The Power of the Printer

I made a party game today in about two minutes.   How did I do that?  I used what I already had. Now I always try my best to use what I already have but very often that involves cutting up boxes, gluing, rearranging, etcetera, etcetera.   Sometimes though with just a little help from your printer you can instantly match a game you may already have to your party theme.


             The first game was extremely easy to do.   I already had these lawn darts -

To make them into a party game I just printed out Sonic and Knuckles heads and taped them on.
           Here is "Sonic Shuttles" - games are always better when they have a fun name.

Look around your house at games you already have.  Do you have a bowling or basketball set?  Maybe lawn darts or toss across?  Add characters to any games you already have, give them a fun name, and you can quickly, easily, and very cheaply (or even free) make a party game.

Try to look at objects you have that aren't already games but could quickly be turned into such.

Below is "Mario Ball Brawl".  I already had this Mario ball and lots of empty clear plastic frames (which I picked up at the the thrift store for 10 cents each!).  I printed out Mario "bad guys", added them to the frames, and wrote on point values with a dry erase marker.  That's it!

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Another Point Collecting Mario Arrival Activity

The perfect arrival activity for any Mario theme is making and/or decorating coin collectors.   It is not only a simple craft to prepare but it has the added bonus of being something the guests can actually use during the party.

You could make this as simple as decorating paper sacks to collect the coins in or go all out and make coin blocks for each guest to assemble or anything in between.   Just be sure it is easy enough for them to carry around from game to game.

*If you decide to make coin blocks you can click here for a link to a free square box template or Google free square box templates for more.

*Click here for a the link to the coin collectors we made for our last Mario Party theme

We are preparing for a Mario Party 9 birthday party for my middle son's upcoming birthday.   One of the small differences from the previous Mario Party games is that you collect stars instead of coins.   So we will be decorating star collectors instead of coin collectors but the idea is still the same.

I decided to create star collector medallions for our guests to wear.  Leftover star confetti will be used for the stars.  Here is what the finished product looks like.  After they are decorated they will have a hole punched in the top and yarn added so they can be worn like medals.  Scroll down for a complete tutorial.

This is everything you need: glue, scissors, two objects for tracing circles, a pencil, and some sort of small container.

*I had these old Crystal Light containers saved up but I don't think they come in these type of containers any more.  You could cut any other kind of small tubs like this, cut down dixie cups, the bottoms from Easter eggs would work but you'd probably need to use hot glue if you go that route.  Keep your eye out for empty containers at stores.  The empty containers I have from Pop Rocks eggs would work really well and provide more area to decorate.   If I didn't already have plans for a game with them I would have used them.

Things you don't need but are pretty handy: labels and an ink pad

Now for the tutorial ...

The first thing I did was cut out the slot for the stars to go in.

Just pinch the container like so and cut to small parallel lines.  

Then let the container go back to normal and make two small cuts

on each end of the other two lines making a small rectangle.

Don't worry about getting it perfect, just be sure it's big enough for the stars.

Next using an object just a bit larger then your container 

trace out a circle for each star collector

You can either trace your smaller object on top of the large circles

or make it easy and use an ink pad to just stamp the circle instead

Then put glue around the edge of your container

Put the containers face down in the center of your larger circles

Be sure the star slot is lined up with the top circle

Let them dry and then cut them out and that's about it

If you happen to already have labels you can add one

onto the bottom edge.  If not just be sure to write names on them

That's all. They are ready to be decorated. 

Then holes will be punched and yarn added and they 

will be all ready to wear and collect stars.

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Let Them Drink Up!

One of the best ways to bring your theme to your place settings is with personalized drink labels.  It is also normally one of the first things I do to get ready for a party.  Unlike a lot of other things I do, it does not involve dragging a bunch of craft supplies out and you can easily start and stop as you need to.

To quote a previous post...

"A great way to personalize drinks at your party is to make labels for individual sized drinks.  A favorite amongst my children (and probably every other child I've ever met) are Little Hugs.  You can find them at most grocery stores.  I purchased mine on sale at Walmart for $2.89.

If you haven't seen them, here is what to look for -

Besides the fact that children love them, they are also a great way to prevent spills.  When I buy them we poke a straw through the top instead of removing the lids."


* Side note - I just bought a box of Hugs last week and it came with straws!

