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Throwing my kids over-the-top, themed birthday parties is always something I’ve enjoyed doing. And trying to do it on a budget, but still with lots of excitement, can be quite the challenge! Some years I wish I was one of those parents that could book a birthday party at a skating rink or go-cart palace where are the activities and goodies are included, but I just can’t bring myself to! Maybe next year though, because each year seems to get busier and busier!
Our hunt for the perfect party theme starts out about two months in advance, by asking the upcoming birthday kid what they want the theme to be. Some years I have to tweak the theme just right if it’s too bizarre, but for the most part, their themes I would have wanted for a party when I was little or is something mainstream that we can be creative with.
Or we push them towards a theme that we would have wanted as kids! For example, I got the full DVD set of the show for Christmas, and we’ve watched it all together as a family so… Faye wanted Scooby Doo for her theme this year, and so we decided to create our own mystery! Couldn’t find anything online, so we got to figure it out ourselves! I racked my brain for days trying to figure out how we could involve villains in the party, and then realized what if they just took the whole party? It was the perfect fit, because it would be pretty hands-off, I just had to prep the activities beforehand! We had both sets of grandparents and an aunt and uncle in town for the party, in addition to local friends, so it was a full house!
Scavenger Hunt Clues
Instead of simply announcing the next activity, we decided to make the kids work for it, and figure out what the next activity would be through a scavenger hunt. They had to figure out what the activity was and the location of the new items. We had lots of family members visiting, and the weather was perfect, so we held the party outside. Less hiding places for our scavenger hunt items, but we found enough spots!
We hid each activity in a gift bag with all the supplies, along with the next clue. And to make them more Scooby Doo themed, we added some classic lines from the show to the hints!
The Villain
Hidden in each envelope with the clue, we included a piece of the Scooby Doo villain, so at the end of the party, everyone would know who stole the party! My kids saw me creating the villain page, so I made a few character options so it would be a surprise still!
The easiest way to create puzzle pieces is to not focus on the front of the page, where you are competing with imagining the puzzle pieces against the photo, but put the paper face down on table and draw the puzzle pieces on the blank side of the paper. Making the puzzle pieces this way leads to them looking more standard shaped, and less forced.
Clue 1: Someone Stole The Birthday Party!
- Activity: Decorate for the birthday party
- Hiding Location: Near the air conditioning unit
You Will Need:
- Balloons
- Streamers
- Tape
- Birthday Banners
- ANY party decorations you can find!
Our first activity was to decorate for the party! Since the villain “stole the party,” we didn’t have to prep anything beforehand, other than getting the decorations together. We grabbed any decorations we could find at the Dollar Tree… anything 70’s themed or teal/purple/pink colored. This was probably the MOST POPULAR activity we did the whole party. One of the girls came up to me, so excited, because she’s “never decorated for a party before!”
Clue 2: Another Mystery To Solve!
- Activity: Tie dye socks
- Hiding Location: Mailbox
You Will Need:
- Cotton Socks (with as high of a cotton percentage as you can find, as cotton will absorb the dye best – Ladies, Mens, Little Kids, Bigger Kids)
- Tie Dye Kit
- Rubber Bands
- Disposable Gloves
- Tarp
- Bucket of Water
- Quart Ziplock Bags
- Sharpie Markers
I really wasn’t the best with taking pictures at this party! Even though it was easy to set things up, because there was no prep work, we had lots of people and with trying to keep an eye on the 1-year-old, I failed at photo ops. Also, this was the first party I’ve posted about, and I didn’t get permission from other parents to feature their kids, so for a few of the activities, you’ll have to use your imagination!
There are other sock options, but I really liked the idea of the crew socks, so then all of our hard work wasn’t wasted. I ended up buying the largest dye kit I could find, but it ended up being WAY too much — socks don’t take as much dye as shirts, so don’t count them as a full project!
We set up different stations for the tie-dye activity, and put a different parent in charge of each:
- Kids lined up to pick which style and size of sock they wanted
- Dunk socks into a bucket of water
- Twist socks up and place rubber bands around, which will create the design from the dye
- Put on gloves, and use dye bottles to cover the socks
- Hold the completed socks in one hand and take that glove off, wrapping it around the sock, and do the same with the other hand
- Put the wrapped sock in a ziplock bag, and write the child’s name on the outside
- Instructions will vary by kit, so send the kids home with appropriate instructions for the waiting-period, rinsing, and washing off the excess dye
I would recommend warning your guests ahead of time about this activity, so they can dress accordingly. One of Faye’s friends got blue dye all over her new white shoes!
Clue 3: Run, Run, Run!
- Activity: Obstacle Course
- Hiding Place: Front Yard
You Will Need:
- Whatever outside toys and activities you have!
This was my husband’s task for the party, creating the obstacle course! He gathered all the outdoor toys we have, and had the kids take turns going through the trials. He timed the kids too, which led to some extra competition and some do-overs when they wanted to beat their previous score. Pull your different activities together to make any order that works, but our obstacle course was:
- Shoot three times at the basketball hoop — any misses and you had to pull a piece from the Giant Jenga Game
- Swing Skip-its on their wrist from one side of the yard to the other
- Dive through two hula hoops onto a gymnastics mat
- Grab a vehicle down the driveway to the finish — scooters, pedal go-cart, bike, whichever they wanted
- Get a Scooby Snack as a reward!
Clue 4: Set a Trap
- Activity: Slap Bracelets
- Hiding Place: Trash Cans
You Will Need:
Another activity that I didn’t get any photos of! I actually bought these slap bracelets for Faye’s birthday last year, but then the pandemic hit so we didn’t get to use them. My kids have pulled them out of the craft box over the last year, so we’ve had some experience — they are great for creating designs, but too much Sharpie and they will smear (like if you were to color the whole backdrop). Just a warning!
Clue 5: The Celebration
- Activity: Decorate cupcakes
- Hiding Place: By the stairs
What You Will Need:
- Frosted cupcakes (we did Funfetti cupcakes, so it was a surprise inside)
- Canisters of frosting (we found ours pre-made at Walmart, but you could make your own frosting and use these bottles)
- Candy
- Sprinkles
Instead of decorating the cupcakes how I would like to see them, or making sure they were fancy, we let the kids decorate them how they wanted! It was the perfect “topping” to the party! I made sure to eat my fair share of cupcakes as kids were decorating too.
Helpful Hint: Make sure the weather won’t be too warm though by the time you get to the cupcakes! It was nice weather at the start of the party, but by the time we had cupcakes, it was HOT!
Now, it’s time to start planning for Aedan’s birthday this summer! He’s already got a request in for a Pokémon theme, so be on the lookout!
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Love the blog. The party was great fun. All of the children had a wonderful time.
We were so glad to have you!