MamaSheep Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 (edited) You guys did such a great job helping me brainstorm time travel last year that I thought it would be smart to get your input this year too. This same child who wanted a time machine party last year (which was a big hit amongst her friends) wants a secret agent party this year. (Also, cinnamon roll pull-aparts with frosting instead of a birthday cake, but that's beside the point.) I need ideas for (inexpensive!) games/crafts/activities, decoration, music, party favors, etc. So far, dh wants to do some kind of treasure hunt where he acts as the head agent and Skypes the kids on the iPad to give them their "mission" and have them check back with him at check-points. But the details haven't been worked out yet. Other than that, I've been coming up blank, and party day is creeping up on me fast! This will be a group of up to eight 8yo girls. (No boys on her invite list this year. I think they have cooties.) Edited July 22, 2011 by MamaSheep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Maybe your dh could lead them to some clues that are written in invisible ink and/or in code and they have to decipher them. Do you have a goal in mind for the mission? I'm envisioning sunglasses and disguises, also. Secret agents need to remain secret, after all. They could all report back to mission control for a celebration when the mission is complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxing Hare Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I've done 3 parties from this website and really liked it. http://www.host-party.com/Home/WizardS3?s_type=child Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 Maybe your dh could lead them to some clues that are written in invisible ink and/or in code and they have to decipher them. Do you have a goal in mind for the mission? I'm envisioning sunglasses and disguises, also. Secret agents need to remain secret, after all. They could all report back to mission control for a celebration when the mission is complete. I like the idea of having them decode the messages. And sunglasses. Dh found a party pack of suglasses on Amazon for cheap, and we just got Amazon Prime, which means we could definitely get them here in time. No, no goal yet for the mission. Could definitely use some ideas there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 I've done 3 parties from this website and really liked it. http://www.host-party.com/Home/WizardS3?s_type=child Those look like fun. I think that might be diving in deeper than we're ready for, though. But I'm bookmarking it for later. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 If you're doing cinnamon rolls, could you put some sort of message inside each one before you bake them? (Kind of like fortune cookies?) Not sure how that would work since cinnamon rolls are so sticky & gooey, but perhaps a little laminated strip of paper would work? Sounds fun. Maybe they need fake mustaches too? Play a mix of Maxwell Smart, Mission Impossible, etc... music in the background? As someone else mentioned, you could do a 'craft' type of thing w/ creating messages using different methods (lemon juice, writing w/ milk on paper & then holding it over a flame to reveal the message, etc...). You might get some great terminology ideas from the Spy Museum website here: http://www.spymuseum.org/kids-language-espionage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ksol Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Here are some things we did for my son's Secret AGent party when he turned 5- When they arrives, they all got a badge and were fingerprinted and photographed (we got a mini polaroid camera and the pics were the perfect size) On their badges there was room for them to earn stars for each task they complete. Here are the ones I remember- Disguise/Target practice- We had a trunk full of dress up and random clothing and they had to put on a specified number of items, run through an obstacle course we set up and then at the end was a nerf gun with velcro darts and they had to shoot at a velcro target we made Spy driving-We had these cool hummer R/C cars that you could download music on to and we put a bunch of spy music on them and they had to drive through cones and around other obstacles to complete the course Laser Tripwire-Myhusband used some piping and connectors to make a loooong rectangle and he tied an absurd amount of red yarn to make it look like lasers. It was really cool and the kids had to do an army crawl to get through it picture clue hunt/bomb diffusion- We printed about 6-8 8x10s of clues for this. They were areas spread throughout the park and the kids had to find all the clues to find the bomb-which was the pinata and it was strung up under an easy up. My husband rigged it so when they pulled on the last clue, the sheet fell away and revealed the bomb. (we were lucky to have a custom pinata place at the time!) For goodie bags, I got SUPER lucky and found this $15 spy toy on clearance for $1 each, so the kids got that, a fake eyeglass/mustache set, pencils that said "OURLASTNAME SPY ACADEMY" and a few other little spy things in a 9x12 envelope that was stamped "TOP SECRET" It sounds like this was all really expensive, but I refuse to spend a lot of money on parties. A lot of it was stuff we already had and the RC cars we bought were his bday gift from us. Good luck, I had a lot of fun doing our spy party, I am hoping he wants another one at some point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 Here are some things we did for my son's Secret AGent party when he turned 5- When they arrives, they all got a badge and were fingerprinted and photographed (we got a mini polaroid camera and the pics were the perfect size) On their badges there was room for them to earn stars for each task they complete. Here are the ones I remember- Disguise/Target practice- We had a trunk full of dress up and random clothing and they had to put on a specified number of items, run through an obstacle course we set up and then at the end was a nerf gun with velcro darts and they had to shoot at a velcro target we made Spy driving-We had these cool hummer R/C cars that you could download music on to and we put a bunch of spy music on them and they had to drive through cones and around other obstacles to complete the course Laser Tripwire-Myhusband used some piping and connectors to make a loooong rectangle and he tied an absurd amount of red yarn to make it look like lasers. It was really cool and the kids had to do an army crawl to get through it picture clue hunt/bomb diffusion- We printed about 6-8 8x10s of clues for this. They were areas spread throughout the park and the kids had to find all the clues to find the bomb-which was the pinata and it was strung up under an easy up. My husband rigged it so when they pulled on the last clue, the sheet fell away and revealed the bomb. (we were lucky to have a custom pinata place at the time!) For goodie bags, I got SUPER lucky and found this $15 spy toy on clearance for $1 each, so the kids got that, a fake eyeglass/mustache set, pencils that said "OURLASTNAME SPY ACADEMY" and a few other little spy things in a 9x12 envelope that was stamped "TOP SECRET" It sounds like this was all really expensive, but I refuse to spend a lot of money on parties. A lot of it was stuff we already had and the RC cars we bought were his bday gift from us. Good luck, I had a lot of fun doing our spy party, I am hoping he wants another one at some point! I love those ideas! I had thought about doing something with photo id badges and fingerprinting, but the laser obstacle course would never even have occurred to me. I bet we could set something like that up in the basement...hmmm..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted July 22, 2011 Author Share Posted July 22, 2011 If you're doing cinnamon rolls, could you put some sort of message inside each one before you bake them? (Kind of like fortune cookies?) Not sure how that would work since cinnamon rolls are so sticky & gooey, but perhaps a little laminated strip of paper would work? Sounds fun. Maybe they need fake mustaches too? Play a mix of Maxwell Smart, Mission Impossible, etc... music in the background? As someone else mentioned, you could do a 'craft' type of thing w/ creating messages using different methods (lemon juice, writing w/ milk on paper & then holding it over a flame to reveal the message, etc...). You might get some great terminology ideas from the Spy Museum website here: http://www.spymuseum.org/kids-language-espionage I like the idea of baking something into the cake/rolls, but you're right, there will be a certain level of stickiness involved and I would worry that anything laminated would melt or leach toxins during baking. Maybe we could cut slits in the rolls and stick messages in after they're cooled but before icing them, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 The other day I *just* read about a grandmother who threw an AWESOME secret agent camp for her grandchildren. Go to this website: http://www.grandmaslittlepearls.com/ . In the "search this blog" box, type in "secret agent." It comes up with LOTS of blog posts about all the things she did to prepare for the day. There's some really cool ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I see walkie talkies (even better if you can put at least one in a shoe LOL). For messages in food, I might take the time to make fortune cookies with the secret messages or puzzle pieces. YOu could also do the cinamon roll thing like a king cale - bake small charms in it and they have to decide how to use them as clues to find something. Special spy clothes can include a hat, a long lab like coat in a dark color, and so on. Most cool spy tech toys look like something else - the spider is really a camera, and so on. Can you put a zip line in your yard for fast get aways? Or make a crazy obstacle course that must be completed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in C-ville Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Do you know the song, "Secret Agent Man?" My husband and I were counselors at a camp on the coast of NC. He and the rest of Motorboating Staff did this hilarious skit with this song as their intro. My dh was the villain - Captain Jellyfish. SO fun. If it were me, I'd work this song and a skit into the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunriseiz Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Maybe your dh could lead them to some clues that are written in invisible ink and/or in code and they have to decipher them. Do you have a goal in mind for the mission? I'm envisioning sunglasses and disguises, also. Secret agents need to remain secret, after all. They could all report back to mission control for a celebration when the mission is complete. We have done this twice now! They made secret agent badges to clip on lanyards (?) and we had kind of a scavenger hunt with clues at each location. Also at each location/mission, they had to solve a mystery/do a puzzle (clue on back)/decode something and then they got something (magnifying glass, pencil, etc) that they needed for the next stop. Obviously, it was fun since dd asked for it twice. Actually, she's already requested it again for this year. ;) Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferLynn Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 I'm doing a Scooby Doo Mystery party this summer, emphasis on Mystery. I am sending the invitations in mirror image printing. Some printers can do it with a click of the properties box. For others, you can create the mirror image using WordArt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 There is a book called "Spy Science" that has some good hands on activities. I picked it up on Amazon awhile back and DS#1 has really enjoyed the spy education. (It teaches how to make invisible ink, how to trail someone, how to make spy gadgets, create codes, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vida Winter Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 My dd (11) is a Nancy Drew fan and wanted a Nancy-themed party, so this is what we did: 1. It was a slumber party for about 6 girls. 2. I created a scavenger hunt with about 15 or so clues. 3. Each girl was given an empty goody bag. 4. Each clue led to a prize for each goody bag and the next clue. Prizes were small things - pretty pencils, stickers, erasers, etc. 5. The clues led them all over the house; sometimes to the refrigerator, the bathtub, the washing machine, or even inside certain books where they had to turn to certain pages. 6. Each clue consisted of a little poem which I had written (not that hard once you get the hang of it) on a decorated scrapbook paper "hanging price tag" 7. The last clue led the girls back to the dining room where we had a Nancy Drew themed cake (magnifying glass on it in frosting) and did the cake/birthday presents. Note: The birthday invitations were mailed in manila envelopes with "TOP SECRET" stenciled on in Army-stencil lettering. In the morning I made the girls a very special breakfast - pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, bacon and scrambled eggs, orange juice, and crescent rolls. This party really wore me out but the kids had a great time and I consider it one of her better parties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted July 30, 2011 Author Share Posted July 30, 2011 I just wanted to say thank you again for all the wonderful suggestions. The party was this afternoon, and was a huge success. Thank you for the ideas, you guys are great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunriseiz Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 So glad it went well!!! :party: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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