fantastic, the guests laughed a lot, the crime was solved, and at the end of the event, awards were given out to people who had each stood out in their unique way. Lots of laughs were shared, memories made, and I got to say hello and goodbye to some people I hadn’t seen in a while. 

All in all, the night was a success. 

I have been suffering from the effort I put into the party for a few days now. I got sick with a minor cold and have been almost bedridden for two days from exhaustion. My body felt like I had been run over by a train the day after, and on Monday, I felt like I was wading through mud. 

I knew going into this party that I was going to suffer following it. I spent a large chunk of my youth watching my mother struggling with her health, wading through the hardship of planning and attending events when her body didn’t want to cooperate, and that taught me something. It taught me that some things, some events, are worth suffering a little bit for. 

If you let the fact that you’re going to hurt a bit after stop you from doing the things you love and planning the events in life that are important to you, you’ll miss out on the good times and the memories that are worth it and can help during times of trials. I will recover from the effort the party took, and I walked away with memories that will last a while. 

Sometimes you just have to say screw the physical consequences and take a moment to play!

-Dare