Below is a link to the Mario Party labels that accompanied that post (click on it to go to the page with the rest of the flavors) and below that is a template with just a border for anyone that wants to create their own.  I print these out as wallet size to make nine per page.

I am in the (somewhat slow) process of opening up an etsy shop where I will have labels for sale.  In the meantime, if anyone is in need of personalized labels feel free to contact me.  Even if you don't need labels right now I would love to hear your theme suggestions.

*I will make a personalized set of labels for the first person that contacts me!*

Right now I am working on two parties for my May Birthday Boys - Mario Party 9 and Skylanders.  Below are the Hugs labels that I created for them.

~ Building two different birthdays at once is...interesting! - Lisa

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Hippitty Hop Hop Hurry Up

I thought I'd post some quick last minute Easter party ideas in case anyone hops on by looking for some...

Pin The Tail on The Bunny - So simple and so cute.  Just draw a bunny and use cottonballs as the tails.

Get the Sheep Back to Sleep - Since you've got those cotton balls out how about using them as little sheep in another simple game.  Tape a picture of a barn on the front of a cardboard box and cut a hole out for the door.   Lay your little cotton ball sheep on the floor or table a small distance from the barn and have the children blow them back into the barn.

Throw the Egg in the Basket/s - Yes, that's it.  Throw plastic eggs into an empty basket.  You could even line up three or four baskets one in front of the other and play "Grand Prize Game" style.

Feed the Bunny - Tape a bunny face onto a box and cut out a hole for the mouth.  Feed your bunny baby carrots or jelly beans.

Egg Match - Either draw eggs in matching pairs or hide matching objects inside plastic eggs.  If you use the plastic eggs you can put them in a couple of empty egg cartons to keep them in line.

Musical Eggs - Cut egg shapes out of paper and use them instead of chairs to make Musical Eggs

Eggtionary - For somewhat older kiddos put slips of paper with everyday objects into plastic eggs.  They take turns choosing one, drawing what the paper says, and getting their team to guess what it is.

Silly Eggs - or how about just putting silly things to do on the slips of paper (act like a monkey, hop backwards, etc.)

Bunny Bowling - put pictures of bunnies on empty water bottles and bowl away.  I'm honestly not sure if an egg would work as a ball but if not you could always just draw or tape a picture of an egg onto a ball.  Better yet, how about calling it Scrambled eggs and putting pictures of eggs on the water bottles or even perch plastic eggs on top of the bottles.

Bunny Bingo - Guess what, Bunny has the same number of letters as Bingo and you can print out your own Bingo cards for free at dltk-cards.com

Bunny Hop - get out your pillowcases and have a good old fashioned sack race

Happy Easter!  ~ Lisa

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Build a Birthday - Getting Started

There is another birthday party (or two) on the horizon at my house and it's time to start the planning. I will of course be posting all the games and everything else that I make along the way but I've decided to add a bit more this time around. I'm hoping as you read the entire Mario Party 9 party planning process it will give you ideas and tips to help you in the planning of your own party, whatever the theme may be.

Speaking of themes, choosing one is the first step in planning your own party. Obviously you will want the theme to be something your child enjoys. Think about what they like to do, play with, and talk about. Do they have a favorite game, show, or toy?

If they are old enough, ask them what theme they would like. They will surely have at least one idea, maybe many. Do be wary of new interests though. If your child just saw A Bug's Life last week and says they want a bug party be sure to give it some time before you invest a lot of time or money in the theme.

If you need a few theme ideas there is a Big List of Party Themes here.

Once your theme is chosen it's time to do some researchG. If you are planning a party around a certain theme you will need to know all about that theme.

Sometimes this is a very simple step. You may even be able to bypass it altogether. For a 2nd birthday party with a bug theme I didn't need to do any research at all. I already know enough about bugs to plan a bug party.

For a Barnyard (the movie and wii game) party I sat down with the birthday boy and took notes while we rewatched the movie and played the wii game. I jotted down things like "Otis gets missions on phone" and "give ingrediants to Pig to make recipe". 


Those two particular notes later turned into the "phone"  which included messages to be read before each game and this game which had rhyming clues to find silly ingredients for a "peppermint pie".

For the current theme I'm working on, Mario Party 9, my boys have been thrilled to have several game playing/party planning sessions.  They play the game and I take notes.  While you watch the movie/read the book/play the game take notes and be thinking about party games you have seen or played in the past.  How could you change those games to fit your theme?

Make note of favorite parts of the movie/book/game and try to imagine how they could turn into a game.  For example my boys think it's hilarious when Rapunzel hits Flynn with the frying pan in Tangled.  When we were toying with the idea of a Tangled party for my four year old we planned on playing a game where we would throw toy frying pans at a cardboard Flynn.

If you are having a hard time getting ideas, have a look at the  Basic Games section.  And remember to ask your little one for ideas too!

Happy Party Planning!  ~ Lisa

p.s.  It is my intention to start posting every Tuesday so be sure and check back then!

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Parties - Past, Present, and Future

It's been nearly a year since my last post *yikes* but I am determined to get back to it and on a much more frequent basis.  With yet another Mario Party Party under way there should be plenty to post about!   

I do have some really great (although at this point also old) news to share first....

I won the grand prize ($500!) for 2011's Party Tales contest over at one of my favorite party sites Coolest Kid Birthday Parties!

"Our Grand Prize $500 cash winner is Lisa from Texas who threw a joint birthday party for her two boys aged 3 and 7.  The two brothers share an obsession for Mario, hence Mom chose a "Mario Brothers Birthday" theme.  The party was thrown on a budget and everything was homemade which was a very important factor in our decision-making.  It's a "do-able" party with lots of original party planning ideas.  A lot of thought and hours of research were put into keeping with the Mario theme and Lisa (aka Professor Mario) actually invented real party games based on the virtual Mario Brothers games."

"Professor Mario" :) I love it!

You can read my Party Tales entry here or look around in the archives for more thorough info on every last detail of the party.

Stay tuned for lots more Mario Party games (and other party planning/game ideas) coming up soon.   And remember even if you're not having a Mario Party you can always change up the games to fit your own theme.

Happy Birthday Building!  ~ Lisa

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A Mini Mystery

My family is attending an Easter get together with a few friends and their children. While the eggs are being hidden outside we need something for the children to do inside. The solution? Party games of course. But to make the games more fun, how about a little mystery thrown in?

What follows is this years mystery, The Case of the Missing Eggs (script and all) and games. It can easily be changed to fit any birthday party theme. Just change the characters and/or games a bit.

In this mystery, someone has stolen two dozen eggs from The All Night Animal Daycare.

*Change it up - Map has gone missing from Dora's Backpack, Where's Perry? (Phineas and Ferb), Woody's hat is missing (Toy Story), etc.

For a mystery party have simple (or not so simple if you wish) games which end with recieving a clue. The clues can lead you to where to go next, eliminate suspects one by one, or provide pieces to a puzzle or object that when put together helps you solve the case.

(In this case the clues come in the form of parts to build a table that looks like our thief, a pig)

Before and during the games add in your storyline. (The Case of the Missing Eggs script is at the bottom of this post.)

*Boots the monkey said he last saw Map at the sleepy hill, so go there to play a matching flowers on the hill game, Phineas last so Perry behind a tree, so go there to play a game where you throw rings around the tree branches to get your next clue, Rex knows something so help him through a maze to get a clue from him, etc.

After the last game, everyone gets to find out the last clue to solve the mystery.

*Map fell out of Dora's backpack when they were playing on the playground, Perry is asleep under Candace's bed, Woody's hat is in the toybox, etc.

Besides solving the mystery, the last clue should lead you to something - goody bags, the birthday cake, a pinata, or whatever you want it to be.

In The Case of the Missing Eggs we find out that the missing eggs were chocolate eggs, stolen by Parker Pig because, well, he's a pig and he likes chocolate, simple as that. Since this party is also an Easter egg hunt the prize is not much, just mini cadbury eggs.

Hopefully you have gotten some of your own mystery party ideas and feel free to send me an email if you need help with a script, I had too much fun writing this one :)

[THE COMPLETE CASE OF THE MISSING EGGS SCRIPT AND GAMES ARE BELOW]

I've put all the script dialogue in blue so that you don't have to read it all if you don't want to. *I tried to that is, it's blue, in preview mode but not once posted, sorry, I don't know why. Anyone?

