Secret Agent Birthday Party Ideas

The event is full of suspense and surprises, as the spy detectives try to figure out what's going on!

Resources:

Invitations

Write your secret agent birthday party message on manila folders. (Trim folders, if you have to, so they fit into envelopes.)

On the inside of the folder, write the mystery party details backwards (so spy birthday party guests have to use a mirror go read it).

Write the secret agents' names on the file tabs, stamp the folders "Top Secret," then slip the folders into envelopes for mailing.

Word your secret agent birthday party invitations as follows: "Your secret mission, should you choose to accept it... is to help solve a birthday crime at (your last name) Spy Agency. All agents please report to Agent (birthday child's name) on (date) at (time) sharp! Please contact the Agency with your intentions. This document will self-destruct in 30 seconds!"

For another invitation idea, write the party details on sheets of paper using invisible felt-tip pen kit or white crayon. Mail the papers to the kids' mystery party guests along with decoder pen or a dark crayon needed to reveal the invisible message.

For added fun, include a password, along with secret handshake in the invitation, for your guests to get in.

Decorations

Best colors to use for your mystery party decorations are black, grey, and yellow. Cut out giant question marks from black construction paper and hang them on the fence, walls, and trees. Play James Bond theme music in the background.

Spread out enlarged fingerprints, magnifying glasses, rubber gloves, camera, and other "crime scene" items. Cut out letters from magazines, and glue them on white paper for a "ransom note" message.

Cut footprints out of construction paper, and put them on your driveway leading to your front door. Tape pictures of "top agents" (photos of guests) in the hallway inside the house.

You can pick one room in your house and decorate it as a crime scene. Place a poster board cutout on the floor (as if there was a murder) for the "murdered body" outline. As a variation you can roll out grey butcher-type paper, and draw victim's "body outline" with chalk. Surround the area with yellow tape that says "Crime Scene. Do not Enter."

Make one of the rooms dark, spooky, and mysterious. Cover the walls and windows with black paper. Decorate the walls with masks and costume pieces. Dim the lights. Drape the room in sheets to create secret hiding places for the spies.

Cover the secret agent birthday party table with a colorful tablecloth. Write out question marks on construction paper and place them on the table as place mats. Put a briefcase in the middle of the table for a centerpiece. Have binoculars, spy glasses, and a camera sticking out of the briefcase.

Guest Arrival and Introductory Activities

As the secret agent birthday party guests arrive, greet them wearing a trench coat, fedora hat, dark spy glasses, and fake mustache.

Welcome them to (your last name) Spy Agency. Have them give a password at the door, and shake hands in special secret agent way (see invitations).

*Mysterious Footprints: Make outlines of their shoes or feet. When you have outlines of all the kids' feet, cut out the prints and mix them up.

Have the kids race to find their "footprints." (You can also have them try to identify other kids' footprints.)

*Secret Agent Check-in Station: Invite the secret agent birthday party guests come to your check-in table. Take two pictures of them: one with Polaroid I-zone camera (creates small sticky pictures), and one with a digital camera.

Prepare some business card-size IDs for them before the party. At party time, provide IDs to every agent with their real name and their chosen alias. Then place a sticky picture on ID card. Run the cards through laminator, and voila - your secret agent IDs are ready!

*Shadowing the Suspects: Invite each child to a private room where they can put on a spy suit: a hat, trench coat, and a pipe. Have them stand in profile in front of a large sheet of poster paper mounted on the wall.

Shine light on them, and trace their outlines. Mark the kids' names on the back of poster paper. When all suspects have been traced, gather them in the room to guess who's who.

Favors

Make your secret agent birthday party favors as original as you can. Put the favors in manila envelopes marked "Top Secret."

Include such items as spy glasses, fake noses and mustaches, binoculars, toy spy ear pieces, mini pens, sticker sheets, magnifying glasses, and so on.

Secret Agent Birthday Party Games

*Who am I?: Post a picture or name of a celebrity on each child's back. Have children ask the rest of the mystery party group 'yes' or 'no' questions to find out their celebrity names. For example, they can ask "Am I a big-screen movie star?" or "Am I a comedian?, etc.

As a variation, you can allow guests to ask only three questions at a time. Then they have three guesses to get the right answer.

