The Ultimate Spy Themed Event

By

Joe Dean

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The Ultimate Spy Themed Event

By Joe Dean

Published 2005 Published by Joe Dean, 3829 Heatherglen, Columbus, OH Joe Dean. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

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Introduction

The purpose of this package is to provide an overwhelmingly large amount of ideas and activities to plan the ultimate spy themed party or event. Through my treasure hunt production company, Quest Experiences, I’ve hosted hundreds of themed parties and events. This packet is the culmination of the ideas used in those productions. I’ve made every attempt to group the ideas for easier navigation. Most importantly, however, I’ve taken special time and energy to ensure that you’ll find only ‘meat’ – workable ideas that are original and creative…no fluff or fillers. I divided the games/activities into two major groups, Kids and Adults. However, depending on your guests, you might find both lists useful. I know several older children that would have a great time with some of the games listed under adults and I know even more adult friends who would have a fun time with some of the games listed under the Kids section. I hope you enjoy your reading and that you are inspired to make your next spy themed party or event an EXTRAVAGANZA!

Joe Dean Author

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Decorations and Atmosphere Decorations/Props Of course, with an unlimited budget, you can always visit your local party prop warehouse and rent all kinds of fun props for your event. However, it has been my experience that these products are often of very poor quality and are very expensive to rent. Garage sales are a lot of help…it just takes quite a few before you find something you can use. The following list is for the rest of us who have to be a little more creative to keep the costs down…

1. Get your hands on as many different TV sets as you can and place them around your party/facility/event. On each of the sets, play a different spy themed movie (i.e. any of the James Bonds, Mission Impossible, The Recruit, Spy Game, Agent Cody Banks, True Lies, Spy Kids, etc.) or TV show (i.e. I-Spy, Mission Impossible, etc.) The great part about this is that you don’t even need to have the volume on (in fact, especially for adult parties where the guests will probably more enjoy their conversations more than the movies, you can have the sound completely off!)

2. For centerpieces, some possible items might include a fedora, trench coat, sunglasses, fake mustache, manila envelopes, file folders, brief case (opened with files spewing out along with its contents – fake hand cuffs also look great on the briefcase), fake passports, expired airline tickets (you might have from a previous vacation), VHS tape (as mentioned later on in this section), computer parts, cameras (photo as well as video), pocket computer items (palm pilots, small TVs), bombs (see below as well), computer keyboard, computer disks, telephones and cell phones,

3. Speaking of teacher supply stores, you can get some fantastic cardboard cut-outs of different science objects (microscopes, etc.) for a ‘lab’ feel.

4. All kinds of photos and pictures can be nabbed from the Internet and made into simple decorations. Go to yahoo.com and click on IMAGES above the search box (the search box should turn pink.) Now enter in a variety of spy key words (spy, espionage, James Bond, Mission Impossible, etc.) and see all the images that come up. You can also grab whatever image you want from a DVD by playing it on the computer and nabbing it from a screen still. If you don’t know how to do this, ask

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around…it’s becoming more and more popular to watch DVDs on computer screens. These pictures/photos can then be printed, cut out and glued to black cardstock (the picture being a little smaller to allow for a small black border on the cardstock.) These can be hung all throughout the party area as well as hung from the ceiling and made to stand up as centerpiece items.

5. Do what you can to get your hands on an opay projector (doubt if spelled correctly – they are the kind that you can project images from books – don’t need slides or anything transparent.) With one of these you can put butcher paper on the wall and project whatever images you want to on top – tracing for clean decoration images. They can then be outlined with a thick, black marker. These can also be colored in by children as part of an activity. For a quicker approach, use BLACK butcher paper and simply cut out the silhouette. Some typical images to blow up might be a passport, magnifying glass, photo of a firearm or bombs, etc.

6. Label different locations around the party (i.e. different countries, Recruiting Office, The Farm (where all the training takes place), Debriefing Room, Customs, Interrogation Room, etc.)

7. For a more Austin Powers feel, have a Groovy Party theme – a flashback to the sixties. Of course, you could have a more dignified version – with more a James Bond feel (check out the hair styles and fashions by watching the Sean Connery Bond movies…)

8. Nab a fingerprint image from the computer (go to yahoo.com and select IMAGES directly above the search bar – then type in fingerprint and you’ll get a nice selection to choose from.) Copy and paste the image (once you click on it to get the full size) into a WORD document and enlarge it to fit the page. These can be then printed out and hung (you could also cut them out prior to hanging them up.)

9. If going for the traditional balloons and streamers, some colors to consider would be black, white and silver.

10. Although not REALLY fitting with a spy theme, yellow caution tape (found at most large hardware stores) can look great for streamers.

11. Budget permitting, you can purchase any number of life-sized, movie star cardboard cutouts. These are fantastic, especially for picture taking. Let your guests get their picture next to James Bond (pick one…) or Austin Powers. They can be purchased at any movie memorabilia store. A sample site on the Internet includes http://www.hollywoodmegastore.com (Quest Experiences does not endorse this website – it is supplied merely as a starting point for finding said products.)

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12. Take a grown man’s pair of shoes and trace out the soul (each shoe) onto a piece of cardboard. Once you cut these out, you’ll have a great stencil for creating numerous footprints to place throughout your location. They can have multiple purposes (aside from just looking great spread throughout) including showing people where to stand in line for food, as part of game you already have planned or even fun paths to follow leading to different locations within your party space.

