Indiana Jones BDay Party

 

Well, I thought I swore it off after Katherine's BDay party.

Planning big parties, that is, for little people that will most likely NOT remember the shindig I've worked so hard to create.

But apparently not.  It's in my blood, I can't deny my party planning desires.  It's too fun.  I enjoy it too much.

 

Nathan's latest hero is Indiana Jones.  We let him watch an IJ movie edited for TV and he quickly fell for the fedora-wearing hero.

 

Indiana Jones, Fall and the colors they share worked so well together.

I'm such a color palette nerd.

 So, I looked online for IJ-themed BDay party ideas and I came across some very cute ideas.  All of them were cheap inexpensive and I was able to do from home.

I was fortunate enough to find cowboy hats at the dollar store.  They were too wide to look like fedoras, so I cut 2 inches off around the brim and viola!  A fedora hat and a soft whip for every Indiana Jones treasure-hunting child!

The premise of the party was a treasure hunt.  One very extra special treat was that Uncle Willet, a real archaeologist who was dressed up like IJ, arrived and led the kids through the Treasure hunt.  He even showed them how to crack his whip within feet of the crowd (much to some anxious mothers' dismay).

Here I am, being my normal bossy-self, explaining to the kids the background story about IJ, Belloq (the bad guy trying to steal the treasure) and what's going to happen.

The listeners.

BDay boy.  (I can't believe he's 4)

The treasure hunt started in the Mummy Gallery (the front yard crepe myrtles).  This station had directions and the next clue was hidden, waiting to be found.

Mummy Gallery

Wrap up like a mummy, in case you want to hide,

For Belloq’s soldiers dropped the clues that might be hidden inside.

Kids, KIDS,   s e t t l e   d o w n   n o w!  Can we not get so excited about this?  Slow down and listen to Uncle Willet, er uh, I mean, Indiana Jones, read the clue so we can go find the treasure...

Some were very interested in being wrapped up like a mummy.

Is he adorable or what?  This is Jackson, by the way.  He's a little friend Nathan met during his reluctant stab at playing soccer.  Jackson and Nathan hit it off that season and us and his parents connected also.  Great family and fun to be around.

Anyway, I digress.

 

 

BDay boy wasn't so sure about being wrapped up in toilet paper.

The clue Clay found inside his toilet paper roll was:

Snake Pit

A Belloq soldier dropped a clue, when by a snake he got bit,

You’ll find the clue if you make a way to carefully get through it.

So the next station was the Snake Pit.  Sturdy little piece of wood construction if I say so.  Not really.

The next clue was found at the end of the Snake pit by Walker and it said:

Creepy Jungle

An action-packed ride aboard military trucks left some clues behind,

Creep your way through the jungle and more clues you may find!

So, off they went through the Creepy Jungle, i.e. the legustrum shrubs in the back yard.

 

I'm so glad those whips were soft and harmless because they were used often during the entire party.

 

 

 

 

Uncle Willet did such a great job of reading the clues and leading the kids to the next station.

 

Pankot Palace Banquet

Plenty of food was left behind inside each delicacy dish,

Fish around to find more clues for the treasure that you wish. 

 

This was one I thought the boys would LOVE.  It was an area where they had to stick their hands inside a bucket without seeing what they were touching.  The Baby Snakes were slimy fetuccini noodles.  The Eyeball Soup was peeled grapes.  The Monkey Brains was jello.

The boys weren't that interested.

Thank goodness Uncle Willet was brave enough to reach inside the Baby Snakes and pull out the next clue.

 

Airport Hangar

Belloq’s men escaped by plane but they took the wrong box,

The authentic treasure is safely hidden among the many rocks.

The treasure was found!

 

You see who ended up wearing most of the fedoras.

 

 

 

Uncle Willet did a superb job dressing up in  IJ clothes while it was 80 degrees outside, leading the kids through the Treasure hunt, and being a supportive uncle to our kids and their friends.

 

 

Grandpa made it at 90 years old.

 

Hey, I thought this was an Indiana Jones party!  Who invited James Bond?

It was a beautiful day for a birthday party.  We had great guests, fun activities, yummy food and 2 hours of listening to the IJ theme song.

There were even a couple little boys that wanted to be IJ for Halloween.

Something tells me I'll plan more birthday parties.  This one was one of my favorites to plan and the kids had fun also.  Who knows, I might not be any good at pre-teen parties and this will be it for my party planning days.

DOUBT IT!