At last year's easter party I just used different voices for each character and I caught myself using the wrong voice now and then because I forgot who I was so this year I dug through my sons puppets and chose my characters based on that. If you don't have puppets I suggest making your own by just printing or drawing out characters and taping them to sticks, or you could use stuffed animals or action figures, just anything so you don't forget who you are ;)

The Case of The Missing Eggs

HIPPO : HEY! QUIET DOWN, QUIET DOWN.

WOLF: THANK YOU. THE NAME'S WOLF, J. EDWARD WOLF. DETECTIVE J. EDWARD WOLF THAT IS, AND I NEED YOUR HELP. I'M WORKIN ON A CASE, THE CASE OF THE MISSING EGGS AND I NEED SOME ASSISTANCE. THIS IS MY PARTNER, HAROLD H. HIPPO AND HE WILL TELL YOU THE FACTS OF THE CASE.

HIPPO: THAT'S RIGHT, I GOTS THE FACTS. THE FACT IS THERE'S A THIEF ON THE LOOSE. ACCORDING TO OUR INFORMATION SOMETIME LATE LAST NIGHT AT THE ALL NIGHT ANIMAL DAYCARE IN THE BIRD ROOM TWO DOZEN EGGS WERE STOLEN FROM THIS NEST.

[SHOW NEST - The nest is just a drawing I made to look like a polaroid of a nest with "Exhibit A" written on the bottom. In hindsight I wish I had incorporated more "evidence"]

WOLF: WE'VE NARROWED IT DOWN TO SIX SUSPECTS

HIPPO: [SHOW SUSPECTS - On small pieces of paper I drew 6 suspects and wrote their names, ages, and likes on them. I stuck these papers to the front of old Crystal Light containers. Inside each one is the suspects alibis to be revealed at the end.]

WOLF: I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, I HAVE NO IDEA WHICH ONE DID IT. LUCKY FOR US WE DO HAVE 3 WITNESSES, CHIP & CHIRP CHICK, & DIPPY THE DUCK. I'VE BROUGHT THEM HERE BUT SO FAR I'VE GOTTEN NO ANSWERS FROM ANY OF THEM. THAT'S WHERE YOU COME IN. I'M GOING TO HAVE THEM COME IN HERE AND LET YOU ASK EACH OF THEM A QUESTION. SEE WHAT YOU CAN FIND OUT WILL YOU?

HIPPO: ALRIGHT, YOU THREE, GET ON IN HERE.

[BIRDS ARRIVE]

HIPPO: THIS HERE IS DIPPY THE DUCK AND THOSE TWO IS CHIP & CHIRP. GO AHEAD NOW, ONE AT TIME, EACH OF YOUS CAN ASK THEM A QUESTION.

[NO MATTER WHAT QUESTION IS ASKED OF THE CHICKS, THEIR ONLY REPLY IS "CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP" AND DUCK ANSWERS WITH LOTS OF QUACKING AND THE 3 PHRASES "NEVER TALK TO STRANGERS", "BUILD A TABLE", AND "DOLLY THE DOLPHIN"]

HIPPO: THAT SOUNDED LIKE A LOT OF RUBBISH TO ME. DID ANY OF YOUS GET ANYTHING FROM ALL THAT?

[WAIT FOR ANSWERS]

HIPPO: A TABLE? AND DOLLY THE DOLPHIN HUH? ALRIGHT THEN, LET'S GO PAY MS. DOLLY A VISIT SHALL WE?

WOLF: BEFORE WE GO, EVERYONE TAKE AN EVIDENCE BAG, JUST IN CASE.

[PASS OUT ZIPLOCS TO COLLECT TABLE PARTS IN]

You may notice I've got kind of a good cop/bad cop thing going with wolf and hippo. Try to give each character a bit of a different personality.

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DOLPHIN: HI, I'M DOLLY THE DOLPHIN. ARE YOU THE DETECTIVES?

HIPPO: YEAH, THAT'S US, HOW'D YOU KNOW HUH?

DOLPHIN: DIPPY DUCK TOLD ME YOU'D BE COMING.

HIPPO: DIPPY DUCK..TOLD YOU?! WHAT?! HE BARELY SPOKE TO US. NOTHING BUT "QUACK, QUACK, QUACK, TABLES, DOLPHINS"

DOLPHIN: YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW HIM DO YOU?

HIPPO: UM...NO

DOLPHIN: WELL, DIPPY NEVER TALKS TO STRANGERS.

HIPPO: HMM, ALRIGHT THEN, SO TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW.

DOLPHIN: ALL I KNOW IS THAT DIPPY WANTS ME TO GIVE YOU A BIG OLE CIRCLE OF WOOD.

HIPPO: ALRIGHT, WHERE'S IT AT?

DOLPHIN: WELL, I'LL NEED TO GET IT FOR YOU BUT I NEED TO GET THESE CLAMS TO BED FIRST. GIVE ME A HAND?

HIPPO: YEAH, I GUESS, IF I HAVE TO.

DOLPHIN: GREAT! TODAY WE HAVE MORE CLAMS THEN BEDS SO WE'LL HAVE TO PAIR THEM UP. THEN JUST PUT THEM TO BED, MAKE SURE YOU PUT THEM IN THE RIGHT BED TOO PLEASE. THAT'S ALL. OH, THERE ARE SOME OLD EMPTY SHELLS LYING AROUND. IF YOU COULD JUST STACK THOSE UP NEXT TO THE BEDS. THANKS, AND I'LL GO FIND THAT WOOD FOR YOU NOW.

[CLAM GAME - I used this great box insert from Pop Rocks Easter eggs for this game. I drew 12 little beds and cut out and drew I think 32 clams. Inside each of two clams I drew matching pearls. On the pillows of each bed I drew the design for each of the pairs]

DOLPHIN: HERE'S THAT WOOD. OH, AND DIPPY SAID THAT DILLON THE DOG HAS MORE FOR YOU.

HIPPO: [TO WOLF] DIPPY SAID? CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?

WOLF: NO, NO I CAN'T, LET'S GO SEE WHAT THIS DILLON THE DOG HAS TO SAY THOUGH.

[The "wood" is a paper circle]

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WOLF: DILLON DOG, I PRESUME.

DOG: YEP, YEP, YEP, THAT'S ME ME ME

WOLF: PLEASED TO MEET YOU SIR, AND I'M TOLD YOU HAVE SOME WOOD FOR US?

DOG: YEP YEP YEP, SURE DO, WOOD FOR YOU, SURE DO, TRIANGLES TOO. TRI-ANG-LE, THAT'S A COOL WORD YEP.

WOLF: AND MAY WE HAVE THOSE "COOL" TRIANGLES NOW SIR?

DOG: I GET THE WOOD, YOU FEED THE PUPS. DEAL? DEAL. YELLOW EATS YELLOW, PINK EATS PINK, BROWN EATS BROWN, AND WHITE, CAN YA GUESS IT? WHITE EATS WHITE, YEP YEP YEP. YOU FEED THE PUPS, I GET THE WOOD. DEAL? DEAL. LATER GATOR.

[PUPPY GAME - I painted small plastic cups (from Crystal Light) and glued matching colored puppies onto each one. Then I stuck them all on a tray using a little bit of clay for each one. I had bought little candy bones as Easter egg fillers and they inspired this game. Just throw the right colored bone in the right bowl. That's all]

DOG: OKIE DOKIE, DOKIE OKIE, HERE'S THE WOOD YEP YEP YEP. GONNA GO SEE THE BEARS NOW RIGHT? RIGHT. GOOD DEAL. LATER GATOR.

[The wood here are four small paper triangles]

WOLF: [TO HIPPO] HE WAS AN INTERSTING FELLOW.

HIPPO: TO SAY THE LEAST. WE GOING TO SEE THE BEARS NOW HUH?

WOLF: CERTAINLY.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PANDA: HI! I'M BRENDA

BEAR: AND I'M BOBBY.

HIPPO: ALRIGHT YOUS, YA GOT ANY WOOD FOR US OR WHAT?

PANDA: A WOODEN BOWL YOU MEAN

BEAR: FROM DIPPY DUCK?

HIPPO: SURE, I GUESS. WHERE IS IT HUH?

BEAR: I'LL HAVE TO GET IT

PANDA: AND I'LL NEED TO HELP HIM BUT BUT BUT

HIPPO: BUT BUT BUT? BUT WHAT?

PANDA: BUT I HAVE TO GET MY LUCKY BRACELET FIRST.

HIPPO: ALRIGHT SO GET IT, LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD.

PANDA: BUT I WAS PLAYING LEGOS WITH BOBBY AND MY BRACELET BROKE AND AND AND IT FELL IN THE LEGOS AND AND AND AND NOW I CAN'T FIND IT

HIPPO: AND YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT ABOUT THAT?

