Murder Party Kits
Case file · Pinecone Point, a snowed-in lake house, December 23rd
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A Very Fatal Family Christmas murder mystery party game

185 printable pages. Print characters 1 to however many guests you have.

nightlifePinecone Point, a snowed-in lake house, December 23rd • Christmas Party

A Very Fatal Family Christmas

"Grandma names one heir at ten. Not everyone makes it to ten."

Guest count
8 to 20
Print 1 to however many
Duration
~2½ Hrs
Three murders
Rating
PG-13
Scandal, nothing explicit
Host
Host & play
Solution on a sealed page
Delivery
PDF download
Print at home
Casting
10 flexible roles
Man or woman
$29USD · the complete kit
Instant PDF download
Buy the kit

Download a free sample (PDF, 5 pages, 7 MB): the cover, cast list, prep checklist, a character card and an invitation. No email needed.

Includes: host guide, 20 character packets with sealed envelopes, evidence, play money, action cards, ballots, awards and invitations.
group_addScales to your guest list Characters join in order
8 GuestsThe core cast
12 GuestsCore + characters 9 to 12
16 GuestsCore + characters 9 to 16
20 GuestsCore + characters 9 to 20

Somebody cancels the morning of the party? Print one fewer character. The case never rests on anyone after number 8.

The story · read to your guests

One Heir. Three Murders. Silent Night.

Pinecone Point, the Holloway family's lake house in northern Michigan, on December 23rd. The storm has closed the road and taken the Wi-Fi with it. Grandma Evelyn, who built a toy fortune at her kitchen table, has an announcement: at ten o'clock she names ONE heir to everything. Every relative signed her Family Morality Clause, and every one of them has broken it. The martyr daughter, the broke son with the much younger girlfriend, the crypto grandchild, the lawyer, a chef with a wandering French accent and the neighbour who won't go home all have plans for ten o'clock.

Your guests dig up dirt on each other, fine each other into the Morality Jar, pull Christmas crackers for action cards and steal each other's gifts in the white elephant swap. Then the bodies start to drop. After each murder everyone opens a sealed envelope with new secrets and new jobs, and the dead come back as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, each with a power of their own. By the end of the night the clues point to one guest, and everyone casts a ballot: who did it, how, and why.

Setting: Pinecone Point, a snowed-in lake house, December 23rd•Three murders•PG-13
The night at a glance

How the Party Runs

Three murders, three rounds of sealed envelopes, then the vote. The host guide has every line to read and when, so you only need to watch the clock.

Times assume doors at 7:00. Start whenever suits you and shift the whole night.

  1. 7:00

    Doors open

    Guests arrive, find their mug on the shelf and get their packet, name tag and dollars. Read the welcome.

  2. 7:05

    Mingle

    Everyone reads their card and starts digging up dirt on the family.

  3. 7:15

    Grandma's announcement

    One heir, named at ten. Break the Morality Clause and you're struck off.

  4. 7:45

    Murder 1

    Christmas crackers, then the first body drops. Read the murder aloud and lay out the first evidence. Everyone opens envelope 1.

  5. 8:15

    The gingerbread judging

    Grandma scores the gingerbread house. Bets are taken.

  6. 8:40

    Murder 2

    The white elephant swap, then a second death. New evidence on the table, and everyone opens envelope 2.

  7. 9:00

    The family Christmas card

    The ghosts pose the living for the family photo.

  8. 9:20

    Murder 3

    A third death. The final evidence and the final envelope.

  9. 9:25

    The family meeting

    The host calls everyone together and puts the names on every tongue to the room. Then last call: trade clues and corner suspects.

  10. 9:45

    Vote and reveal

    Ballots in, a few accusations out loud, then the sealed solution, read slowly.

  11. 10:00

    Awards

    Closest Guess, Best Death and The Heir.

The suspects

The Cast of Suspects

These eight are in every game. Each guest gets a character card with things to share, a secret to hide, goals for the night and three sealed envelopes.

Evelyn Holloway
Core cast

Evelyn Holloway

The Matriarch

Costume suggestion:

Your best holiday outfit, pearls or a brooch, a cane or a walking stick, a regal stare.

Gloria Pryce
Core castMan or woman

Gloria Pryce

The Family Lawyer

Costume suggestion:

A suit or a smart dress, reading glasses, a briefcase, a Christmas tie or brooch.

Trixie Bell
Core cast

Trixie Bell

The Plus-One

Costume suggestion:

Something sparkly, big sunglasses on your head, a phone always in hand (a selfie stick if you have one).

Darlene Kowalski
Core castMan or woman

Darlene Kowalski

The Neighbour

Costume suggestion:

A puffy coat or a flannel shirt, earmuffs, snow boots if you dare, a casserole dish.

Margo Holloway-Hale
Core cast

Margo Holloway-Hale

The Eldest

Costume suggestion:

A Christmas apron over a nice outfit, oven mitts, a whistle on a string, a tired sigh.

Kip Holloway
Core castMan or woman

Kip Holloway

The Grandchild

Costume suggestion:

A silk robe or blazer over a turtleneck, sunglasses indoors, an air of disruption.

Roger Holloway
Core cast

Roger Holloway

The Son

Costume suggestion:

A Christmas sweater over a collared shirt, a big watch, car keys to jingle, suspiciously dark hair.

