My son Kaiden just turned 3 and he wanted a Scooby party. I scoured the internet for ideas and found TONS of good stuff! I took down notes for each thing I liked and took bits and pieces from several different sources. I didn't think to save the links to the sites I found them on and cant remember because there were so many, but thanks and props to those who originally thought of most of the stuff I did.

This party idea will work for just about any age 3 and over. Kaiden doesnt really know kids his age so all of the guests were over the age of 5. We had 15 guests in addition to my 2 kids so there were 17 kids total and the party took about 2 hours.

First things first

Choose a location, date, and time. Then make up some invites. We did ours message in a bottle style. We saved up some of those small gatorade bottles and cleaned them out. I made the invites on Photoshop and printed them 3 to a page. Cut them out, loosly roll them and slide them into the bottle. They fill out the bottle almost perfectly. I've attached the psd file so you can just change the info if you want to use ours.

When you know how many kids will be there, start making gift boxes. I made Scooby Snacks boxes for each guest. You will need:

Cereal boxes (one for each kid)
hot glue
sharpie
paint and brushes

1. Break down each box so its flat(see photo)
2. flip over to plain side
3. hotglue back together along the original seams
4. draw out the layout of the scooby snack box design
5. Paint them
6. outline in sharpie

We put all these scooby snack boxes in a larger box and carried them from game to game so the kids could put their prizes in them.

invite.psd
Download

Step 1: The Idea and Prep Work

The idea we went with is the mystery of the missing presents (recurring theme in most ideas I found). The kids will have to find clues to find out who stole the presents and earn prizes along the way. I chose to do this by picking out 8 classic scooby villians whose "lairs" the kids will have to pass through to follow the foot prints of the culprit. Each villian they pass has a clue about the culprit but the kids have to earn it by playing that villian's game. More about this later. First the 8 villians I chose are:

1. Creepy clown ghost
2. Old Iron Face
3. The Black Knight ghost
4. The Creeper
5. Mr. Hyde
6. The Headless Ghost
7. Captian Cutler's Ghost
8. The Spooky Space Kook

I looked up info about these villains and their episodes, then came up with a game to match.

The posters

1. Get a half sheet of poster board for each villain except the black knight
2. Draw one villain on each sheet (except black knight and headless ghost)
3. Paint them all
4. Write in the challenge
5. Attach the clue envelope.
~just cut a normal size envelope in half, tape the cut sides, write "clue #__" on it and tape to poster, opening flap facing out~

** choose a person that will be at the party to be the villain IE: mom or dad. We used Kaiden's father as the villain. Come up with clues that fit that particular person like their height, age, or tshirt color. You will need 7**
Write the clue on a small piece of paper and put in envelope. (my clues are listed later in this 'ible and I have typed in bold print the word you need to change to fit your villain if you use my clues.)

These will be taped up around your venue in the area the game is to be played

Foot prints
I made footprints to lead the kids from game to game in the order I wanted.
1. get 2 sheets neon green poster board
2. print a footprint template and cut it out
3. trace it on the poster board as many times as possible (I got 60 feet total)
4. cut the prints out

It was windy out the day of our party so I bought a pack of long nails and used these as stakes to pin the prints to the ground so they wouldnt blow away.

Step 2: Creepy Clown Ghost

This villian used the typical pocket watch to hypnotize people in order to take over the circus in his episode so this is what my poster says:

"I am the ghost clown and I use hypnosis to take over the circus but I lost my watch. Make me a glitter calming jar here and I will give you a clue."

The game is, as you might have guesses, to make a glitter calming jar. You will need:

jars (pack of 12 at walmart for $7)
glitter glue
fine glitter
normal glitter
food coloring
water

We were at a park that didnt have a water supply so I had to bring jugs of water.
You can read all about how to make these fun things by going here: https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Calming-Glitter-Jars/
If you aren't already following doodle craft, you should start :)

When everyone has made one, write their names on the lid with sharpie and then let them get the clue. This one said:

"I just saw that the person was wearing tennis shoes."

The prize for this game was the glitter jar

Step 3: Old Iron Face

Old Iron Face rides on sharks, one shark for each foot so I incorporated those into my idea. His poster says:

"My sharks got loose! Help me catch them and I'll tell you what I know."

