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.
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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.
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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.
