Throwing a Clue Party

So, we did it again... I didn't know if I could top my 1920's Speakeasy themed costume party, but I was sure going to try for Halloween! And I might even say our Clue party exceeded my expectations.

I've done some thinking and, I'd say a few key elements to a great themed party include:

Picking a theme that people are familiar with so they can get excited,
Thoughtfully utilizing the theme enough that guests don't feel strange or self-conscious being dressed up
Creating enough structure or guidance to help guests get excited into the theme, and
A broad enough theme that people can be creative

This party hits all those notes.

Inspiration

Inspiration can come from anywhere, in this case it was a peacock blue peplum costume dress burning a hole in my closet, combined with my deep love of Clue the movie and wanting to pay homage to our 1920's era home.

Invitations

I designed these e-invitations referencing the Clue game cards, including the actual Clue font. Thank you internet for answering which fonts those were.

We had to know in advance that I was to be Ms. Peacock, and Peter picked Colonel Mustard. Invites placed an emphasis on coming in costume, since we devised a game that required you to play a Character.

The rest of the invitation read as follows:

Crack open your closets & find your best Clue-themed attire. We hope many Miss Scarlets, Professors Plum, Colonels Mustard, Ms. Peacocks, Mrs. Whites, Mr. Greens will be in attendance. Maids, butlers, cooks, and detectives are also welcome characters! Even T-shirt tuxedos or trench coats can do in a pinch.

Appetizers, desserts, and drinks will be served.

For those Clue movie fans and those who haven't seen it before - we'll be showing the movie later in the evening.

- SOs, kids, are all welcome - even MORE welcome if they're in costume.

- Close to Caltrain (easy bike ride or walking distance if you walk a lot)

- We have some over-night guest accommodations, please let us know if you'd like to stay with us.

I also included links to a Pinterest board I created with Costume Ideas to inspire guests, and a link to Rare Clue characters wikipedia page so signal we were inclusive of a broad range of ideas.

Costumes!

People did NOT disappoint on the costume front. We saw everything from sexy Miss Scarlet's, a dapper Professor Plum in top hat, quite a few Colonel Mustard's - even a Dr. Brown and a Mr. Gray from Cluedo in the UK.

Photo courtesy of Kirill Buryak

Even the kids & our dog got into it. One of our youngest guests wore a custom hand-drawn "Revolver" card themed t-shirt.

Dr. Watson played the role of the butler, Mr. Body, greeting everyone in his doggie tuxedo.

Name Tags

For this party, we were intentionally inviting a LOT of people from many different social circles. Being terrible at introductions and bad with names, I find it's nearly always a good idea in larger groups to wear name tags. Bonus if they're IN THEME like these!

I did a play off of old Clue game cards printing them vertical, with the character name below in a frame and room to write in your name above. They read [Blank space for your name] Starring as... Professor Plum in the style of the old cards.

If you're going to do this, I suggest buying the "peel away design"name tags by Avery #25395. You can print them on the 8.5x11 sheet, then each name tag + backing separates from the sheet so you're left with individual stickers with their backing.

Setting the Scene for a Clue Party

For the Clue party, each room of the house loosely references a different room in the game/movie.

(Toy) Weapons!

These helped set the mood and gave people props for photographs. A toy pistol, and a "trick" knife whose blade shrinks into the handle were easy. A length of rope and a not-lead-pipe were real and inexpensive. The wrench we already had, and the candlestick I borrowed from my parents.

Tables & tableware

I created a giant buffet on the dining table, using borrowed red damask table clothes to create drama. I added black jeweled candelabras for a spooky mansion effect.

Since we're riffing on fancy/haunted mansion a bit, I was able to re-use some items from previous parties like the silver tray and some old crystal decanters from Peter's grandmother.

Drapes

I hate drapes or curtains in everyday life, but to create ambiance, I draped light thin satiny fabric on either side of the couch in the living room lounge to create a curtain-effect.

A great photo backdrop was created in the dining room with black curtains. I found brocade-patterned curtains on clearance at a discount store. I hung black lace fabric across the window, then framed it with the drapes since they were too small to actually span the window.

Themed signage

I used a variety of vintage and borrowed picture frames to serve as signs labeling each room. Using a classic Clue font, signs labeled each room as one from the game/movie

Television

In this party, the TV wasn't an eyesore. We moved it to a corner of a large room, and left it playing the movie Clue with captions and the sound on mute.

Music

The soundscape is critical to creating ambiance, and making the first few guests feel comfortable. We created a playlist of appropriate music, stuff from the movie soundtrack and other period music we liked.

Things I'd fix before before doing it again - I'd decorate our mid-century light fixtures and cover our quirky art collection with printed portraits, maybe of Clue characters.

The Food

This party I wanted to enjoy being out with guests and not catering. I set up a smaller amount of food, focusing on the theme-appropriateness or ease. A chaffing dish made a huge difference keeping hot appetizers hot throughout the night.

A few standouts made me really happy on the food front:

Stabby Cupcakes

These were incredibly easy and so much fun.

I ordered cupcakes from the local grocery with white icing. I brought them home and made them stabby with the addition of a small amount of red decorators gel, then inserting Wilton's Meat Claver Royal Icing decorations.

Panna Cotta "Monkey" Brains

The movie Clue had a bit in it about how they all ate monkeys brains, so naturally I had to find a way to work that into the theme for the hardcore fans like me!

I was inspired by Alton Brown's Panna Cotta Brain with Cranberry Glaze, but I made mine in mini-brain moulds using raspberry couli and rather than going for "mad science" I tried to make them look like haute cuisine serving them in coupe glasses. They were amazingly tasty and on theme.

How to play: Clue the Party Game

We wanted to encourage our guests to mingle and get to know each other since we were mixing various social circles at our Clue themed party.

Guests were greeted with some "instructions" at the front door and an envelope with their "name" on it, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, etc.

The letter reads:

Welcome,

Please create your character card (nametag). You can also choose to join in a live game of Clue loosely modeled on the classic board game:

OBJECTIVE: Interview & share clues with other guests to help you deduce who the killer is, where the murder occurred, and what weapon was used.

HOW TO PLAY:

Select an envelope of clues that matches your character. If your character is more creative than one of the classic 6, you may play at any

one of the characters. Collect clues from different guests – each character should have the same clues (i.e. every Miss Scarlet will have the same clues).

Approach a character & postulate a hypothesis of who, what weapon, in what room. The character then shows you all the matching

clues they have in their hand.

For examples:

< Colonel Mustard approaches Mrs. Peacock. >

Colonel: Mrs. Peacock, was it Mr. Green in the lounge with the

revolver?

If Mrs. Peacock has cards for Mrs. White, the Lounge, and the Revolver, she shows both the Lounge & Revolver cards.

Record the clues on your notepad until you’ve deduced the killer, the weapon, and the room.

When you believe you have solved the mystery, return here to check your solution in the envelope labeled “Here’s what really happened” and

collect your prize.

Happy Sleuthing, Mr. Boddy

I made cards like you'd have for a game of Clue and little tracking sheets for guests to keep tabs.

How did it work?

Splendidly! It got people talking and gave people another reason to mingle, and an opener into conversation.

Photo courtesy of Kirill Buryak

Once someone thought they'd solved it, they could check the Folio marked "...but this is how it really happened," a reference to the movie's multiple endings, thank you very much.

Guests could then wear a Case Closed sticker, printed on the extra name tag stickers, for bragging rights.

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