13. For a more global feel to your evening/event of espionage, provide lots of world maps or maps of other countries. There is a lot you can do to play off of geography (especially if you are choosing to have your guests representing different countries.) You can also order a free map of Washington DC from AAA (if you are a member.)

14. UNDER SUPERVISION, this is something the kids would LOVE to help with. Find yourself a stamp pad (they make washable ones for kids.) Using your own fingers, stamp fingerprints on the balloons, streamers and whatever other decorations you might be hanging about your party!

15. With standard white chalk, draw an outline of a dead body on the pavement. This would be a great place to use some of that yellow CAUTION tape.

16. If you really want to go for it, make a false ‘front’ to your party. For example, decorate the entrance to the party like a florist shop (for example.) Tell your guests to visit Darla’s Florist and give the pass phrase “I’d like some Egyptian daisies.” Once said, you can slide over a false wall (curtain, sheet of large cardboard, etc.) allowing them to discreetly enter the “Safe House.”

17. Have a VHS tape that won’t work? Using a small screwdriver, remove the role of film from the plastic casing by unscrewing the small screws. A lot of things can be done with this including ribbon (for gift wrapping, bows, cutlery ties), party streamers, even as part of a centerpiece (unravel several feet of it and heap it into a pile.)

18. You can make a great looking bomb by cutting standard PVC piping and spray painting them red. Take eight (or so, depending on how big you want the bomb) and tie them together with black electrical tape (this may take two people to make a nice bundle.) Attach some white sculpting clay on top in the middle. Finally, take some electrical wire and cut some small pieces to stick in the clay. Take a long red piece of wire and wrap it around a rolling pin (tightly, so that you are forming a nice coil.) Attach one end of the coil to the clay and the other end inside one of the hollow pipes. It’s a GREAT looking bomb that you spend only a couple of bucks on!

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19. A simpler bomb involves painting over a simple globe shaped piñata (try looking around for the cliché yellow happy face piñatas.) Of course, once completed, you could have your guests ‘detonate’ the bomb and explode the goodies inside for them all to share.

20. Many TVs nowadays have the capability to convert into a computer screen (once hooked up to a computer.) You can create a standard Powerpoint presentation with all types of images (Capital building, Washing Monument, etc.) and have them scroll through on the TV. Of course, a large screen TV would work best for this.

21. Obtain some photos ahead of time of some of your guests and create FBI wanted posters (visit your local US post office to see the style and format.) Have fun coming up with different reasons why the FBI might be looking for them – knowing the guests, you could get crazy with it!

Sound

1. I have always been a fan of background music for any themed event. Even if the volume is very, very low making it difficult to entirely make out sometimes, I’ve always found that its mere presence takes the quality of the party up a notch. The best suggestion to consider would be soundtracks – from a variety of movies (though preferably from movies where the music is unfamiliar, unless it is specifically a spy themed movie such as Mission Impossible.) Soundtracks are great for setting mood and tension. Before you go out and start purchasing some CD soundtracks, though…ask around first. You’d be surprised how many people keep a few soundtracks on hand for their favorite movies. Another great resource is your local public library.

Costumes There are several different roads to try when deciding on costumes for this theme.

1. If you don’t think that your guests will be coming in costume, then you can play off of the fact that the CIA trains its covert agents to ‘blend in’ with civilians. No one would really know a good agent from your next door neighbor.

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2. Another approach is to go for a more ‘thief’ look. This includes dressing all in black (turtlenecks look great) with a black ski-mask type hat. Some props might include a briefcase, firearm (pretend…), flashlight, small headphones to go in the ear, camera and binoculars. Oriental Trading Company is a great place to find some small plastic gadgets like this for kids as well as centerpieces.

3. If you are going for a more global approach (i.e. world espionage) then encourage your guests to dress from different countries throughout the world. Every nation has it’s own national intelligence agency. You can either suggest specific countries to different guests or allow them to choose (this ensures that there will be a wide variety of countries represented at the event.) You could also leave it up to your guests…just be prepared for a lot of England and France.

4. Then, of course there is the Classic Bond (formal wear.) 5. A great place to get a lab coat is at a medical uniform store line Cyntas – check

your yellow pages for a medical uniform store near you (where they sell different kinds of scrubs.)

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Invitations

1. Movie posters from different spy themed movies make great front covers for your invitations. The graphic for it can be found by visiting a couple movie poster websites and ‘nabbing’ the image by either right click/cutting and pasting or by right clicking/Save Picture As.

2. In the invitations, don’t just invite them to a party…invite them to a Spy Training at The Farm, a Safe House, CIA Headquarters meeting at Langley, New Recruits Orientation. Get the adventure going from the get-go!

3. Now living in an amazing technological age, you have a myriad of options for communication. Try putting the invitation in a WORD format document. Then (on the SAVE screen) click TOOLs, then GENERAL OPTIONS. In the bottom left corner there will be a box to type in a password. Choose one that will work. It will then ask you to repeat the password in a new box (don’t enter anything in the password box on the bottom RIGHT – that is for something else.) Now you have a password protected file/invitation! You can either email that to your invitees (offering the password to open it for another time…or providing the password in the body of your email.) You could also merely offer a clue as to what the password is – without just outright telling them. Rather than emailing the files, you could also burn the files on CDs and then mail them to your guests. They’ll get a big kick out of getting a blank CD. However, a note on this last suggestion…make sure that they know it is from you and that it is virus free. With all the viruses that float around our cyber-community, everyone is pretty wary of opening strange files.

