Secret Spy Birthday Party

by Sara In February my son, the firefighter, turned 6, and with a budget of $100, we set out to host, at the firefighters request, a secret spy party for his closest friends.

And for the first time my superstar husband organized the entire affair. If you're impressed with how it all came together, he deserves all the kudos.

Our nanny/au pair/life saver, who is with us 1-2 days a week, supervised the paper mâché. With her help the firefighter created a giant bomb shaped piñata for his party. It took several days to dry (on one of our hot air vents) and then the monkey and firefighter painted it black.

I typed/printed the text for the invitations and took the firefighters photo in his spy gear and he did the rest, creating invitations for all his friends.

While I had a busy morning of photography sessions my husband took the kids to Dollarama and Party Packagers to get all the party supplies. Here's what they bought:

Spy kits / Loot bags

10 Mini flashlights

10 pencils & notepads (and a pencil sharpener)

2 containers of glow sticks

Party activities

'Caution' tape

Red string (for a laser obstacle course)

Red ink pad (for fingerprinting)

Large bottle of black craft paint

Food

Black cups, plates and napkins for 10

5 types of candy for the bomb piñata

Decorations

Black balloons

In total the party cost us $88. My dad, who has made the boys birthday cakes every year since their 1st birthdays, created a grey bomb (at the firefighters request). Because the party was from 1-3 we didn't serve any other food/snacks, just juice and water.

When the recruits arrived (all wearing black and navy blue!) we gave them 15 minutes to play before they were called to the family room where their secret spy mission (to prove themselves as secret spies and complete the mission) was explained. Each recruit was given their spy notebook and pencil and then fingerprinted.

After the fingerprinting was complete we brought them to the studio for an obstacle course to test their physical stamina and readiness for the mission. They punched a focus pad, climbed through a laser maze, and then balanced on a course of beams. They also tried on a variety of camouflage gear and at one point we tied groups of them together with a long rope to see how quickly they could escape (very quickly!).

Before the mission began they had to collect 19 clues (pieces of green painters tape) from around the main floor of the house. They put the clues in their spy books (the tape looked blank but each piece was numbered 1-19 with yellow highlighter).

After passing the retinal scanner they went to the darkened basement with their flashlights to find the decoder. Using our UV light (aka, cat pee light) they put the 19 pieces of tape in order (the light made the highlighter numbers glow) on the decoder square which revealed the location of the hidden bomb (piñata).

Note: Even my fancy-schmancy camera has trouble taking photos when its pitch black ;)

Their mission was to defuse the the bomb (with a broomstick). My wise husband suggested we destroy the bomb in the garage to minimize the mess.

When the mission was complete we let the kids play for 20-30 minutes (as well as colour the huge piece of paper we'd laid out for their cake picnic) before it was time for the second bomb. The cake and sparkler were a huge hit!

Because we have gift free parties there wasn't any need for present opening and after two hours we sent the tired spies home. In lieu of loot bags (something else we avoid at our parties) we sent each home with their fingerprint sheet, flashlight, notepad/pencil, and the candy from the piñata.

Given the laughter, huge smiles, thundering feet, and excited shrieking, I'm going to say that a good time was had by all!

Sara is a photographer and mom to a 6-year-old ” firefighter”, 3.5-year-old “monkey”, and a third boy, "bug", due in May.  You can also find her at her blog, My Points of View.