PANDA: WELL...COULD YOU FIND THE PIECES FOR ME? PLEASE! AND PUT IT BACK TOGETHER?

HIPPO: ....I DUNNO ABOUT ALL THAT

PANDA: PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE [START CRYING]

HIPPO: ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, SETTLE DOWN KID, NO NEED TO START CRYING, I'LL DO IT

PANDA: OH THANK YOU! HERE'S A DRAWING OF MY BRACELET SO YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE

BEAR: YEAH, THANKS, WE'LL GO GET THAT BOWL, COME ON BRENDA

[BEAD/LEGO GAME - I have all boys so a plastic beaded bracelet is not normally something you'd find in my house but my youngest son's best friend gave it to him so he loves it. I was trying to think of a game for the two bear puppets when he walked in wearing it. For this game I just drew a picture of the order of the beads on the bracelet, then took them apart and mixed them in with a box of legos. In pairs the children will dig through the legos to find each bead one at a time, then attatch the beads to make the bracelet.]

HIPPO: HERE KID, GOOD AS NEW

PANDA: THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! OH THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH!

BEAR: YEAH, THANKS, HERE'S THAT BOWL, YOU'LL WANNA GO SEE MAX THE MONKEY NOW. LATER!

[The bowl is a small paper oval]

HIPPO: [TO WOLF] MONKEYS?.

WOLF: MONKEYS.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WOLF: MAX?

MONKEY: THAT'S ME ALRIGHT, HOW CAN I HELP YA?

WOLF: I'M DETECTIVE WOLF AND I BELIEVE YOU HAVE SOMETHING FOR ME?

MONKEY: OH YEAH, FROM DIPPY RIGHT?

WOLF: PRECISELY.

MONKEY: I'LL TELL YA WHAT. YOU GET ALL MY COUSINS OUT OF THE TREE FOR ME, AND I'LL GET YOU WHAT YOU NEED. SOUND GOOD?

WOLF: I SUPPOSE SO SIR.

MONKEY: OK, JUST YANK ALL THE STICKS OUTTA THE TREE AND THEY'LL COME TUMBLING ON DOWN. BE CAREFUL WHICH STICK YOU PULL THOUGH OR THEY'LL GET FUSSY AND BELIEVE ME, YOU DO NOT WANT TO DEAL WITH FUSSY MONKEYS.

WOLF: NO SIR, I CERTAINLY DON'T.

MONKEY: OK, GOOD LUCK, I'LL BE RIGHT BACK

[MONKEY GAME - I had originally planned on using an elephant puppet and having a make peanut butter game (using one of those big peanut like shaped sponges soak up brown tinted water from a container and squeeze into a big plastic jar labeled peanut butter until they reach the fill line) but since this party is not at my own house I wasn't sure about the water factor. Not having too much time left and having one child home sick I came up with the most simple game of all, a game I already had. It is just like the game Kerplunk except that instead of marbles it has little plastic monkeys. It also has a dice that indicates what color stick to pull.]

MONKEY: I SEE YOU GOT EM ALL DOWN. THANKS. HERE'S THESE GEMS. DIPPY LEFT YA A NOTE TOO. HERE IT IS.

[The gems are just little plastic gems I had in my craft/birthday closet. Each child gets four.]

HIPPO: [TO WOLF] A NOTE? FROM THAT QUACKITTY QUACK QUACK DUCK. THIS SHOULD BE GOOD.

WOLF: LET'S HOPE SO

HIPPO: [LOOKING AT NOTE] WOW, IMPRESSIVE, THE DUCK CAN ACTUALLY WRITE. LET'S GET THIS TABLE BUILT I GUESS.

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The note gives directions to make the table. It ends up looking like this -

After they realize the table is meant to look like a pig, I will open up all the other containers one at a time to confirm that the other suspects are not the thief. (The little notes inside the containers say things like - Frank the fish is allergic to eggs. There's no way he would steal them!)

Inside the container with Parker Pig is a note (to be read by hippo, as are the rest) that says -

Yes, it was Parker Pig alright. Everyone failed to mention that it was chocolate eggs missing. Parker will do anything for chocolate. Alright Parker, cough up the goods...(at this point hippo pours the eggs out so everyone can take one.

Case closed :)

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