Christmas Murder Mystery

Instructions

If a small group, get pupils to work individually. If a large group pupils can work in pairs.

1. Each pupil is given a character – they must read their character details. Characters are
differentiated for weaker/more able pupils

2. Each pupil must then draw a picture of their character (on worksheet)

3. Pupils are given a list of questions (on worksheet) and must go round the other characters
finding out as much info as possible

4. After 10 minutes or more pupils must work with the information they have found out to
come up with a plot and reveal the murder case and the guilty person

5. Clues (below) can be given out randomly during research time to help with the investigation

Answer!

The murderer is the undercover agent. He was not working with the Santa case. He was hired as a
hitman to kill Satan, but due to his inability to read or write very well, he mistook the name Satan
(who he was supposed to kill) for Santa hence the dictionary, pen and used envelope found on his
person, and the note saying Satan found by Santa’s body. He used the fairy lights from the tree he
was putting up to hang Santa, while his wife thought he was out having a drink.

*point out the importance of spelling things correctly to ensure the correct meaning is portrayed!
Characters

Elf 1
You wear a green and red costume, with yellow tights and black pointy shoes. You have a long
pointy green hat with a red and white stripy rim. Your face is quite pale but you have big red cheeks.
Your favourite Christmas toy is Etch-a-Sketch. You last saw Santa feeding the reindeer.

Elf 2
You wear a blue costume with silver pointy shoes and yellow tights. You have a long pointy blue hat.
Your most outstanding feature is your eyes. They are icy blue and really stand out against your
costume. Your favourite toy to make is Jack in The Boxes because they scare people. You love
Christmas and are full of Christmas cheer. You last saw Santa near to the reindeer stables.

Elf 3
You are the head elf. You like to keep everyone in order, but it is usually no trouble as all of the
elves love working. You wear a big red costume, similar to Santa’s but a lot smaller because you are
an elf. Instead of wearing black boots you have black pointy shoes and black and white stripy tights.
You have a big flashy badge which shows you are head elf. You love Santa but have always envied
his job.

Santa
You are the stereotypical Santa. You love Christmas, but lately it has been a lot harder as you are
getting older. Christmas seems to take so much longer to organise these days. You have been
looking for someone to replace you. You have been very worried about the number of children who
no longer believe in you. On the eve of the 24 th of December you were brutally murdered. You were
found hanging in the reindeer stables by some fairy lights. You had an empty bottle in your pocket
and some left over mince pies. There is a screwed up piece of paper by the side of you that says
SATAN. You also had some hay in your hands.

Mrs Claus
You have always been a faithful wife, despite rumours in 2006 that you had an affair with the head
elf. Most people now think the rumours are not true. You wear a similar costume to Santa,
however you wear a skirt and red tights. You have large ear muffs to keep your ears warm. Your
favourite thing about Santa is his beard, you like the way it tickles when you kiss him. You are
worried about the large kitchen knife in your kitchen covered in blood. Apparently you were carving
the Christmas turkey with it. You were last seen in the store shed packing toys onto the sleigh.

Chris the Lapland Engineer

You have been recently employed to work in Lapland due to the sacking of the previous engineer.
You are dedicated to your job. It is very busy at the moment as the sleigh needs a lot of refuelling as
it is Christmas Eve. You wear navy blue overalls with your name on them. You have heavy duty
black boots which point at the end. You wear goggles and a helmet to protect your head.
Mr Fircone - Sacked Lapland Engineer
You were fired by Santa. You cannot believe he did this to you. You liked Santa, but one little
mistake caused you to hate him. You accidently put whisky in the sleigh to power it. You got it
mixed up with the rocket fuel. It was a big mistake that nearly killed Santa. Ever since you got fired
you have a deep hate for Santa and were planning to kill him. At the time of the crime you were
found with some replacement Christmas light bulbs in your pocket and an electrical plug. You had
been putting a Christmas tree up in your living room.

Rudolph
You are a reindeer. You have a large red nose and you blush when people make comments about it.
You are a caramel brown colour with some white spots on your back. You have grey hooves and
wear red leg warmers. You are Santa’s favourite reindeer. You are his trusted friend and always
keep him safe from danger. You live in the stables. You were present when Santa was murdered.