4. Similar to the above, you could just print the party information ON THE CD itself. These can then be mailed (no case required since there isn’t any information to protect) to your guests. You can purchase CD labels at your local office supply store.

5. In the invitations, give the invitee a secret pass phrase to say before they’ll be allowed to enter the party.

6. Write the party information in code and provide a decoder key so that they can figure out your message. Kid’s especially love this!

7. Either give each guest an alias or tell them that they must come to the event with one already prepared.

8. Record someone’s voice with all the party information and mail it on a CD or cassette. Make it sound like the old Mission Impossible mission

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assignments…’should they choose to accept the invitation’ and ‘this invitation will self destruct in 10 seconds!’

9. Create a letter from the President of the United States or for the Director of Foreign Operations, CIA. The letter could explain the emergency at hand and that they are needed to serve their country (by coming to the party.)

10. Using standard black poster board, cut out small tuxedo jackets. On a standard white sheet of paper draw a white shirt (slightly smaller than the jacket) wherein you can write all the details for the party. Now glue the shirt to the jacket. On the black side of the invite, you can decorate the jacket with a pocket and flower/hankie. Of course, it is advised to first create a template for each of the cutouts so that you can speedily draw the jackets and shirts.

11. Using standard manilla folders, cut out small briefcases along the fold such that you’ve made very small folders with C shaped briefcase handles on top. Depending on how large you’ve made the briefcases, you can get 2-3 from a single file folder. Once they are all cut out, using a Confidential stamp (found at most large office supply stores) stamp the outside of you briefcases. Now all you need to do is to write the party details on small pieces of white paper and put them in the briefcases. If the briefcases are going to be hand delivered, you can leave them as is. If you are going to mail them (which look really neat once addressed) you need to tape the three sides of the briefcase making sure the white piece of paper doesn’t fall out during mailing.

12. Order a stack of Washington DC postcards from the bureau of tourism (check online.) These make great invitations to mail out!

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Food Drinks

1. Martinis, of course. For children, you can use lemonade. Kool-aid also makes colorless flavors. Use green ball candy (jelly beans, gum drops, etc.) with a toothpick speared through them for olives!

Cake

1. Turn a standard 9” round cake(s) into a bomb! Bake a cupcake (pealed from the wrapper) and place at one end of the cake (before frosted.) This will act as your ‘nose’ of the bomb, where the fuse would normally go. Now frost the simple round and cupcake (such that the two are attached seamlessly with the frosting) with a dark (black, if you dare…) frosting. On the cupcake portion, put the candles in a bundle, ready to be blown out. You can also write the words ‘Birthday Blast’ on the bomb. Since this cake is small, you can make several, making sure the one blowing out the candles will have to ‘diffuse’ several bombs. In a similar way, you can make bombs from individual cupcakes.

2. Even if your cake doesn’t LOOK like a bomb, you can still turn it into one! Cut some electrical wire (with the colored rubber insulation) into varying sizes (10”-24”). For shaping, coil them around a rolling pin. Finally, insert the two ends of each wire into different parts of the cake. If you have one handy, place an alarm clock right in the middle of the wires (with one end of each wire stuck into the cake below the clock.) If you use different colors wires (the colors of the insulation) you could have the guest of honor cut the wire of your choice to diffuse the bomb cake (hand them a pair of wire cutters). This could also be worked into a game where the guests learn which wire they are to cut in order to make sure the bomb does not detonate.

3. Before you frost the cake, put a few hidden surprises into the cake (plastic jewels, coins, etc.) Once all are pushed in, frost as normal. In this way, certain pieces of cake will have different surprises inside. This is also a great way to hold a raffle (i.e. whoever has the jewel, wins!)

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4. Using piped frosting (from a tube) you can write a secret message on the cake. If you’ve created a code for the invitations or party itself, this would be a great time to incorporate it into a different part of the party. The message you write could read something like “Happy Birthday” or something more complicated such as a clue to a game you have planned later in the party.

Misc.

1. For snacks, have some chocolate, gold coins in dishes. Can’t be a spy without having access to a wad of cash!

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Kids Before we get into the games and activities, you might want to think about incorporating them into a ‘Training’ portion of the day (if you haven’t already decided to revolve the entire party around Spy Training.) Each game or activity could be a different aspect of the training – creating natural ‘centers’ for your party. Games

1. Powers of Observation – There are several different fun variations of this game (detailed below.) They all involve beginning with a complicated visual set-up and allow the players to try and memorize as much as they can. Then the visual is taken away and the players try to recall as much as they can.

a. Set up a large display or different spy themed items (binoculars, etc.) You can either leave it like this…or you can also add a bunch of NON-spy items. When the players are asked to recall what they can, they are only allowed to write down the spy items (the others will be visual distractions!)

b. Let the players see the display, then, once the display is gone or they’ve left the room, ask specific questions (i.e. What color were the sunglasses?, etc.)

c. Have someone walk in with an elaborate disguise (this works best with a hodge-podge of items that might not normally go together.) Let the kids look at the person, then let them leave the room. The kids must recall what they saw. Here are some variations on this:

i. Have a few different volunteers come in at once, letting the players see everyone at the same time. Then, once they all leave, the recalling begins (either by answering questions or by recalling specific disguise items.)

ii. The different volunteers can also come in one at a time – applying the ideas above.

iii. FOR OLDER KIDS – DON’T LET THEM KNOW THEY ARE INITIALLY PLAYING A GAME! Stage an argument or something fun between two people in the room when everyone is present. Make sure that it lasts for at least 15 seconds. Then, once the characters leave, tell them that their powers of observation are about to be tested. This way, they’ll be tested on the NATURAL powers of observation. This

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can also be done with the display items originally described in this game detail, it’s just not as dramatic as having a small scene set up between a couple of characters!

