What do I do if someone arrives at a party without a costume and feels uncomfortable? What do I do if someone arrives at a party without a costume and feels uncomfortable?
One Dinner Murder Mystery game that we hosted sticks out in my memory. It was when one of the guests had not read the material sent to them prior to the game and turned up without wearing a costume.
It was the type of mystery party where the host had rented a very expensive and elaborate costume and I might add looked fantastic. Most of the other guests had followed suit. It turned out to be a company party where expensive gifts, such as big screen TVs, were given to the winners of the vote for best costume and for some it was worth the effort. It was obvious to all that this particular individual felt extremely uncomfortable and even talked about leaving and returning later.
For a situation like that I would suggest the following for your murder mystery party. Have a few “props” available for those who arrive without a costume. With some of our games a costume isn’t really a requirement, but for those murder mystery games where your guests go all-out, it is definitely awkward for someone who doesn’t arrive in costume for whatever reason.
How do you remedy this? Get a few props in. For example, for our 1920's murder mystery, The Joker's Wild you could have some extra boas for the ladies, long cigarette holders, long pearl beaded necklaces, white gloves, flapper headbands or tiaras and cloche hats for the ladies. Much of this could be found inexpensively at a Dollar store for example. You could also have some extra makeup such as eyeliner, shadow, lipstick and rouge. For the men perhaps suspenders, fake mustaches, a pack of cards, brill cream for hair, bowler hats, bow ties. Likewise, if you are hosting our western murder mystery game, Murder in Deadwood you could have a few cowboy hats and kerchiefs available. Just use your imagination and help that poor individual that shows up unprepared to feel a little more comfortable and enjoy the evening.
There are a variety of games that we offer here at Dinner Murder Mystery including a 1920's murder mystery party, cowboys set in a western murder mystery, a pirate murder mystery, a London mystery game, a wine mystery game, and a data computer mystery game.