Noel the Stable Boy

You are the stable boy. You have worked there for only 2 months. You are 17 years old and it is
your first job. You have to give hay to the reindeer and brush them. You have to make sure they eat
well so they are fit to fly Santa’s sleigh. You were the one who found Santa dead, hanging from the
fairy lights. It petrified you. When the police searched you, you had a pocket knife in your pocket.
You were wearing jeans, trainers and a heavy coat to keep you warm.

Tiny Tim
You have been looking forward to Christmas all year. It is your favourite time of the year. You love
it. You are 4 years old and have the cutest baby Christmas outfit ever. You tried to stay awake to
see Santa but couldn’t. You are currently in your bedroom. Before you went to bed you left some
mince pies and a bottle of whisky for Santa on the kitchen table.

Scrooge the Undercover Agent

YOU ARE THE MURDERER! Whatever you do, you MUST NOT TELL ANYONE. It is TOP SECRET. You
were hired by the FBI to kill SATAN following a number of criminal activities, however due to the fact
that you are not very good at reading, you did not understand the person you were supposed to kill
and thought it said SANTA not SATAN. You have therefore killed Santa. You must make up a story to
tell people when they question you about where you were during the murder. Your cover – up story
is that you were watching Santa Claus the movie in your living room at the time of the murder whilst
putting up your Christmas tree. You had managed to get your Christmas lights working from last
year. This is the weapon you used to hang Santa. You do not look like a criminal. You are an older
man with a nice face and a big round belly. You have a grey beard and are going bald. You wear a
shirt and old man trousers. When the police searched you all they found on you was a pen, a
dictionary and a used, empty envelope. You have no qualifications, not even in English.

Barbara the Undercover Agent’s wife

You are the Undercover Agent’s wife. At the time of Santa’s murder you were busy making
Christmas cake in the kitchen. Your husband went out for an hour for a pint with his friends (or so
you think). He then returned looking very white and frightened. He said he was just cold. Your
husband jokingly told you he was thinking of becoming a hit man. You didn’t believe him. You like
to dress smart.
Policeman
You are the policeman investigating the crime. You very much like mince pies but the last one you
ate did not taste very nice. It was given to you by your neighbour Tiny Tim. You are a typical
policeman with a hat, a yellow jacket, black trousers, boots and handcuffs. The best thing about
your job is when you find criminals. At the time of the murder you were at your front door thanking
your neighbour for his mince pies. Lots of people think you look suspicious.

Frosty the Snowman

You are a snowman. Not many people like you because you are very cold-hearted. Apparently you
were seen at the crime scene. You will not talk because after the murder your voice froze. You are
white with black buttons, a red scarf and have a carrot for a nose. You also wear a blue hat. Not
many people trust you in case you try to freeze them.
CLUES

 Lying on the floor below Santa’s dead body was a note saying SATAN

 The policeman looks very suspicious

 The snowman has a very frosty character and was seen by the crime scene at the time of the
murder

 The undercover agent had a pen, a dictionary and an empty envelope in his pocket when he
was searched

 Tiny Tim left a bottle of whisky and some mince pies out for Santa. These were later found
on Santa, but the whisky bottle was empty

 The head elf is jealous of Santa because he wants his job

 The police found some fairy light bulbs and a plug in the pocket of the sacked engineer Mr
Fircone

 Noel the stable boy found Santa. He also had a pen knife in his pocket

 Mrs Claus is said to have had an affair with the head elf in 2006
Christmas Murder Mystery

Santa Claus has been murdered! But who did it? What will happen to Christmas?

Draw your character in the space below – pay attention to detail

You must now interview at least 3 other characters and find out the following – you can write
answers in your book:

1/ what is their name?

2/ what was their relationship to Santa?

3/ where were they at the time of the murder?

4/did they have any possessions on them at the time of the murder?

In 5 lines you must decide who you think the murderer is and how Santa was killed. There is a prize
for the correct answer.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________