*Decipher: Divide the secret agent birthday party guests into two teams. Give each team a paper and a pencil, and let them write encrypted message using a code for the other team to decipher. Have the teams break the codes.

*Touch-and-Tell: Wrap a number of small items. Have the detective party guests sit in a circle. Pass items from player to player, and get them to guess the items. The player who guesses correctly keeps the item, and drops out of the game.

*Eye Witness: Have an outsider run into the room, complete a fake crime, and escape. Question the secret agent birthday party guests what happened, and see how many good eye witnesses you have in the group.

*Mystery Crime Hunt: Hide spy items in the party room, such as a set of fingerprints, a photograph of a suspect, a mysterious message, and so on.

Announce or stage a crime, and tell the kids to collect the evidence. When they have collected all the evidence, have them figure out the solution to the crime.

*Bomb Squad: Hide a ticking kitchen timer somewhere in the room. Have the kids try to find it before it "goes off."

*Mystery Sounds & Sights: Before the secret agent birthday party, tape-record different sounds, such as a car turning on, a bicycle bell, teapot boiling/whistling, etc. Take pictures of everyday items, and have them greatly enlarged or reduced.

At game time, have all players sit in a circle. Explain that their spy detective skills are about to be tested.

First, test their hearing abilities by playing the pre-recorded sounds one at a time. Either have the children yell out their guesses to the names of the sounds, or have them write answers on pieces of paper.

Second, test their abilities to see. Reveal the enlarged and reduced pictures of everyday items one at a time. Have everyone guess the items.

*Which Way did He Go?: Have the kids turn around and close their eyes. Walk up behind one player, and tell him to go and hide. When the player is hidden, have the other players open their eyes and try to find the missing player. Whoever finds the missing player first - wins a prize.

*Scary Scavenger Hunt: Collect a bunch of silly or disgusting items and hide them around the yard. The items may include such things as empty can of cat food, a rubber snake, plastic vomit, gummy worms, and so on.

Give the kids a list of the hidden items and see who can find the most of them.

*Mystery Star: Give each player a picture of a movie star and a black marker. Have them disguise the person with a mustache, warts, hair, etc. without letting anyone see. Then hold the pictures up one at time and see if anyone can recognize the star behind the disguise.

*Lie Detector: Play bluffing card game at the end of the secret agent birthday party to see who has the best "poker face."

Each child gets seven cards, and the rest go into a drawing pile facedown. (Use more than one deck, if necessary.) The dealer lays a card or cards from his hand facedown on the table, declaring the value (for example, "Two eights").

The next player has to add a card or cards of the next highest value (in this case, nines). If she has no such card, the choice is either to pick from a drawing pile - or to fake it. Any player can challenge by saying "Lie detector," and when the truth is told, whoever is wrong inherits the discarded pile. The person who gets rid of her or his cards the fastest - wins.

Spy Birthday Cakes:

*"Surprise Inside" Cake: Bake a sheet cake and allow it to cool. Wrap small toys in plastic baggies. Scoop out small holes in the cake, and insert the toys.

Turn the cake over and frost it with white icing. Make a question mark on top with chocolate icing. Slice the cake and serve it to secret agent birthday party guests, making sure to warn them that there are surprises inside.

*Secret Code Cake: Bake a rectangular cake. Frost the cake with chocolate or white frosting. Write a message in code on top of the cake in a contrasting color of frosting.

Hide the cake so the spies have to find the dessert before they can solve the puzzle on top. Give them clues to the code.

Secret Agent Birthday Party Food Ideas:

*Mystery Soup: Purchase various flavored soup cans. Combine all the soups in a large pot, heat, and serve. Let the kids guess the flavors of the mixed soups.

*Jigsaw Sandwiches: Serve sandwiches cut into jigsaw puzzle-piece shapes.

*Theme Pizza: Have pizza with pepperoni arranged like question marks.

*Mystery Candy Bars: Unwrap a bunch of different candy bars, cut them into small bite-sized pieces, and set them on a plate. Have the kids try to guess what they are.

*Hotdogs
*Caesar Salad
*Chips & Dip
*Popcorn
*Ice Cream

Secret Agent Birthday Party Drink Ideas:

*Fruity Spritzer: Combine 1/2 can of frozen juice (or drink concentrate) with about 1 1/2 liters of ginger ale or Sprite. Mix well and serve.

*Chocolate Milk
*Sodas