2. Take a room or other private area and make sure that none of the kids have access to it while someone hides several different spy items (sunglasses, passports, binoculars, etc.) Explain to the kids that on your mark you will let them enter the room and they are to collect as many items as they can. The fake money is worth 1 point each bill (the easiest to find), the sunglasses are worth 3 points each (a little harder to find) and the binoculars are worth 5 points each (not many of them and very hard to find.) Apply the method to hide a variety of different items in the room. Once all the items have been found, everyone adds up their points and a winner is determined. HINT: Make sure you know ahead of time how many of each kind of item is hidden so that you will know when to end the game.

3. Allow the children to create their OWN secret identity. Have the children draw themselves in the disguise of their choice and include fun, but obscure facts about themselves. All of the drawings are then pinned up on the wall while each child tries to match the secret identity with a child at the party. The fewer the guests figure out who the secret identity really is, wins.

4. Have a series of secret messages that need to be decoded placed throughout the party. This could also be incorporated into the menu and signs you might have posted. See the Secret Codes portion of the Miscellaneous Ideas section at the end of this packet for specific ideas for sample codes to use.

5. Have a regular balloon toss, but use small black balloons – explain that the water balloons are actually grenades – the goal being to try and keep the grenades from exploding in your hands.

6. Shadowing. Gather different spy themed items (fedora hat, briefcase, etc.) Project a bright light against a blank, white wall. Have the children sit on the floor facing the wall (warning them NOT to turn around.) One by one, hold the different items up in front of the light so that only their SHADOWS appear on the wall. See if the children can guess the items by their shadows. You can also hand each child a piece of paper so that they can write their answers secretly – you checking at the end to see who had the most correct.

7. On separate sheets of 8 ½ x 11 white paper, trace each child’s foot (one at a time so that other children can’t see them as you trace.) Once you have them all, pin them all up and allow the children to guess which shoe outline belongs to which child. To make it more difficult, first have all the children sitting in chairs, facing the paper

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pin-ups. In this way, they won’t be able to look down at the other children’s feet without you noticing and warning them against it. This second part could also be inserted in the Powers of Observation section above (#1) – this would also work for outlines of the children’s entire body. You’ll need large sheets of white butcher paper for this last one.

8. Get your hands on as many cell phones as you can and hide them throughout the playing area you’ve established (the larger the area the better.) Now let the children attempt to find them. Have one adult with the list of all the phone numbers hidden and their exact locations. You can either leave the game as is – dialing the number of all cell phones not found…or…you can dial the number each time a child gets close to one of the phones. Allow it to only ring once, then hang up. Another way to facilitate this is to allow the children to call your first cell phone number. They will let it ring and ring (hitting redial) until they find the phone. This phone will have the next cell phone number written with it so that the children can then call the second number. Continue this pattern until the children have found all the cell phones and ultimately the final destination (wherein you can have the good bags, the guest of honor’s presents, the cake, etc.)

9. Get your hands on a Confidential Stamp (they can be purchased at any office supply store.) This can be used to ‘spyify’ just about anything from streamers and balloons, to invitations, clues, maps…you name it! It looks great – and it’s easy and cheap!

10. Create a small obstacle course for children to steer a remote control car through. Have fun with the course (making deliveries at headquarters, etc.) Decorate it all like a small city. Time each child to see how long it takes them to complete their ‘car chase.’

11. Test their powers of observation by handing different teams of children a copy of the same magazine. Choose a magazine that would have images relating to espionage (samples might include travel magazines, survival and technical magazines, etc.) Make sure there are lots of pictures (no journals…) Ahead of time, find specific pictures in the magazine and write down their page numbers on a piece of paper. Have each team (five children max) keep their magazine closed until you’ve called out the item and said GO! They will then flip through the pages of the magazine frantically looking for the image you called out. The first team to find the image earns one point. The team with the most points at the end wins. If you have two teams, make sure you have an odd number of items so that you can avoid a tie. If your magazines have similar pictures throughout, purchase an additional

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copy of the magazine and physically cut out the images you want the teams to find. Same as before, have each team close their magazine, you then hold up the cut out image. Once each team has seen the image, say GO and let the race begin. You might want to add in the extra difficulty of not allowing the teams to see the image again once their magazines are open. They must use their powers of observation to remember what the image exactly looked like.

12. Turn simple relay races into Spy races. In order to pass information from spy to spy, they must do what the CIA calls a ‘drop.’ There are ‘dead drops’(where the information is left on an inanimate object i.e. under a park bench – wherein the recipient of the information must come later and retrieve the information from the bench, etc.) and ‘brush drops’ (where the information is passed directly from person to person.) Instead of passing batons, have them pass notes (for brush drops.) You could also set up a relay race where each person is given five pieces of paper. When it’s their turn, they must plant the five dead drops at their fives locations, then run back to tag the next person. Have two teams going head to head and you’ll have an exciting Spy relay race!

