On the Hunt for A New Party Idea

Recently, I have encountered a surprising number of people looking for fun and different birthday party ideas for pre-teens. Pre-teens are a particularly hard group to throw organized parties for. They're too old for the parties themed around movies and television shows, but too young for less organized get-togethers. Keeping this age group entertained and giving them a birthday party they'll love is a challenge, but not impossible. Scavenger Hunts have become really popular recently, especially at malls. They're super easy to arrange and kids love them!

This party takes a little bit of advance preparation. Decide on the mall that you'd like to hold the Scavenger Hunt in. Visit that mall a few days before the party date to get a "lay of the land", so to speak. Go into the stores that you'd like to have listed on the Hunt. Get an idea of what products are currently available for purchase. You're looking for small, low cost items that the kids participating will have to really look around for. Make a list of these items, noting what's around the item and some of it's noticeable characteristics. Gauge the number of items on your Hunt, as well as the stores you find them in, by the number and age of the kids participating. Also, take note of how much each item costs. Take your list home and create riddles and turn-a-phrases about each item to make your Scavenger Hunt Riddles List.

On the day of the party, have all the kids meet at the food court of the mall. Arrange in advance for a few parents to stay with the group to help you out. When all the kids have arrived, have them get into teams and hand out copies of your Riddles List. Assign a parent to each team and give the parents enough money to cover purchasing items on your list.

Now, I know that this might seem like a turn off, suggesting purchaseing the items on your Riddles List. Some people have tried photographing the items on their lists, but this is a bad idea. Companies have copyrights on the label designs for all their products. Photographing these items is a violation of those copyrights, and infuriates store employees. You want this it be a fun experience for the kids, not one that causes them to get into trouble or yelled at. To ensure the kids have the best experience possible, choose items with small price tags and instruct the teams to purchase the items that answer the riddles on their lists.

Once the kids are in teams with their riddles, and their parent leader is equipped with the team's money, you're ready to start. Send the teams off in different directions, with instructions that the first team back to the starting location wins the Hunt. When the Hunt is over, allow the teams to split up their purchases to keep as party favors. End the party with lunch at a local restaurant or ice cream at the mall's food court. The kids will have a blast, with very little stress for you!