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Scavenger Hunt Teens -13yr- Walmart Challenge

Sept 2002

Rebecca in Crossett, AR   USA

Special Mention

SCAVENGER HUNT AND MORE! TEEN PARTY      

All three of my girls love Anakin Skywalker from the Star Wars II movie so for my 13 year old's birthday she wanted to him to be part of the theme even though we did not have much of a theme!   We had all ages at her party, but it was mostly centered around friends ages 11-16.   I let my daughter choose everything she wanted to do, except I did not tell her what kind of Scavenger Hunt we were going to do (Didn't want her telling anyone or cheating! :0) ) until we actually went on it.           

We began the party by making retro keychains.   I bought a kit from Oriental Trading Company and also some extra pony beads so the girls could individualize each of their keychains.   They each got one of the four retro beads (happy face, peace sign, harmony sign, and a heart) and could string them with the additional beads in whatever order they wanted.           

Next we had a Taste Test.   I removed the labels from 6 jars of baby food (applesauce, pears, sweet potatoes, carrots, apricots, and peaches), gave the girls spoons and a pad and paper and they had to taste each jar and write down what they thought it was.   The winner got 4 out of 6!   The girls got to keep the pens they used to mark down their answers.   They were Bic pens with a flower attached to the end with floral tape (We tied them at the top of the pen to cover where the tape began).   They look very nice and are extremely easy to do; I made them just by looking at one I had received but I believe there are directions for them on the internet (There's one at: http://www.thefamilycorner.com/homegarden/crafts/4.shtml but we did not make the pot).     

After that we ate supper (Her party was Friday from 4:30-10:00 so most of the girls had just come from school and were starving!   Which may be why they ate the baby food!).   We had all of the makings for submarine sandwiches (I bought the bread from Subway and arranged ham, turkey, roast beef, American cheese, and provlone cheese on a tray along with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, and squeeze bottles of mustard, mayonnaise, and Sweet Onion Dressing) and just let everyone fix their sandwich the way they liked.   We also had chips, dip, and soft drinks.       

After supper we all piled into the van and went to Wal-Mart for a scavenger hunt.   I divided the girls into teams of 2 and gave each team $1.10 (for tax)   Their mission was to spend the dollar and get as many things as they could for that dollar.   The only catch was the package had to say how many was in the container (no way was I counting anything!).   The winners bought a package of sequins (4000 pieces).   For prizes we gave away gel pen notepads and CDs.       

Next we came back to the house and took turns batting at a piñata.   We made the piñata by taking apart a brown grocery bag, turning it inside out and re-gluing it so that we had a plain brown bag, then we used rubber cement to attach pictures I had printed out from the internet (We used Anakin pictures, but any theme would work).   We filled the bag with lots of goodies (fancy fingernail files, lip gloss, bath scrubbers, butterfly fans, stickers, tattoos, etc.), then folded over the top and poked holes in the folds.  

We threaded jute through the holes and knotted it in a loop which we used to hang it by.   It was very hard to break this open even though it was only a brown paper bag!   I bought goodie bags at the Dollar Tree.   They were white with colored streamers so I simply wrote each girl's name on the bag with a permanent marker.   (We did have some younger boys at the party so I did a separate piñata for them; they spent most of their time playing with my 2 youngest so as long as they got candy and toys they didn't mind being left out of the other games!).       

Next we came inside and played a game called "Thief."   To play this you need 2 decks of cards and 3 treats for each girl.   The girls sat in a circle and I put the treats  in the center (I used gel pens, Reese's cups, and Bubbleyum).   Then I dealt each girl three cards from one deck of cards.   These became her numbers (the cards were laid face up in front of them).   I took the other deck of cards and held up one card at a time.   When one of the cards I was holding matched one of the girls' cards she got to choose a treat from the pile.   Each girl ended up with 3 treats but not necessarily one of each.  As they took the treats they hid them behind their back so ~hopefully~ the others would forget what they had.  

After the treats were gone, I reshuffled both decks of cards and dealt each of them 3 new cards from one deck.   Again the girls kept their cards where we could see them and the treats where we could not.  I went through the second deck of cards, holding them up one card at a time.   When one of the cards I had matched one of the girls' cards, that girl had to choose someone and ask for one of her treats.   If she was right she got to keep the treat.   If she was wrong she had to give her one of her treats.   For example, Caitlin says "I want Ashley's purple pen."   If Ashley had the purple pen then she had to give it to Caitlin; If Caitlin was wrong, then Caitlin had to give Ashley one of her treats.   We played the game twice but the girls kept up with who had what and no one ever missed!   And the purple gel pen was the most requested item!       

After the game we had "cake" and bonbons.   My daughter chose the kind of cake she wanted (Actually she made it herself) and she picked Éclair Cake which is not really a cake at all.  The recipe we use is below:   2 - 3 oz. packages of French Vanilla instant pudding 1 - 8 oz. container of Cool Whip 3 cups milk 1 package of graham crackers (we used about 1/2) 1 container of chocolate frosting         In a large bowl, combine pudding mix and milk;  mix well. Fold in Cool Whip and beat with mixer or whisk for 2 minutes.      In a 9x13 inch baking dish, spread a layer of graham crackers on the bottom of the dish.   Then pour one half of the pudding mixture over them.   Add another layer of graham crackers and then pour remaining mixture over them.   Then add one final layer of graham crackers.  

Next put the opened frosting tub in the microwave and microwave it just until it softens enough to pour (about 10 seconds in our microwave).   Pour the chocolate mixture over the graham crackers.   Cover and refrigerate until set, then serve.     Since my daughter had chosen Anakin from Star Wars II as her theme (we had cups, plates, napkins, and banners with him on them), I downloaded a picture she chose from the internet and added "Happy Birthday Caitlin" to the bottom of it.   I printed it out on regular paper, laminated it, then laid it on the cake, mashing it slightly into the frosting.   We outlined the picture with flower sprinkles and had just enough room left to add her candles around it.      

After this we settled down to watch a movie (For Better or For Worse:   The Family Album; rated g; cute movie!) until the girls' parents came to get them.   One of my daughter's friends told her she loved her parties because they were cool and always so much fun!   High praise from a normally not-to-forthcoming teen

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