13. Find some strange articles of clothing, ones that can be worn by the children. Organize a Disguise Relay Race. This can be facilitated in two different ways, both involving breaking the kids up into two different groups.

a. Place two suitcases way out, away from the teams. When you say GO, the first member of each team must race to their respective suitcase, put each article of clothing on until the judge by each has verified that each article of clothing is properly worn, then remove all the articles and return them to the suitcase. They are then to run back to their team and tap the hand of the next team member who must run to the suitcase and do the same. The team who has all their team members return first (having each worn the disguise) is the winner. If one team has more members than the other, then make sure that one of the members from the smaller team runs it twice. For added fun, make sure to include items of clothing that must be buttoned, snapped and zipped. Also, make a concerted effort to include similar clothing in the two suitcases.

b. A variation on the above is to split each team into two halves. Each half faces each other a good distance away. When you say go, the first team member from each team on ONE of the sides must put on all their articles of clothing. Once the judge has verified that all the buttons are buttoned and all the snaps are snapped, the team member must run to the team

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members on the other side and remove the articles of clothing so that the next team member can begin to put on the disguise. Once the disguise is on and verified by the judge on that side, the team member runs across and repeats the action. This can be hilarious to watch the children run with the funny articles of clothing you may have chosen. This game could easily be adapted for outgoing adults who love to laugh at themselves and have a good time!

14. Agility Test – Obstacle course. Make it fun by going beyond the typical tires and cones. Make them crawl under and over things, across balance beams as well. Then, add tasks like delivering a note, planting a bug on the phone, recovering a data CD or VHS cassette (having them pick one up along the way then dropping it off somewhere else) and throwing a bomb (a water balloon) to test for distance. Make sure to carry a soccer whistle and a clip board as though you are scoring them telling them you are only taking the ‘best of the best.’

15. Firearms Practice. This can be facilitated in a number of different ways. a. Possible firearms include Nerf guns (check out the Dart nerf guns), squirt

guns, saucer shooters and water balloons for grenades. b. Set up a gallery of sorts with varying sizes and shapes of targets. Either

allow each child a certain number of shots or allow them a specific amount of time to ‘clear’ the gallery by shooting them all down. Make sure to have a variety of targets and shots (some they must lay down, some trick shots around corners, some really high, some very far, etc.) For best results, allow the kids to run through the gallery for only a certain number of seconds…they get ONE shot at each target…assuming they can make it through the course in time.

c. Some possible targets might include: i. Photos of villains (nabbed from the Internet) glued to cardboard and

hanging from the ceiling, walls or trees. ii. Simple objects found around the house, but with a spy theme (i.e.

sunglasses, etc.) iii. Fellow agents (allow the kids to shoot each other – making sure that

they stay a specific distance away from each other…first one hit is down and out!)

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Activities 1. Have the children come up with their own secret code. Let them use their

imaginations (you’d be surprised what some of them will come up with.) For those that get stumped, you can offer suggestions such as substituting letters for letters (K=A, P=B, etc.) or numbers for letters (6=A, 9=B, etc.) This can also be done with symbols. For added fun, let them write their code key on a piece of card stock – then instruct them to cut the cardstock into puzzle pieces. In this way, in order to use the key, they must first fit the puzzle pieces together. For this, keep some small Ziploc sandwich baggies handy for the kids to put their pieces in when they are done.

2. Tell each child that they each must come up with their own ‘code name’ (i.e. Cobra, Stingray, Gamma, etc.)

3. Provide the children with extra magazines (often times the public library has a ‘free’ section containing lots of old magazines) and newspapers (junk mail would also work). Provide each child with a pair of scissors, paper and glue. Their task is to write a message cutting out letters and gluing them to the paper (just like a ransom note.) You can either give them free reign to write whatever they want or give them an assignment (i.e. they must write a letter to their parents telling them that they just joined the CIA, etc.) This is a great pre-party activity to facilitate as the children are awaiting all the guests to arrive.

4. This is a fantastically fun idea that is great for a ‘grand finale’ to your entire party. Have them go on a mission (this is especially great if you’ve themed the rest of the party to Spy Training – now they can go on an actual mission!) Begin by collecting as many spy objects as you can. Next, get your hands on some play money (any kind will do, of course the more realistic looking, the better.) Now, you’ll need to map out your location/facility in a room-to-room fashion. For example, see how many rooms you can connect without having to overlap or back track (i.e. Foyer to living room to family room to kitchen to hallway to master bedroom to master bathroom.) If you don’t have a lot of closed off rooms to work with, read on anyway – there are ways to adapt this idea to fit any location. Make sure that the first room that all the children can start in is a large one. The idea being that they will need to move from room to room in their mission. Each room must be ‘conquered’ (much like a level in a video game) before they can move onto the next room. Make sure that no other room is available to them except the room they are in. On the door leading to the next room of their mission, post a piece of paper stating what country the next room is and what is needed before they can enter. For example,

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on the doorway connecting the living room to the family room there might be a sign saying “Now entering France. Passengers must have a briefcase and $100 before they can disembark.” In the living room, hide a briefcase and $100 in fake money. The idea being that the children as a group must search their current room for the items. Once they find them, they can approach the door and you’ll allow them to go to the next country. Now the doorway from the family room to the kitchen has a different sign “Welcome to Germany. Passengers bring with them three sets of handcuffs and $300.” They will then search the family room for these items before they can continue to the next room/country. Have fun coming up with different items they’ll need to collect and where you hide them. The final room will have the bomb, person held hostage, etc. that you’ve chosen as your overall goal for the mission. This could also be a great place to put all of the goodie bags for the children to take home with them.

