Body in the woods: Throw a Murder Mystery Party

“What would you like to do for your birthday this year?” I asked my daughter nervously, knowing that at 12 years old, it was unlikely to be as simple as Pass the Parcel and jam sandwiches.

She was crystal clear. “I’d like a murder mystery party!” she said. “A real one, with a dead body. Not just one of those ones you buy in a box.”

"Erm…okay...Let me have a think about how that might work,” I said. My daughter is obsessed with the Murder Most Unladylike books by Robin Stevens, so I shouldn't have been surprised.

Gradually, gradually, I started to piece together how it could be done. In fact, I started to get quite excited. A venue was chosen. Clues and characters created. Wigs, moustaches – and crime scene tape! – ordered. Invitations made and sent out.

Here’s how it worked.

My daughter and her friend (they wanted a joint birthday party) were the detectives – and in charge of proceedings. 

As each of the 13 guests arrived, they greeted them with a package. It contained their character's name, description and disguise – to be put on straight away.

Once wigged up, they were asked to introduce themselves with their new identity!       

For example, we had: 

And:

The detectives then explained the very serious matter at hand: The body of Lord Dalton had been found in the woods of Thurnham Hall yesterday. They had been hard at work on the case already and calculated that EACH AND EVERY SINGLE PERSON INVITED HERE TODAY HAD A MOTIVE TO KILL HIM! THIS MADE ALL OF THEM SUSPECTS! 

Their job today was to help them identify who the murderer was by hunting for clues that the murderer dropped as he or she ran away from the crime scene. Each clue would eliminate one of the suspects until only one person was left – THE MURDERER! 

And at that point they gave each guest a clipboard with this sheet on it so they could cross off each suspect as they were eliminated.

“But first, let’s go take a look at the victim!" said the detectives and off they set!

The girls gasped as the bloodied sheet was lifted to reveal the murdered body of Lord Dalton (aka big brother of daughter's friend, lying impressively still!). 

They then revealed the murder weapon, a large kitchen knife covered in blood (aka a knife from our kitchen with some red poster paint on it).

“Now, let’s go find those clues the murderer dropped, shall we?” said the detectives, leading them deeper into the woods and through the grounds to specific areas (where 12 clues had been planted by us earlier!).

The girls scurried around, looking underfoot... 

Clue #1 is found: A half-eaten ham sandwich. Now who did that rule out? Goldie Goldberg the Jewish person who doesn't eat pork of course!

Clue #2: A badly spelt shopping list?

That eliminated Ella Scrabble, the English Language professor!

Clue #3: A smashed watch stuck at 3.15?

Well then, the murderer couldn't be Polly Splosh, the Olympic swimmer, who trains from 1.30 to 5.30 every single day!

The final clue-hunting area was the graveyard... Ooh, an unexpected call comes in on one of the detective's phones! It's the forensics department (aka dad hiding round the corner making the call!)

It seems they have new information: They have found evidence of a struggle between the victim and the murderer and a dark hair has been found under the fingernails of Lord Dalton. "What are the implications of this?" asked the detectives. 

Well of course, it must mean that all suspects with blond hair (wigs!) are ruled out.

"Oh and by the way," added the detectives, "You see the gravedigger over there?" (aka other dad!). "It might be worth asking if he saw anything yesterday." 

"Ummmm...yesterday you say?...Let me think," he says in his best rural burr. "No, no, I didn't see anything untoward...oh, but hang on a minute...I did find this!" and from his pocket he produces a dangly earring. 

Aha! So the murderer, they now know, is a female!

They just need to find the final clue. 

Look, it's a handkerchief with an E embroidered on it. So the murderer's name must begin with an E…

What??? Eh??? That just didn't make sense! There are no female suspects left whose name begins with E. A lot of head-scratching and discussion ensues. 

Then one of them works it out. "Got it!" she says, "Lizzie is short for Elizabeth!" 

And the murderer is revealed! It's Lizzie Riding, the horse-mad, show-jumping, fox-hunting woman who has a horse called Red Rum (which, incidentally, just happens to be murder backwards!).

Case solved!

The murderer is led back home and hand-cuffed.

And all that's left to do is eat birthday cake!

If you like this, you might like Phone hacking, manslaughter or murder, madam?

