Detective - Jigsaw Jones

Age of Birthday Boy: 6 years old
Age Range of Guests: 3-9 years old
Gender of Guests: boys and girls

Potential Age Range of Theme: 3-12 years, depending on specific focus & activities


This party was inspired by the "Jigsaw Jones" chapter book series by James Preller which our son loved at the time. But, it could easily be adapted for any detective-themed party.

Invitations: We cut out puzzle shapes and glued them on the outside of the invitations. Small stickers taped the card shut for a more "secretive" feel.

The Cake: Using a 9x13 inch cake we cut it into a puzzle shape using a template made from wax paper. This was decorated simply using frosting & sprinkles with a simple math problem on it that indicated how old our son was turning. Cupcakes were decorated with a number code and the kids had to figure out that it read "Happy Birthday".

Games & Goodies: The front door read "Welcome to the Jigsaw Jones Detective Agency", each child was given a detective badge as they arrived, and they put their fingerprints on them using washable ink. We played a number of scavenger-hunt and code-breaking games, as well as games to test their memory. The kids had to follow clues, crack the codes (number codes, alphabet codes, riddles, and symbol codes), and find missing puzzle pieces.

 There were then two puzzles to put together once all the parts were located - one for younger kids and one for the older crowd. For a memory game the kids were briefly shown a group of random household items, the items were hidden, and they had to remember as many as possible. The first turn gave the kids plenty of time to see & remember the items. By the last try the items were viewed only briefly and they all did a great job figuring out how to work together to get them all right.

Goodie bags included detective notepads & pencils, puzzle piece erasers, their name badges, and a variety of candy treats.

Butterfly

Age of Birthday Girl: 2 years old

Age Range of Guests: 1-5 years old

Gender of Guests: boys and girls

Potential Age Range of Theme: 1-8 years, depending on specific focus & activities

The Cake: Using a template we found on the internet we cut out the butterfly cake from a 9 inch round pan, and decorated it with frosting and candies. We found a template that is close to what we originally used on the Parenting website (link on the sidebar). On their site click on "recipes" and then search for "butterfly birthday cake".

Games & Goodies: The kids decorated papers and door hangers with butterfly, bug, & flower stickers and foam pieces. We played games outside in the yard such as easy scavenger hunts and musical freeze tag. Goodie bags had butterfly stickers, small butterfly and bug toys, and candy treats.

Finding Nemo

Age of Birthday Girl: 1 year old
Age Range of Guests: 0-5 years old
Gender of Guests: boys and girls

Potential Age Range of Theme: 0-10 years, depending on specific focus & activities (who doesn't love Nemo?!)

This was a fun party for our 1-year-old and her guests that ranged in age from infants to 5 years old.

The Cake: We found a picture of Nemo and printed it out on the computer to use as a stencil. After the 9x13 cake was cut into the correct shape the frosting was added, again using the picture as a guide. We also made cupcakes and decorated them with blue frosting, frosting or gummi fish, and sprinkles.

Games & Goodies: We had kids fishing for prizes, crawling through tunnels of "water", and playing matching games with Nemo cards. Goodie bags included Nemo stickers, ocean/fish toys, and candy appropriate for the child's age.