5. Using a digital camera, take a picture of each child. Print out each child’s face (either large enough to fill the page, or small enough so that the child will have enough room to draw their entire body.) Allow the children to come up with their own disguise. Provide markers, crayons, fake hair and whatever other items for the children to get creative with their disguises. This is a great project for the kids to take away with them as a remembrance of the great time they had at the party.

6. Have them go through some light exercises for their basic training (i.e. pushups, jumping jacks, jogging in place, etc.)

7. Give each child a small spiral notebook (found at most dollar stores) and have them take notes on the games and activities as they are happening. It will become their own secret journal. As long as the messages aren’t too personal, allow the children to guess who wrote each notebook by reading the entries (they might have details on whether or not they won a particular game, etc.)

8. Group the children into pairs. Blindfold one and arm them both with a walkie talkie. The blindfolded one must listen to the verbal instructions of the one back at ‘headquarters’ (off to the side or at the start) to know where to walk, run, jump, grab, etc. Send each pair on a mission to do different things (gather microfilm, crawl through a tight spot, etc.) When timed, this could also be turned into a game. If you don’t have access to walkie talkies, cell phones could also be used and many have a ‘walkie talkie’-like function.

9. A good ice breaker for the kids (especially if there are children present who may not be familiar with everyone attending) is to play the classic game of pinning a famous person, object or movie to the backs of each child. Each child must walk

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around the room and ask each other yes or no questions in hopes of trying to figure out what is written on their backs. Make sure that the children are instructed that they can only ask ONE to THREE (you can decide based on the number of children present) questions to each person, ensuring that the kids are moving around, talking to all the participants. A variation of this (for older children or adults) includes putting a simple name on their back (i.e. Steve, Kelly, etc. – making sure that it is NOT the actual name of the child.) Tell the children that the name on their back is their own new ‘alias’ that they must figure out. The same process of asking yes or no questions is involved, however it is now much more difficult to think of questions…be prepared for this to last a good 15 minutes, of course it could last longer…depending on the participants.

10. Make sure all the kids get fingerprinted for identification. Fingerprinting card templates have been provided in the Graphics section at the end of this packet. Make sure to print them out on white cardstock, then cut them out. These are great to allow the children to keep and take home with them.

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Adult Activities/Games

1. This works best with large groups of guests, where the guests are somewhat familiar with each other. Pull everyone together in one room. Choose one person to leave the room until called back in. Now, select another person to leave into a different room. Call back the first person and see if they can figure out who is missing from the group. Set a specific period of time (number of seconds) that they have to figure out who in the group has ‘gone covert.’

2. This is a bit of an oldie, but can still be a goodie. Explain to everyone that one person will be chosen as the 'assassin.' The best way I've found to do this is to take a small deck of cards - made up of one playing card for each guest participating (one of them MUST be the Ace of Spades.) Now pass out the cards, one to each guest. Explain that the person with the Ace of Spades must see how many people they can 'assassinate' during the party before they are caught. The guests are then to begin walking around the room, looking at each other in the eyes. The way the assassin 'kills' someone is by winking at them, very inconspicuously. If someone is winked at, they are to wait a second or two (to allow the room to mix a bit) and then to either fall down pretending to be dead (kids love this part) or by just calling out 'I'm dead!' (more preferable for adults.) Anyone, that is still alive, that is, can make a guess as to who they think the assassin is - but only one guess. If they get it right, they win. If they get it wrong, they are out of the game and join the 'dead' on the sidelines. Those that are out or dead are to keep silent until the assassin is discovered. As an added touch (to make it more difficult for the assassin) allow protection to the person(s) holding a 2 card. This person is deemed the counter assassin. If the murderer tries to kill the counter assassin, he/she is caught and the game is over. Those that are still alive can then regroup and draw for a new assassin.

3. This is a great game for movie buffs. Take a prize (preferably small – something that can fit inside a small box) and wrap it in paper (preferably something plain such as brown packaging paper.) On the outside of the package, attach folded pieces of paper – taped shut. On the inside of each of the pieces of paper (before they are taped shut), write the name of an actor in a given Spy Themed Movie (make sure that all the actors are in the same movie – do not choose characters/actors from different movies.) Now take this present and put it inside

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another box (you can also just wrap it twice, but it’s more fun when it is inside another box.) On the outside of this wrapping, attach more folded over sealed pieces of paper, this time with characters/actors from a different spy themed movie. Do this for as many times as you wish (probably not going too much more than four lest the game last too long and your guests get bored with it.) To play the game, have your guests sit in a large circle. Play appropriate music (i.e. the soundtrack to Mission Impossible) while the guests play ‘hot potato’ with the package. When the music stops, the person holding the gift must GIVE THE PRESENT to the person who just gave it to them. By doing this, no person will hold onto the gift for very long because they’ll want to pass it to the next person in hopes that when the music stops it will be given back to them. The person who ends up with the gift must peal back one of the character/actor clues and read it out loud. If they can guess the movie based on this single clue, they can unwrap the layer. If they can’t the music starts again and the gifts begins to be passed around once more. Continue doing this, each person pealing back a new clue until someone is able to guess the movie and unwrap the gift to the next layer. If all clues are revealed and none of those people could guess the movie (even though others in the room might know it) have the gift passed around one more time and the next person who gets it simply gets to unwrap the layer. Repeat this process, moving on from movie to movie until a final person gets to unwrap the gift and win the prize. Keep the game moving by not allowing the music to play very long.