Guest interview: "We ran away from crocodiles!"

This time, brothers Quinn (6), Aiden (9) and Luca (7) tell me all about their trip to Crocodiles of the World in Oxfordshire, run by Shaun Fogget of the Channel 5 series The Croc Man.

What did you think when your mum told you she was taking you to Crocodiles of the World?

Aiden: It was MY idea, actually. I went to my friend’s birthday party there a couple of years ago, so I said to mum let’s all go there and she said yes!

Luca: [can’t hold back any longer!]: Me and Aiden were running so fast because there was a crocodile coming near us! There were two of them!

Aiden: [annoyed with brother for jumping ahead] Can I tell you the unexpected bit?

Yes, go ahead.

Aiden: Well, when I was in the crocodile house we went to see the Siamese crocodiles, and we looked at them and when we turned our back they jumped at us – both of them – and we ran away because we were so scared!

But they couldn’t actually get at you, could they?!

Quinn: No, the glass was there.

But it was still scarey?

Aiden: Yes, and after that, we went over to the saltwater crocodiles and we noticed their teeth and we were like NOPE! So we ran away again.

Luca: One of them was really really hooooge. It was so hooooge.

Aiden: The biggest one was about 15 foot.

So these crocodiles can actually kill people in real life, right?

Aiden: Yes. They do something called a crocodile death roll. They grab onto their prey or person and spin it around and drag whatever they’ve got under water to drown it.

Luca [just to clarify]: And kill it.

Quinn: And then it’s gonna die and die and die until it’s put to sleep.

Did you get to hold a crocodile?

Aiden: No, just touch them. You CAN hold them but we weren’t there at the right time.

Quinn: I stroked a baby crocodile. It felt so weird. Kind of like really soft, and like a fish, but it was a crocodile.

Luca: Yes, it was so slimy. And when I was touching its tail, it tickled.

The man told us that if you put your hand near a baby crocodile or you swim near a baby crocodile, the mum or the dad keep chasing you and if it’s a Nile one it’s gonna be really speedy.

Did you see them being fed?

Aiden: Yeah. Dead birds. Chicken.

Did you learn the difference between a crocodile and an alligator?

Aiden: Yes, one of them has a small snout, and the other one I think is a different colour. They had both there. They had like a 100 crocodiles and alligators and caimans.

Luca: There were load and loads and loads. 

Did they have any other types of animals there?

Luca: Yes, parrots and...and...and...what else Aiden?

Quinn: Meerkats, and there was a hole you can go through and there was glass...

Aiden: ...like a glass dome...

Luca: ...and you put your head up in it and everyone can see you and the meerkat come and they’re running around your head.

What was your favourite animal there?

Luca: Meerkat.

Aiden: Black caiman.

Quinn: Black caiman.

Aiden: Cause it’s camouflaged.

Quinn: Cause it looks so awesome.

Aiden: Cause if I was a crocodile I would probably BE a black caiman.

Well maybe you’ll be a black caiman in your next life!

Aiden [stops, looks at me]: Do we actually HAVE a next life?

I don’t know, but some people believe we do.

Aiden: [making his mind up]: I think we do.

Would you like to have a pet crocodile?

Aiden: No!

Luca and Quinn: Yes!

Luca: Can you even GET a pet crocodile?

Quinn: [getting excited]: We can put it into a cage and we need some meat for it.

Luca: And it needs water. That would be MY BEST PET. And I’m gonna have that crocodile. It gonna be MINE.

What name would you give it?

Quinn: Nuke

Luca: No, Bobby.

Quinn: No, Duke.

Luca: Duke of Marlborough! [laughs]

Finally, what do you give Crocodiles of the World out of 10?

Aiden: 10

Quinn: 100.

Luca: 159 out of 10.

Visit Crocodiles of the World's website here. They are holding their first CrocFest UK on Saturday 15th October 2016.

Guest interview: “I went trampolining in an underground cave!”

*Plus WIN a family voucher for this attraction worth £100!* 
(see end of post)

This time I talk to Isla, 8, who went to Bounce Below, a series of giant bouncy nets connected by walkways and chutes in a huge underground slate cavern in Snowdonia, North Wales.

What did you think when your mum and dad told you where you were going?

I was really excited. But I didn't know exactly what it was...they said it was a "jumparound place".