I this game the kids have to catch the escaped sharks. You'll need:

2 plastic sharks
lots of hoola hoops

Game play:

place the 2 sharks in an open area spread out from eachother
Place the hoola hoops a little distance away from the sharks
Each kid gets a hoola hoop and throws it at the sharks, trying to "catch" the shark by landing the hoop over the shark.
I was going to have everyone throw their hoops, then gather them and return them for another try until the sharks were caught but I didnt have to because they caught both sharks on the first go round.

When they succeed, they can open the clue envelope and read the clue aloud. This clue was:

"I only noticed the person was tall."

The prize for this game was a pack of scooby doo candy sticks (dollar tree)

Step 4: The Black Knight Ghost

This one was a little different from the rest. The Black knight wears all black except the red feather in his helmet. I decided this game would involve paint and balloons.

Prep
Get a large piece of card board. I got mine from a large box I found at the local recycle center
Draw and paint the black knight ghost pretty large on the cardboard
Write the villian's challenge on it and attach a clue envelope.

Now we need water balloons filled with paint. This is best done with someone to help you. There really is no easy way to do this. Our method was to stretch out the ballon, then use a funnel to put about 2 squirts of paint in it, then fill it with water and tie it off. Make lots of these because this was most of the kids' favorite game.

The challenge reads:

" I'm tired of wearing all black. It's so HOT! Help me out and I'll help you in return."

So in this game kids throw the paint filled water balloons at the black knight to give him some color.

We had the knight tape unright on a fence but the balloons were bouncing off him and bursting on the ground so we torn him off the fence and laid him on the ground with worked alot better. The kids had a blast but at the end off it all the knight was still black because the paint was too diluted.
*note* its a good idea to remove the clue BEFORE the balloons start flying

when all the balloons are used up, read the clue. It said:

"The culprit was obviusly an adult."

The prize here was a sheet of scooby stickers (walmart)

Step 5: The Creeper

The Creeper robs banks so this is what his poster says:

" To make a clean getaway, you gotta be fast and sneaky. I need to see how it's done. If you can remove all the flags from my assistant, the clue is yours."

You will need a flag belt and a volunteer to wear it.
I made my own belt simply by cutting an old towel into strips and using velcro to attach them to an old belt. I made 8 strips.

Game play:
Put the belt on a volunteer, preferably an adult or one of the older kids. Give that person a 10 second head start. Then release the mass of children. All the kids chase down the assistant and try to pull off the flags. This game was fun to watch but didnt last too long. It was also a little rough on the little kids because the stampede knocked some kids down. Maybe I should have had more than one target, one for the older kids and one for the smaller ones.

When all the flags are removed, read the clue. It said:

"I caught a blur of red."

The prize here was cookies.
I used the recipe from this 'ible https://www.instructables.com/id/Unicorn-Poop/ and a bone shaped cookie cutter to make dozens of scooby snack cookies. Then we set up the table and let each kid decorate their cookie with icing and sprinkles before eating it as a mid party snack.

Step 6: Mr. Hyde

Mr. Hyde is a jewelry thief. His poster said:

" A clue? I'll give you a clue when all the jewels have been found."

You will need:
fake jewelry (dollar tree)
wrapping paper
tape
radio

Take one piece of jewelry and wrap it.
Place the next piece of jewelry on the package and wrap it again
Repeat this with each peice of jewelry. Try to have one for each kid.
The final result will be one package with many layers.

Game play:

Arrange all the kids in a circle and hand the package to one child.
Start the music and kids pass the package around the circle like hot potato.
Stop the music and the child holding the package unwraps one layer and keeps what they find.
That child is now eliminated and the game continues until everything has been unwrapped.

Now read the clue. It said:

"The thief was wearing a necklace."

The prize was a pack of scooby gummies (walmart)

Step 7: The Headless Ghost

The headless ghost is headless, obviously. So this was the perfect game to do the classic pin the tail only this time we were pinning the head.

Prep:
Draw the headless ghost on a half sheet of poster board big enough that the pumpkin heads you print will fit right as a head.
Paint it.
Write the challenge and add the clue envelope
Print off the pumpkin head 4 to a page and color it if you want
Write each child's name on a pumpkin head.

The poster reads:

"My head! I'm always losing that blasted ting! Help me get ti back on and I'll help you with a clue."

You will need:
tape
blindfold

Game play:
Play just as you would pin the tail. Put a peice of rolled tape on the back of a head and give it to a bildfolded child to pin on the poster. The winner is the one who gets it closest to the right spot. They get bragging rights and everyone gets the prize.