4. How about a little game of Interrogation. From your local ice house, purchase two blocks of ice (just large enough to be SAT on without melting anytime soon.) That’s right…SAT on. Set up two kiddie pools with a plastic chair in the middle of each. Place one block of ice on each chair. Two guests are then challenged to see who can sit there the longest, while simultaneously drinking ice water. Although regular interrogations involve a ‘hot’ seat, this kind is no more easy to endure. It’s best, of course, to have the contestants wearing shorts. Time each guest and then allow the next set of contestants. The winner is the one who can endure it the longest. If you’ve split your guests into two groups, you could have each group select only a couple of team members to participate.

5. Break up your guests into teams of four and arm each with a digital camera (you might want to ask your guests in the invitations to brings ones that they have.) Now provide your guests with a list of different pictures they must take. Turn it into a scavenger hunt. Just make sure that you tell everyone that the only way the picture will count is if EVERYONE on the team is in the picture (minus the one who is

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taking the picture.) These make great souvenirs for after the party. Offer different pictures different amounts of points, depending on the difficulty levels. Some to include might be on a bridge, with a celebrity look-a-like, on the top of a building at least five stories tall, outside a government agency building, in an army surplus store with military paraphernalia in the background, with a police officer, inside a costume shop (disguises), etc.

6. Teach your guests the Tango – the dance of choice for all spies. Before you call around to hire a professional, ask around to see if you might know (or know someone who knows) a college student who is a Dance major and would be willing to do it (likewise Musical Theater majors.) You can also check out videos from the library or local video store.

7. If you have a large ‘playing area,’ play a game of surveillance. Arm each team with a digital camera (you can instruct your guests to bring one if they have one…many people have them these days.) Beforehand, take several pictures of obscure objects about the area or facility (take some that are real close up, too, so that they’ll have to really search out what it is that you took a picture of.) Print a copy of each picture, enough for each team to have one of each. When you say GO, every team must search the grounds/facility for the different locations or objects you’ve taken a picture of. They will then need to take the exact picture with their camera. Make sure to tell the teams before they begin that they must all return by a specific time (you’ll tell them exactly as pertaining to your own party schedule.) Every team comes in and turns in their camera. The judge can then view the different pictures in the camera’s memory to see how many they found. Have fun coming up with different scenes and objects. Hide a briefcase, some passports on a table, etc.

8. Assign every guest an ‘alias’ name that they must go by for the duration of the evening. These can either be given to them in the invitations or by letting them come up with one of their own before the event. The idea being that everyone will have to get to know everyone’s new name (and can only address their fellow guests as their aliases.) Then about half way through the event, give everyone a piece of paper to see who can remember the most aliases. Depending on how your guests are going for it, you might even consider allowing the game to go much longer – depending on the crowd.

9. Set up a whole casino playing area. Give them high dollar amounts (each fake bill is worth $1000) and let them win or lose it all. Equipment can be rented, but you might want to ask around to see what others might have. Have a few ‘poker savvy’ friends come over to teach different games and deal at different tables. Award the

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one with the most money a prize at the end. OR, you could award one raffle ticket for each $5000 in fake money they have by the end of the night. In this way, even those that may not have won it big could still participate in the drawing at the end (the more money you win, the better your chances at winning the prize at the end.)

10. Get your hands on a couple children’s tricycles and hold some ‘high speed chase’ races. Set up an obstacle course (using masking tape on the ground to mark a line that the racers must follow.) Make sure to include some hairpin turns. This is GREAT fun to watch!

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Miscellaneous The following are ideas that don’t nicely fit into any of the above categories, but ones that I wanted to make sure were kept in.

1. Secret Codes – You might consider creating and providing a small ‘code breaking’ manual for your guests to use throughout the event. Make sure to provide different codes and keys so that they’ll have to figure out which code to use!

1. Use a white crayon to write a message on a white piece of paper. The message can be revealed in a couple of different ways.

a. Take a regular colored marker (preferably a darker one) and scribble over the entire page until the message is revealed.

b. Take a light wash of watercolor (thinned down with water) and paint over the message. The water will bubble over the letters of your message.

2. Substituting letters for letters (K=A, P=B, etc.) or numbers for letters (6=A, 9=B, etc.) This can also be done with symbols.

3. A great site for different secret codes: http://youthonline.ca/spykids

2. Use pass phrases for different times in the event (i.e. to enter, when requesting food, etc.) For example, your guests might need to say a phrase such as “I’ve never been to Boston in the fall” and the other person would reply with “But the leaves are much more beautiful in Munich.” You could even have a few different phrases possible that the person could respond with, giving your guest the answer to their question.

