19471

Mystery Party -13yr- Stolen Pinata Candy

February 2009

Sabrina in Geneva FL USA

My 13 year old daughter wanted a mystery party. I researched many different ideas and came up with this 4 hour party for 6 girls. First I typed out letters using different colors and writing styles. Then I cut each letter out and glued each different letter to the piece of paper to look like a ransom note inviting them to her party.  Upon arrival each girl put their fingerprint on two index cards, make sure you  secretly mark whose each is.

For dinner the girls topped their own pizza, make sure they are slightly different because pizza going in the oven looks different that ones coming out and you can easily mix up whose is whose. They ate snacks while the pizza cooked.  My daughter wanted an ice cream cake. So I layered ice cream in a spring form pan, let it harden in freezer between each layer. She wanted Magic Shell between her layers. After it froze for a day I took it off the Spring and frosted it with thawed Cool Whip. I turned out great. 

After cake it was pinata time. I made the pinata out of a cereal box. I wrapped strong string (not yarn) around it and coated it with paper that was dipped in a mixture of 1 part flour and 2 parts water. I painted it to look like a mystery novel. After opening the pinata they found not candy but rocks (use a lot or the pinata will be too light) and a note written the same way as the invitation saying I've stolen your candy and now it's your job to find it" 

We came back inside the house and I handed them their first clue. I have to explain to you how I did the clues. I wanted each girl to get their own set so no one could overtake the shyer girls during the search. I also wanted every girl to each do specific things so I had to map out each girls route.  First of all plan all of your clues for each girl in a specific color so that if they find a clue they will know if it is theirs or not.

Also number them. Keep a master copy of the whole layout.  In addition to clues each girl was instructed to do different activities "like dip your hand in a bowl of cherry pudding to find the next clue". I bought a few boxes of vanilla pudding and mixed it with powdered milk according to the directions. I then put them in individual bowls and tinted them in different colors. The clues were at the bottom in a ziploc bag. For one clue they had to use a magnifying glass and match their prints to get the next clue. I also went on puzzlemakers.com and made a tile puzzle that gave them the next clue. Don't forget to keep the answer to the puzzle to offer help when needed.

For a puzzle I wrote a clue on cardstock and cut it up and put it in a baggie. Write in their color ink and only write on one side. Keep what each one says to offer help. I also had a rebus for each girl that gave the next clue. At the end each girl had to find the last clues in a bag of balls. Attached to 12 balls was a crypted message. Each girl got two clues that they had to decipher using the code. (I made a symbol stand for each letter.) Then they had to arrange everyone's words to make up one sentence. I did it this way so noone could figure out the end until everyone was done.

The sentence basically told them to get a flashlight and go outside. They went outside to find the candy was thrown on the lawn and they could only see with their flashlight because it was dark.  Use only sealed type candy.  I looked at a website that will make up clues for $20. I made my own. It's not that hard once you get the hang of it. Some examples: Where do you find the definition for birthday? (dictionary under birthday) When mommy wakes she drinks this for a _____ break. (coffee maker) As every child should know this is where the dirty clothes go. (washing machine or hamper) Baby's on a roller when he's in his ______. (stroller)  Go through the route of at least one girl before the party starts to find any glitches.

A I said before I picked up a lot of ideas here and there. The girls loved it and had a ball you should of seen their faces when no candy was in that pinata."

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