What was it like when you first walked in?
Well, first you have to go through this tunnel to get into the cave. But then it’s really big...like the size of...HALF OF A WHOLE SCHOOL! It’s quite cold in there – I felt a drip on my head – but it’s really cool because there's lots of different colour lights shining on the walls.


















So can you explain to me what’s actually inside the cave?

There's lots of trampolines on different levels and tunnels in the nets and there's these chutes and when you go down them you have to put your hands like this [crosses hands over chest] so your arms don’t get caught. The way you get up to the top is really curly wurly and when you get up there and look down you don’t know how you got there.

Was it scary?
I was a bit scared on the first trampoline because there are holes in the net like this [holds fingers in a square] and you can see people underneath through the holes. Everyone said “Don’t look down!” The first time I went down a chute it was really scary because the first bit you just drop – it's like going down a black hole. My mum and dad went first!


Did your parents enjoy it?
They thought it was cool but daddy got a bit stuck in one of the chutes because it had a small opening. 

What were the staff like?

They were really kind. But you’re not allowed to do flips.

Was there lots of Health and Safety?!

Well, you have to put a hair net and a helmet on and if your legs are bare you have to wear a jumpsuit (but mine weren’t). My dad had to put nets over his shoes too...I think it was to stop him breaking the trampolines because he’s got big feet. When the dads jumped, everyone fell over!

Have you got any advice or tips for anyone who is going there?

Try and get a trampoline all by yourself or with your family because it’s much funner.

Can you describe it in just three words.
Fun. Exciting. And...umm...bouncy!

What score do you give it out of 10?
10.

WIN A FAMILY VOUCHER FOR BOUNCE BELOW WORTH £100!
(Four people age 7+).  All you have to do is:

1. Be a 'Liker' of the The Quirky Parent Facebook page - so click the Facebook button here if you're not already!

2. Then email the word 'BOING!' to quirkyparent@gmail.com.


Ends Friday 8th July 2pm. The winner will be chosen using random.org and announced here and on The Quirky Parent Facebook page.

This competition is now closed. The winner was Hari Vaudrey.

Jellybeans, Wotsits and upside-down faces: Quirky ideas for birthday party games

David’s den, Uncle Ben, cock and hen! My daughter is 10. Double digits already! 

She had her own, very precise ideas about how she wanted to celebrate her birthday. She’d even planned this rather nifty paper-engineering design for her invitation.

Outside

Inside

Yep, she wanted the tent up in the living room. Three friends. Sleeping bags. The film Matilda. Popcorn. And a Midnight Feast straight off the pages of Malory Towers. 

But there was still room for a little pre-pyjama entertainment. Here are the games we played, loosely based around the number 10, although they would work with any number, any age, any time...

Game 1: The jellybean test

I bought a box of jellybeans with interesting flavours like Candy Floss and Toasted Marshmallow. I selected 10 of the 20 flavours from the guide on the back of the packet and photographed and printed out an enlarged version of the appropriate section. 

The children took it in turns to sit in the designated ‘jellybean tasting chair' with their eyes closed. Then I popped a jellybean in their mouth (making sure I knew which flavour it was by its colouring) and showed them the guide.

 

Could they guess which flavour it was?!

One point for each correct answer!

Game 2: Mr. Twit

This game (not my own idea but I can't find the origin) is named after the Roald Dahl character Mr. Twit because he gets food stuck in his beard when he eats. My very obliging husband squirted himself a magnificent shaving foam beard (and eyebrows) and sat himself down on a chair in the kitchen. The girls had 10 Wotsits each and took it in turns to throw one at him from a specified distance (about 2 metres away, but I let them move a bit closer with each round). Despite the ridiculousness of the game, you should have seen the seriousness on their faces as they aimed!

One point for each Wotsit that sticks to the beard (two for an eyebrow)!

Game 3: Chinny McWizard

I made faces on their chins with googly eyes (stuck on with a smear of Pritt Stick) and noses drawn on with lip pencil. Then they took it in turns to lie on the floor in pairs (bodies and eyes covered with blankets) and strike up a conversation. Freakily funny! I fed them 10 topics to talk about, one at a time, to keep the conversation flowing (e.g. things they're scared of, a teacher at school...). I filmed the conversations so we could watch them together on the TV at the end. Here's a tiny snippet...

