Children's birthday parties are a tricky thing. You want to engage the kids, keep them active and involved, and keep the birthday child in the spot light while ensuring the other kids are having a good time. You could stick them in a room with a pinata and stuff them with cake and send them home to their parents. That is an option. But what I do at the Young Actors Theater is try to instill a little (a LITTLE) bit of education in with a rockin good time. And that's what we do with mystery parties.
I wrote a detective mystery party for a girl who is moving out of the state (sad!). We decided to make it Detective themed, like a "where in the world is Carmen Sandiago", but make it personal to the child. First, you need to make your squad room.
I wrote a detective mystery party for a girl who is moving out of the state (sad!). We decided to make it Detective themed, like a "where in the world is Carmen Sandiago", but make it personal to the child. First, you need to make your squad room.
It's super easy to do, because who doesn't have book shelves, papers, and chairs laying around? I had this awesome "chief's" desk.
I made a "Lab equipment" station with things I had, a flashlight, a magnifying glass, some masks. I made a "peetree dish" out of a pringles can top, and some finger print powder from some powdered sugar in an old makeup container with some blush brushes.
My "chief's desk" is my favorite part, because I did all my work on it and then LEFT THE MESS. WALA. A busy police chief's work station. Lol.
When the kids first get there, get them into character with some costumes. I collected all the suit coats, little jackets, button ups, hats, and glasses we had. One of the characters I wrote is an ex beauty queen, so I put a few dresses in there, and one is an ex sports star, hence the hat. It looks so cute with a little jacket! A lab coat is a must, too.
Now it's time for games. Before the mystery starts, get the kids going with a few games. I made an "evidence board" about the birthday girl, taping a postit with a different question on it. The kids had to "discover" things, the girl's eye color, hair color, DOB, favorite color, favorite food, etc. The birthday girl is there, but in character, so it's fun for the kids to ask her, "DO you know Paige's favorite movie?" and looking at her eyes to figure out their color. That's why this party would be great, also, for a kid just moving to town. Think of all the things her new friends would learn about her!
Next, I told all the kids that our Police Sketch Artist was sick, and they all had to help put together a sketch based on eye witness accounts. I put several traits in a mug (keeping with the theme...detective drink coffee, right?) and asked each kid to pick one. They then went to the marker box and took whatever they needed to draw their trait. I drew an outline for them....
Next, I told all the kids that our Police Sketch Artist was sick, and they all had to help put together a sketch based on eye witness accounts. I put several traits in a mug (keeping with the theme...detective drink coffee, right?) and asked each kid to pick one. They then went to the marker box and took whatever they needed to draw their trait. I drew an outline for them....
Then the Mystery started. It involved each character reading their lines off of special cards, discovering clues and evidence, and discussing who they think DUNNIT. The writing is humorous and age appropriate, while still testing the kid's reading ability. They get SO into playing their characters! Now, you can pay a ton of money for a mystery package. Or you can write your mystery yourself. Or you can skip the trouble and contact me for it. The choice is yours. But look at how adorable they are in their detective costumes. They had an amazing time, and so will your bunch.