3. If the party is for children only, involve the movie Spy Kids as the overall theme (incorporating the activities and games mentioned above.) You could even play the movie as the finale (a great way for the kids to wind down after all the activities you had planned – especially after the obstacle course…)

4. Once again, if planning a children’s party, have the children collect different spy objects during each of the activities, building up their spy kit. These are great for the children to take home as parting gifts at the conclusion of the party.

5. Have your guests find a recorded message wherein they can get secret instructions (i.e. where to find their gifts, a new location where the party was changed to, etc.) If everyone will be in the same room listening to the message at

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once, make sure to throw in the old ‘this message will self destruct in five seconds’ at the end. Then, after a few seconds, suddenly shut off all the lights!

6. If creating a mission for your guests, have them get an imprint of a key by pushing it into some sculpey clay. To add to the fun, have then ‘steal’ the key from a volunteer (you might have them pretend to be sleeping) and then, once they’ve made the imprint, they’ll need to replace the key from where they stole it.

7. Another great activity for a mission is to steam an envelope open to read its contents. To add to this, you could have the participants SWITCH letters before resealing it, offering false information for the person the letter was intended.

8. Create CIA name badges for your guests (see the two different badge templates provided in the Graphics section to give you a head start.) If you are handy with Photoshop, you can take digital photos of your guests (ahead of time is preferable so that you’ll have ample time to have the badges ready as your guests arrive) and put them on the badges. You could also take digital photos and print them out immediately while the guests are arriving. Then cut their pictures out and glue them to the badges. If photos aren’t possible, you could also have your guests supply a thumbprint in the box where their photo would normally go. From your local office supply store you can purchase lanyards to put the badges in so that they can be easily pinned on your guests’ shirts. You could also purchase large laminating sheets to place over your badges, then cut them out. This works better if you plan on using the badges as an ID (something to conceal in their wallet) versus a badge to wear on your clothing.

9. Fun places to hide secret messages are in very small coin manilla envelopes. They are smaller than a playing card and, once you’ve stamped the word Confidential on them, look great for hiding secret notes and clues.

10. Check your computer options. Most have a control to print in reverse (for decals and iron-on transfer printing.) This is great fun to write messages where the ‘spy’ must hold the message up to a mirror in order to read it.

11. Nowadays, one can purchase cheap digital watches for pennies. Arm each guest with one and run your party on the military time system. All your guests will have to keep an eye on their watches to progress through the party.

12. Set your overall party to the theme of trying to locate the bomb hidden somewhere at the facility. A great finale is to bring out a ‘bomb’ cake (see the Food section above) lit with 4th of July sparklers – the bomb they’ve been looking for. This is also a great way to incorporate the other activities and games you might have planned for your guests.

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13. A fun place to hide a secret message is inside a pen. Take a pen that can be unscrewed and taken apart. Then, roll up a small piece of paper and stick it inside, then reassemble the pen. Fun!

14. Small pencil boxes make create ‘secret’ briefcases for children. Spray painting them brown, silver or black is a great touch. These make great party favor holders or great containers to hold all the fun spy pieces you might have had them gather during the party. As a pre-party activity you could also allow the children to decorate them. Some possible decorations would include stamping some different colored world stamps onto it (visit your local stamping store to find a rubber stamp for these), magazine images of different exotic locals (National Geographic and travel magazines are great resources) and other images of various technologies (see mailing advertisements for images of TVs, radios, stereos, palm pilots, etc.)

15. Another great place to hide clues is inside a fortune cookie. Although you can purchase fortune cookies with your own messages, unless you want a 100 or so, it isn’t worth the money. Simply use a pair of standard tweezers and remove the fortune from a standard fortune cookie (the cheaper fortune cookies tend to be put together less tightly, enabling easier fortune removal.) Once you have the note written, simply insert it into the cookie (much easier than taking the note out…)

16. What spy doesn’t have access to lots of cash? Fake money can be purchased through places like Oriental Trading Company, but they can also be printed out. For added fun, use Photoshop to insert the guest of honor’s photo on the money. This money can be used throughout the party/event as either earned during different activities and games or purchased for activities (as used in fundraising efforts.)

17. Pass out party poppers during the party as ‘explosives.’ 18. A great way to make some money on the side (if as part of a fundraising effort) is

to create a jail cell (or marked off area will do, also) where different guests can pay to have another guest at the event arrested for espionage. The person who is working the jail (preferably someone who is outgoing enough to have fun with it) will approach the ‘spy’ and make an arrest on behalf of the United States government – the charges are being a double agent working for a foreign power. He will then escort the guest to the ‘jail’ where the guest must sit for five minutes before they are released. This is one of those activities that might take a little nudging to get started, but quickly turns into something that EVERYONE gets into once word gets out! Revenge and retaliation quickly come into play…

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Graphics to use These last few pages contain some handy graphics to print for your party. The second and third sheets contains different fun images of nuclear schematics and reactors. These could be used as part of your party games – collecting different pieces of clandestine information as the party progresses. On the fourth page, you’ll notice a template for fingerprinting your guests. If you’d rather go more formal (with a lot more to fill out) you can also visit the following website: www.fbi.gov/kids/k5th/fingerprintcard.htm The fifth sheet contains two different name badge templates. Simply print and glue the guest’s face in the box on the left (they can either bring a picture with them, you can take digital photos of the children, or they can have fun drawing themselves!)

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