Read the clue after everyone has gone. It said:

" The suspect was a man."

The prize was a ziplock bag of scooby cereal. (walmart)

Step 8: Captian Cutler's Ghost

Captain cutler's poster says:

"My, my, my! You want a clue? I'll tell you what, you fight a ship battle in the Graveyard of Ships and the winner gets to have the clue and they dont have to share! ha ha ha!"

For this game you will need:
Old phone book
Hoola hoops

Each child gets a hoola hoop and spreads out slightly, puts the hoop on the ground and then stands inside the hoop. This is their "ship". Give each person about 5 or so sheets torn from the phone book and have them ball up each one. This is their "ammo". Set a timer for about 2 minutes and have them start throwing the ammo at the other ships. They continue to gather up ammo within their reach and on their ship and throw it at the others until the time runs out. we had adults scramble around and collect the ammo out of reach and throw it back in the game. The winner was to be the one who ended the game with the least amount of ammo in their ship, but the wind was so bad and the kids were so good that out of 17 kids, only 2 had any ammo in their ship. So, we flipped the rules and gave the win to the one with the most ammo in their ship. That person got to get the clue and didnt have to tell the others what it was, but our winner did so it was nice.

The clue said:

"He was wearing a hat and likes cool cars."

This clue tells you which door to pick in the last game.

The prize here was a Magnifying glass. (dollar tree)

Step 9: The Spooky Space Kook

The spooky space kook is the last challenge. The challenge here isnt really a game, but the solving of the mystery.

His poster said:

" I saw the culprit. He came through here. In fact, he is hiding the presents here somewhere. I wont tell you where. Put the clues together and deduce the hiding spot."

I decided that for the end of the mystery, the kids would be confronted with 3 doors. Each one would have a different picture and they would have to decide which door the thief used to hide the presents and then call out the thief. By this point they all know who it is cause there is only one person there who meets all the clues. The correct door is the one with the picture of our villain's favorite thing which is a cool car.

PREP:
To make the wall of doors I used: some of that plastic tarp stuff you use when painting the house to protect the floor, some bulletin board paper, and 2 metal poles I found at the recycle center.

1. lay out a good length of the tarp
2. lay a metal pole over it at the very edge of one side and wrap it around the pole tightly
3. tape it in place
4. repeat with the other pole on the other side
5. lay the whole thing out and cut large rectangles from the bulletin board paper to fit. You will need 3 total. These are the doors. We used green, blue, and yellow paper.
6. Tape the doors in place
7. Choose 3 pictures online and print them off. We used a scooby monster truck, a helicopter, and a cool looking car.
8. Tape one photo to each door.

When we got to the park, we stretched out our wall of doors and jammed the end of the metal poles into the earth like stakes to hold it up against a fence so the kids couldnt look behind it. We stored all the stolen presents behind it against the fence. I wanted all the gifts to be hidden behind the right door but I made it too small and there were too many gifts to fit so you could see the gifts through the clear parts of the tarp between the doors. We just told the kids that it didnt matter and they needed the door that the villian used.

All the kids lined up in front of the door they chose. Our correct door was the one with the cool car (as the last clue said). We asked the kids who the thief was and they all knew and called him out. Then we announced the right door and recovered the gifts.

The prize here was a scooby coloring book (dollar tree)

Step 10: Photobooth

I also made a cool little photo booth for the kids to play in and take some fun photos.

I got a large box (a large mini fridge box I think) from the recycle center and broke it down so it was jusr four panels long.
I drew and painted the mystery machine on the 2 center panels, Daphne on the first panel and Shaggy and Scooby on the last one.
I cut out the face of Shaggy and Daphne and the side window of the mystery machine.
I cut out a steering wheel as well after Kaiden said it need one.

For decoration we just used plain red tableclothes, plastic ware, and plates. I printed out four mystery machine cubeecraft and use them as table top decor.

Step 11: Photobooth for the Artistically Challenged

I used Photoshop to blow up these images to be about 3.5 feet tall, then divided them into 8.5 by 11 in (you're typical paper size for a printer). Now all you have to do is print each one full page, line them up and tape them together against a stiff backing like cardboard. I've included Shaggy with Scooby, Daphne, and the Mystery Machine. You will of course have to cut out the face from Daphne and shaggy and the window from the mystery machine.