One point every time something they said got a laugh when we watched it on TV! 

(Though I didn’t tell them this till afterwards because I wanted them to enjoy watching themselves without worrying about how many laughs they were getting!)

The prizes

Rather than dishing out sweets to each winner of each game, I totted up their total scores at the very end.

I’d prepared a box of more substantial, non-edible prizes – a mood ring, secret message pen, whoopee cushion... The person with the most points got to choose a prize first, then the person in second place, and so on. They seemed to really like this system. 

Now time to set up camp and get cosy... Wouldn’t it be great if they were asleep by 10, I thought to myself, as I saw a pig fly over the tent.

If you like this you might like the 13 challenges I set my son on his 13th birthday.

Guest interview: “We bounced off the walls!”

I talk to Hannah, 9, and Ava, 8, who went to Bounce, a new type of indoor trampoline park where you can let your children (literally!) bounce off the walls.

What did you think when you first walked in?

Hannah: In my head I thought it would be much smaller so it was much more exciting.

Ava: I was amazed. Trampolines on the floor, trampolines on the walls ... [grins] ... trampolines on the ceiling! 

You had to put on special socks, didn’t you?

Hannah: Yes, they helped you stick to the trampoline because they had grippy bits on the bottom.

Ava: I didn’t like them. They made my feet really hot and sweaty. My feet went all red. I wish we could have bounced in bare feet.

What did you think of the safety talk at beginning?

Ava: I thought it was nice of them to have rules for us so it wouldn’t be chaos but I wanted to bounce with Hannah and they said you could you only have one person per trampoline at a time.

Hannah: And they said you can’t do it if you’re pregnant or "under the influence of alcohol or drugs" … What’s drugs?

Did the trampolines feel different to normal trampolines?

Hannah: They were bouncier than normal trampolines and you can’t bounce off the sides on a normal trampoline so it was better.

Ava: And the trampolines are smaller.

What was it like being able to bounce off the walls?

Ava: It was really fun.

Hannah: It really, really fun. Normally you can only bounce up and down. You could literally bounce sideways and you could set yourself challenges, like we tried to run up the wall and touch the orange bit at the top.

What was it like bouncing into the Foam Pit?

Hannah: You are allowed to do flips into it and the foam was really soft, but it takes a long time to get out! It’s like swimming in honey. It’s like running in your dreams.

Ava: I thought it was really good but one of the men who was looking after us was very bossy! Even if someone was almost completely out of it and just had their foot in he said "Don’t jump in yet".

What was the funnest thing?

Ava: Jumping in the foam pit. 

Hannah: The foam pit because I love falling in soft things. I wish it was a pit of feathers. And the Bounce Off – you had 60 seconds to do as many tricks as you can and if you can't do tricks to bounce as high as you can and they watch out for the best people.
Ava: And give you fake tattoos as prizes.

Was there anything you didn't like?

Hannah: I got told off for not being under six on the Kid’s Court. They should have a sign up. I could have said “I AM under 6 but I’m very tall! Or ... [puts on babyish voice] ... I’m under 6 and I like playing with unicorns and fairies”!

Ava: "Or I’m under 6 and like playing with toy trains!”

Hannah: "Or I’m under 6 and when I’m older I’m going to be a panda!”

Ava: "Or I’m under 6 and I when I grow up I’m going to be a satellite!"
[This conversation continues for a while with more and more ludicrous statements!]

Did you like the music they were playing?

Ava: I think it would be better without music because then you could hear each other better.

Hannah: It would be good if they had more bouncy music – like bouncy pop songs.

Was it tiring, bouncing up and down and sideways for two hours?!

Ava: It’s VERY tiring.

Hannah: And when you get off you feel really heavy because it’s not bouncy. Like you’ve got a weight pushing down on you.
Ava: Like your legs don’t work.

So what do you give it out of 10?

Hannah: 10.

Ava: I’m not sure it's a 10. Um ... 9 ½.

Where does it lose half a point, Ava?

Bossy man. Sweaty socks.

Bounce is in Milton Keynes and is for age 3 to adults. There is also Gravity Force in Camberley, Jump Nation in Manchester and AirHop in Guildford, and many more opening around the UK soon.