Let's be honest. When you're planning a murder mystery party, "saving the planet" is probably not at the top of your to-do list. You've got a body to stage, suspects to brief, and a suspicious amount of fake blood to source. The environment will have to wait.
Except — what if it didn't have to?
It turns out that hosting a brilliant, atmospheric, thoroughly deadly evening and being a little bit kinder to the planet are not mutually exclusive. In fact, some of the greenest choices you can make are also the ones that make your party better, which is either a wonderful coincidence or a sign that the universe is on your side.
Here's how to throw a murder mystery party that's easy on the Earth, without sacrificing a single drop of drama.
1. Download Your Game (You're Already Ahead of the Curve)
Here's a fun fact: if you're using a downloadable murder mystery game from Murder In The House, you've already made one of the most eco-friendly choices available. No shipping. No packaging. No mysterious cardboard box travelling across three countries to arrive on your doorstep two days after you needed it.
You download it. You print what you need. That's it.
Of course, there is printing involved, but more on that in a moment.
2. Print Thoughtfully (Or: Don't Print the Entire Internet)
Here's where many well-meaning hosts go slightly rogue. They download the game files, get very excited, and then proceed to print absolutely everything at the highest possible quality on individual sheets of gloriously crisp A4 paper. One document per sheet. While the printer weeps quietly in the corner.
A few small adjustments go a long way:
- Print double-sided. Nearly every printer on earth can do this. It halves your paper use immediately with no effort whatsoever.
- Use the Character Booklets wisely. The booklets in our games are designed to be compact and practical. Print them as booklets if your printer allows it, or staple them neatly rather than leaving them as loose leaves that will definitely end up under the sofa.
- Reuse what you can. If you've hosted a game before, check whether any props or envelopes are still in good nick. A slightly crumpled evidence envelope adds atmosphere, not waste.
3. Borrow, Don't Buy, Your Decorations
There is a special kind of person who, upon deciding to host a Haunting of Myddlemoor Abbey evening, immediately orders seventeen yards of cobwebbing, four plastic ravens, and a full-size stone gargoyle from an online retailer. We admire the commitment. We do not, however, endorse the carbon footprint.
Before you click "add to cart" on anything, ask yourself:
- Can I borrow it? Candelabras, old picture frames, dark tablecloths, and wine glasses are all things that people own and will happily lend you for an evening in exchange for a seat at your table.
- Do I already own it? A dimly lit room with your own mismatched furniture, some well-placed candles, and a bit of imagination goes a surprisingly long way.
- Can I make it? A hand-written "crime scene" note, a few printed period-appropriate props tucked into a drawer, effort, not expenditure, is what makes an atmosphere feel real.
The bonus here is that borrowed and homemade decorations tend to feel more personal, which means your guests are more immersed, which means the whole evening is better. Win-win-win.
4. Think Before You Theme the Table
Disposable themed tableware, the plastic skulls, the single-use "fancy" napkins in suspiciously specific colours, is one of those things that seems like a great idea at 11 pm when you're browsing party supplies online, and less like a great idea when you're binning it all at midnight.
Real plates. Real glasses. Real cutlery. They don't need to match. In fact, for a murder mystery dinner, a slightly eclectic table adds to the setting. You're hosting a gathering of suspicious characters in a country house, not a corporate catering event. Mismatched vintage crockery is practically thematic.
If you do want to theme the table, think reusable: a dark tablecloth, cloth napkins, small potted plants or real flowers as centrepieces. All of it can be used again, or composted, or given to a friend who inexplicably needed a dark tablecloth anyway.
5. Feed Them Well (Without the Waste)
A murder mystery dinner is an event, and the food is part of it. Our games come with recipe suggestions to match the theme, and we'd encourage you to use them as a starting point, but with a few green-minded adjustments.
- Plan your portions. It sounds very un-dramatic, but knowing roughly how much food you need means less going in the bin at the end of the night.
- Seasonal and local, where possible. If you're playing Murder in the Mountains, a hearty Alpine-inspired stew made with local root vegetables is both thematically appropriate and lower in food miles than something flown in from elsewhere.
- Cater for your guests. Ask about dietary requirements in advance. Not just because it's considerate, but because it means you won't end up with an entire untouched dish that nobody could eat, which is both wasteful and slightly sad.
And of course: leftovers are not a failure. Leftovers are tomorrow's lunch.
6. Costumes: The Charity Shop Is Your Friend
The costume question is one of the great joys of murder mystery hosting. It is also one of the most reliably wasteful parts of the evening; if everyone goes out and buys a brand-new outfit, they'll wear exactly once.
The solution is almost embarrassingly simple: charity shops, second-hand apps, and your own wardrobe.
A Medieval Murder evening does not require a bespoke medieval gown ordered from a specialist retailer. It requires a long dress, a belt, and some imagination. A Shocking Review, set in the glamorous world of theatre, practically begs for over-the-top vintage pieces, all of which are available at a fraction of the cost and environmental impact of buying new.
Encourage your guests to theme their outfit around what they already own, with one or two charity shop additions. The results will be more creative, more personal, and frankly more entertaining than anything off a fast-fashion website.
7. Ditch the Plastic Party Bags
We know. You want to send everyone home with a little something. It's a lovely instinct. But a bag of plastic tat, tiny notepads, disposable pens, things that will be in a landfill by Thursday, is not the meaningful memento you imagine it to be.
Some better options:
- A printed "newspaper" headline declaring the culprit caught, something you've made as part of the game, personalised to your evening.
- A handwritten thank-you note. Underrated. Genuinely appreciated. Takes two minutes.
- Food to take home. If you've over-catered (see tip 5), a little wrapped parcel of leftovers is both practical and appreciated.
One Last Thing
None of this requires you to be perfect. It doesn't require a full lifestyle audit, a composting system, or a strongly worded speech at the dinner table. It just requires a few slightly different choices at the planning stage.
The point of a murder mystery party, from our games right down to the last accusing glare across the table, is that everyone has a genuinely brilliant evening. And it turns out that a genuinely brilliant evening doesn't need to cost the planet very much at all.
Now go and download a game. The suspects are waiting.