Chef Jean-Luc Moreau
Core castMan or woman

Chef Jean-Luc Moreau

The Caterer

Costume suggestion:

A chef's hat or apron, a tea towel over one shoulder, a moustache or a beret, an accent that wanders.

group_add
Hosting 9 to 20 guests?

Twelve more characters join in order: Hal Hale, Nick Frost, Bunny Fairweather, Brock Stone, Patrice Holloway, Tommy Pike, Dash Rivera, Dorothy Finch, Ingrid Solberg, Ronnie Holloway, Skye Larsen, Bradley Crandall.

All in the kit
What's in the kit

Everything You Get in the Download

185 printable pages. Print only the characters you need.

menu_book

Host guide

15 pages: a prep checklist with honest timings, setup, rules, who's who, the night minute by minute with read-aloud murders and evidence, and the sealed solution. The host can play a character too.

mail

20 character packets

A character card plus three sealed envelopes each, opened after each murder. A goals checklist and costume tips on every card.

wc

Man-or-woman roles

Ten characters come in a man and a woman version, with their own names and portraits.

fingerprint

Evidence and props

Typeset evidence for all three murders, gift-swap cards for the white elephant, and room signs for staging.

local_atm

Party extras

Holloway dollars already counted into a bundle for each guest, 20 action cards, name tags, ballots, three awards, a welcome poster and bottle labels.

history_edu

Invitations

One per character, naming who they'll play and what to wear.

Real pages from the kit

Look Inside the Kit

Nothing here gives the game away. Tap a page to see it full size.

A Very Fatal Family Christmas: real printed pages of the kit laid out on a party table
Real pages from the kit, printed at home: the cover, a character card, evidence, action cards and money.
Margo's character card (secrets blacked out in this preview)
Margo's character card (secrets blacked out in this preview)
Who's Who: print characters 1 to however many guests you have
Who's Who: print characters 1 to however many guests you have
Invitations name each guest's character and costume
Invitations name each guest's character and costume
Holloway dollars for bribes, bets and Morality Jar fines
Holloway dollars for bribes, bets and Morality Jar fines
Action cards come out of the Christmas crackers
Action cards come out of the Christmas crackers
Name tags with each character's knitted portrait
Name tags with each character's knitted portrait
Stress-free seating

Plays Seamlessly From 8 to 20 Guests

Print characters 1 to however many guests you have. Here's who joins as the list grows.

Up to Who plays Characters What changes
8 Guests The core cast Evelyn Holloway, Gloria Pryce, Trixie Bell, Darlene Kowalski, Margo Holloway-Hale, Kip Holloway, Roger Holloway, Chef Jean-Luc Moreau Every clue the case needs
12 Guests Core + characters 9 to 12 + Hal Hale, Nick Frost, Bunny Fairweather, Brock Stone More schemes, deals and gossip
16 Guests Core + characters 9 to 16 + Patrice Holloway, Tommy Pike, Dash Rivera, Dorothy Finch More schemes, deals and gossip
20 Guests Core + characters 9 to 20 + Ingrid Solberg, Ronnie Holloway, Skye Larsen, Bradley Crandall More schemes, deals and gossip
Host questions

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people can play? expand_more

Anywhere from 8 to 20. Characters 1 to 8 carry the murders and every clue the solution needs, so print characters 1 to however many guests you have. Each extra guest adds a character with their own goals, so nobody's role is missing and no clue is lost.

What if someone cancels on the day? expand_more

Just print one fewer character. Because guests join in a fixed order and the case never depends on characters 9 to 20, the game still works at every headcount from 8 to 20.

Do we need Christmas crackers and a gift swap? expand_more

They make the night, but they're easy. Any party crackers work (or the printed paper crowns and jokes), with an action card tucked inside each. For the white elephant, wrap six to ten small boxes, empty or with cheap gifts, and put one of the printed gift cards inside each.

Is it OK for a work Christmas party? expand_more

It's written for friends and family: inheritance fights, affairs and secret debts, PG-13, nothing explicit and no gore. Plenty of offices would be fine with it, but read a couple of character cards first if your workplace is strict.

Can women play the men's roles, or the other way round? expand_more

Yes. Ten characters have a man and a woman version with their own name, pronouns and portrait, and anyone can play anyone if your group likes cross-casting for laughs.

Can the host play too? expand_more

Yes. Nobody knows who the killer is, not even the killer until the final envelope. The host runs the timeline and can play a character, Grandma Evelyn included, as long as they don't read the solution page until the end.

How long does it take? expand_more

About three hours from doors open to the awards, with three murders spaced through the night.

Is it hard to solve? expand_more

It's one of our easier games: you can guess after the first murder and prove it after the third. Ballots score who, how and why separately, so even close guesses earn points.

What do guests wear? expand_more

Their own party clothes plus one silly item: an apron and oven mitt, a silk robe, a chef's hat, earmuffs, a Santa hat. An ugly Christmas sweater works for anyone. Every invitation suggests a costume.

Do I need a colour printer? expand_more

Colour looks best, since the portraits and cover are knitted Christmas sweater art, but every page reads fine in black and white.

New to hosting? Read how to host a murder mystery party.

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