Action, Adventure, Archaeology – Indiana Jones has been a favourite hero for kids every since the first film, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, appeared in 1981. Whip-toting, fedora-wearing, smart-talking “Indy” is one of the world’s most enduring movie heroes, and it’s not surprising many kids want Indiana Jones-themed birthday parties.
If your kid is more interested in exploring ancient tombs than the latest computer games, then here are some tips on throwing them a perfect Indiana Jones party.
Invitations
Indiana Jones spends a lot of time working out codes and puzzles. Why not create coded invitations using simple codes and mail them out to the guests with a key? You could use a simple number code, such as the one displayed below, or create a message using the Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic alphabet. To make the invitations look like they were dug up from an ancient tomb, bake them in the oven for 10 minutes on a low temperature and use a lighter to burn around the edges (be careful not to burn yourself!)
Decorations
Create a space to delight and inspire any young explorer. Decorate the walls with Indiana Jones movie posters interspersed with old maps or tribal, Egyptian and classical images. Hide fake snakes and rats and spiders in the corners and under chairs.
Drape the table in gauzy fabric and string the legs with fairy lights. Use candles, skulls, fake vines and other halloween supplies to make the table look like a “temple”.
You can also use outdoor jungle gyms, chairs, couches and other furniture to create a cave or fort. Fill with cushions, plastic spiders and snakes. You can also use torches covered with cellophane to create eerie coloured lights.
Costumes
Encourage all the children to come in costumes. Of course, the birthday boy or girl should get to dress in the Indiana Jones costume. You can find awesome Indiana Jones costumes for kids from online retailers – no need to break the bank. Don’t forget to add the whip!
Other costume ideas: WWII soldiers, archaeologists, people from different ancient cultures.
Games
Of course, no Indiana Jones Birthday Party would be complete without a treasure hunt. Create a series of clues hidden around the house or garden that lead to a treasure hoard at the end. Hand the birthday boy/girl the first clue and watch the kids race off to solve the puzzle.
Kids always love a game of “wrap the mummy”. Break the kids into pairs and give each pair a role of toilet paper and some craft tape. One person must wrap the other one up as a mummy. The best mummy wins. If the kids are feeling particularly energetic, you can also get all the mummies to have a race across the lawn or navigate a short obstacle course.
If you have a sandpit at your home, you could also bury some prizes and have the children uncover them with brushes and trovels. You can sometimes buy plastic dinosaur skeletons that would be fantastic to uncover in the sand. Don’t bury any toys of food items that couldn’t handle being covered in sand.
For quieter games, hand around some word puzzles and coded letters. And, of course, you could settle the kids down to watch one of the movies.
Food
Try some “dinosaur bones” (chicken drumsticks), licorice “whips”, and “rolling boulders” (meatballs and dipping sauce). Add some cupcakes decorated with snakes and spiders. For a cake, you could create a multi-tiered “temple of doom” with Indiana Jones lego figures acting out a scene.
To drink, serve a bowl of “Eyeball Soup” (fruit punch with grapes floating inside).
Party Favors
Give each child an archaeologist’s “dig bag” to take home. This could include some gold coins and treasure-themed candy, a book of maps and codes and puzzle games, toy swords and guns for the boys, and some tribal-themed jewellery for the girls.
At the end of the day, the kids will have had a blast, discovered some treasure, and hopefully made some new friends. And you will have one very tired but happy “Indy” who needs tucking in.
Have you ever hosted a kids’ Indiana Jones Birthday Party? Do you have any tips and advice to share?
