What’s the Best Way to Do a Mail Order Mystery?

Mail Order Mysteries are stories. Like all stories, there are ideal conditions for enjoyment, which are mainly: reading them in the correct order, reading them in their entirety and, when kids are involved, helping them when they need help. Other than that, there aren’t any conditions that are deal breakers. 

Mail Order Mysteries are fun when kids think they are real but they can also be just as fun when kids know they aren’t real. Mail Order Mysteries are fun when they come in the mail, one letter at a time, but they can be just as fun, engaging and exciting when they come all in one box. When letters arrive all together kids can read the story and solve the clues at whatever pace works for them. They can gobble them up in a day or space them out a month apart, with lots of imagining time in between.

Last spring, at the beginning of the pandemic, Mail Order Mystery closed its doors for two months. Since then, we (like all of us) have taken it one wave at a time, making decisions about how to keep our team safe and how to continue delivering mysteries even when shipping companies were overwhelmed to the breaking point. One of the decisions we made was to suspend weekly delivery. If we had continued to send weekly letters, and letters got lost or hopelessly delayed, we risked violating two of the three conditions for enjoying a story (reading them in order and in their entirety).  

Instead, we decided to ship all of our mysteries “All in One Box”. One year later, despite the challenges and changes, we are happy to report that kids are still thrilled with their mysteries. Our reviews are as excellent as they have always been and we are constantly surprised and delighted by the many creative ways in which people decide to enjoy their Mail Order Mysteries. 

Check out some of the ways customers are thinking outside the box:

“My eight year old daughter and I loved doing this series.... we got all the letters at once, and whipped through them in one day. She loved trying to solve the riddles and codes. The story was so beautifully woven together - I’m not ashamed to admit that I actually cried at the end because of how beautiful and touching it was. We will definitely be ordering another one :)”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Katherine W / The Enchanted Slumber

“It was an AMAZING experience. About every month or so, we opened a letter. There was deciphering, code breaking, math, riddles, reading, and even hands on gifts. Ireland did the last letter decipher today and a “fairy” rang the door bell and left the last package.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Tiffany R / The Enchanted Slumber 

“It was perfect to be able to go with the kids’ energy and open more than one when they were on a roll and hold off when they weren’t up for it. I had a lot of fun doing these with them, as well.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Jess F / Spies, Lies and Serious Bad Guys

“We gave the Treasure Hunt mystery as a present to our 11 year old son. It came all in one box. Every day, we hid one of the clues and he had to search for it. It was 6 days of fun! He loved it. One of the clues was a kind of newspaper which he read and then did all the activities in it. It was great.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Mom in Montreal / Treasure Hunt

“We got The Enchanted Slumber for our daughter's 7th birthday. We've had all the letters arrive by 'owl post,' all over our house. That's been fun to see how long it has taken to find the envelopes! I am so impressed by the clever story, the brain building puzzles, the high quality materials, everything.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Carolyn / The Enchanted Sumber

“My son and his friends are having so much fun each week working on the clues. Each week they meet on Zoom and work on it. We're planning a pirate party at the end to celebrate finishing the mystery.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Laura M / Treasure Hunt