PLAN WITH LEANNE

The ultimate Adventure/ Indiana Jones/ Explorer Party! For my son’s 7th birthday he wanted an adventure party where there were different challenges to complete. Definitely sounded like an Indiana Jones party to me- except that he has never watched the movies before! I obviously had, so I was inspired by many Indiana Jones elements in the party. I.e. I made satchels for everyone to collect their treasures along the way! But! If you’re not a DIY person- these canvas totes would work just as great!

As the boys arrived they were given a satchel in which they would make/earn prizes over the course of the party. Inside the satchel they already had some goodies to help them complete the 6 challenges! Inside satchels were: compass keychains, mini notebook, and wood pencils.

The first challenge- creating dinosaur molds. I used a simple salt dough recipe and had the kids press dinosaur toys into them. Then I baked them in the oven during the party so they would be hard by the time it was time to go.

The second challenge-digging for fossils! I had roped off a small area and buried these fossil excavation bricks. They came in a pack of 12- and each one contained something different. I honestly did not anticipate how hard it would be for everyone to find one! I took a picture of all the spots where I buried the bricks, and yet two kids still could not find one- and neither could I! Good thing I had extras set aside that I just gave them. And, to this day we still cant find those hidden fossils! Once the kids each had a brick they got to break them open and polish them off like a real archaeologists- then of course they kept what was in their brick (and put it in the satchel!)

Challenge 3 – Creating Mini Marshmallow Shooters. My husband came across a youtube video on making a diy marshmallow shooter. (just google one, there are tons!) All it took was some pvc pieces! I went to the hardware store and bought all the elbows and straight pieces and t’s needed and then my husband gave a tutorial how to assemble them. It was so easy! As an extra something we put out some sharpees so they could decorate them (or at least write their name on them). Then we gave each kid a cup filled with mini marshmallows and they took turns running infront of the firing squad. They had alot of fun dodging the marshmallows! and when they were done- they could put their shooters into their satchels! If this activity is too much- have the kids decorate these slingshots instead!

Challenge 4- Obstacle Course. The next challenge was completing the obstacle course, without falling into the sand pit of doom, all while collecting these chocolate gold coins that were staged throughout! Again, the satchels came in handy! Whatever coins they collected they got to keep and eat. For the obstacle course we had them balancing on boards, crawling under tables, jumping on a trampoline to reach a gold coin, and crossing over a snake pit! When they crossed over the snake pit they could even try their luck and grab a snake snap bracelet– they just had to cross their fingers it was a bracelet and not a real snake 😉

Challenge 5-Mystery Touch Bags. This one is not for the the faint of heart. I filled up eight different buckets (because I had 8 party attendees) with icky yucky food that had pennies inside. They had to reach in and feel around for a penny. Once they collected 5 pennies they could trade them in for more gold coins! But let me tell you- most kids gave up! They thought it was too gross, and it was. But it also kept them guessing! Was it monkey brains or was it cooked ramen noodles with a can of peas/carrots in it? Was it smashed spiders or was it mashed potatoes? And, not all of them were gross! I also did water beads, rice, and black beans for a few.

Before the final challenge we went inside to sing Happy Birthday and have cake! An adventure party would not be complete without a snake for a cake! I made a sheet cake and then cut it out to look like a snake!

Then as the kids were finishing up the cake I surprised them with last challenge!

Challenge 6- clue based scavenger hunt. I handed each kid a clue that once they read it then ran off and tried to find the spot in our house/yard where their next clue was hiding. The clues were simple such as: “the place to wipe your feet to keep the floors nice and neat” (doormat). Once they read the second clue and they ran off they found a puzzle piece that had some words written on it. As soon as every kid found their puzzle piece they had to put the puzzle together to read what it said.

The puzzle said: OH NO!, The cake you ate was poisonous! Quick! Go to the fridge and drink the antidote!

So the boys all ran inside and found Kool-Aid juices they had to drink! Thank goodness for the antidote! They all had a great time adventuring and completing all the challenges!

Oh! And for decorations I kept it simple since we were mostly outside. But for inside I got these monstera fake leaves, and if we had actually seen the movie, I would have gotten these Indiana Jones decorations.

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