Tween Birthday Party Ideas

Written by: BPI4K

Mystery Dinner Theme

Fun and crazy birthday idea for kids, tweens and teens!  The guests are served dinner - but don't know what they have ordered until the food arrives.

First - make a list of the food that you will be serving.  When we do this we usually serve - 2 kinds of pizza, 2 - 3 kinds of soda, chips, dip, goldfish crackers, and salad.  Give each item a crazy name - cheese pizza = round moo, pepperoni pizza = dotted round moo, coke = bubble brownie, sprite = light sparkle , chips = flat crunchy, goldfish crackers = swimmers etc.  Include the fork (spear), spoon (dipper), and napkin (thin square).  Make up a menu for each tween using only the made up names.  Place three boxes on each side of the items (you'll be giving them back their menus three times)  so that they can check off what they want each time.  Tell them they can only check off three items each time.

Don't give guests any clues to what the menu items mean.  The fun is to see them slowly (usually after the second round) figure out what to order by laughing and asking what everyone else ordered.

Keep the food hidden in the kitchen so they can't see it before or during the dinner.   Be creative - this idea works with any menu (taco's, hamburgers & fries, hotdogs) and with any number of food items.  Tips:  Write the guests names on their menus so they can order from the same menu 3 times.  Grab some helpers (older or younger children) to help deliver the food and turn in orders.

Mystery Food Dinner Sample Menu

This is the sample menu for the Mystery Food Dinner: