2.25.2009

Happy Birthday, Agent N64


Meet Agent N64.

And his sidekick, Agent Root Beer.

My little boy just turned 8. Sigh! So big. We had a secret secret agent celebration. Fun and easy on the budget. When the boys came, they all got mustaches, hats & sunglasses (found on the cheap at an online party warehouse store) and were photographed for their top secret spy passports.


Then we went on a REALLY LONG spy treasure hunt around the neighborhood (I love treasure hunts). I coded the clues so it took them awhile to crack the messages at each of the stops.


Look, they are nervous that they'll be caught.


And then time for this crazy concoction. Can I even tell you how many cans (that's right, ladies, cans) of frosting I had to use to get this baby to stick together? It wasn't looking so good so I had to send my husband out for some last minute dry ice. I am a great believer that dry ice on/around a birthday cake can redeem even the most sorry creation.

But the best part of the whole thing was making the invitations. We'd typed up a secret memo with all the information except my son's name, & a note explaining that in order to find out the identity of the birthday boy you'd need to hold the document under a heat source (with a parent, of course. We don't want any invitations on fire.) E. signed them all in lemon juice, which works like invisible ink. I wish I'd saved one...

36 comments:

misschris said...

What a fun party! I did a similar one for my eldest's 7th several years ago.

Our invitations were like ransom notes -- cut out of magazines and newsprint. Our clues were written with white crayon on white paper, and the kids had to mix a special potion from strange vials (colored water labeled with dramatic sounding names) and spray their clues to make them appear. There were also homemade decoder rings and passwords and puzzles and all sorts of levels of fun. It was one of my favorite parties, ever.

No dry ice, though. That was pretty clever. ;)

Jess said...

How Fantastic!
I can't wait until my kids are old enough to appreciate a party like this!

Unknown said...

This was the best party ever!!!!
♥Jen

Trish said...

good thinking with the dry ice, though I'm sure the kids would've loved the cake without--who wouldn't love a huge cake covered in chocolate frosting! And there's legos on it! Great party ideas all around--you are awesome.

Samurai Mom said...

I just BEGGED my so to forgo the bowling party he wanted for a secret agent spy party. He said "Yes." This is going to be SO MUCH FUN!

tammy said...

What a fun birthday party...as usual!!! I love the creativity you always have with your parties...let me know if you ever have a "Pippi" party....I would pay an entry fee simply to watch!!!

Anonymous said...

my son would have gone nuts for this!

sarah said...

love the party idea. and happy birthday to the young lad.

Barbara Brown said...

very cool idea. it looks like they are having a lot of fun. thanks for the invisible ink idea, i've never heard of that. my kids will have fun trying that. my boys just attended a party with a spy theme. they each got passports and had to complete different tasks to get their pages stamped. it was so fun for them. love the mustaches.
barbara brown

Barbara said...

So cute! I love this idea! I plan hunts for my hubby all the time... or clue games for him to guess his present before I give them to him... I'm so mean ;) Can't wait to have kids who appreciate this sort of stuff

Anonymous said...

I love that kind of party ! Happy eight to Agent N64 !

Bek said...

Looks like a good time had by all! The cake looks delicious. So chocolatey! I discovered ready made frosting when making my son's 2nd bday cake a couple of years ago and have never looked back.

trina said...

How fun! What a great idea!

Lisa said...

What a fun party. And I just want to add a special thank you for posting a picture of a cake that is not absolutely perfect, it's really nice to see, really! and it is so clever!

melissa said...

ha, ha, ha, that looks like the dream eight-year old party! I especially love the passport photos!

Kari said...

We did secret messages for valentines, written with baking soda and water, that you then spray with grape juice to see the message. Only problem with that: grape juice in a spray bottle.

Tania said...

what great ideas! Your son is a lucky guy.

Anonymous said...

I read your blog faithfully. Thanks for sharing. This is so cool! My son would love to have a party like this. I have totally used too much frosting on a cake to hold it together! The dry ice idea is fabulous. I'm going to remember it.

Unknown said...

Very fun Lynne! I love planning birthday parties and I think all of your ideas ares great. Were the passport pictures Polaroids? And the cake looks delish. I love too much frosting ;)

Unknown said...

Oh and happy birthday to the birthday boy!

Antoinette said...

What a great idea! I was thinking about doing the lemon juice thing with my almost-6-year-old. Cool stuff.

Janika said...

Brilliant! I'm storing this idea away until my little guy is big enough. Love it. Oh, and I think the invitation with the mystery birthday boy part is the best ever! Can't wait to use these ideas someday!

Joslyn said...

brilliance as always ;-)
xox

Hatch Family said...

cute...cute...cute idea! it looks fun!

Rachel Weiss said...

Love the passport photos and costume ideas. We are going to have a pirate party this spring with a scavenger hunt. All new to me and very exciting. Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Unbelievably fabulous idea. It is officially going in my idea file.

Carissa said...

The spy photos are priceless. Your kids look pretty tough. I wouldn't want to run into them in a dark alley.

elizabeth ~ so wabi sabi said...

What a great idea for a kid's party. Thanks for sharing!

#A5 said...

hold on. lemon juice works like invisible ink?! i feel like the course of my life has just shifted with this information. . . if only i had known growing up. . .

looks like such a great party, lynne. (eight!!) i envy you being able to have so much of it outdoors in february!

Cathy Nichols Art said...

Okay, you are simply the BEST MOM EVER. Dry ice around the cake... goodness, can you adopt me?

erika said...

wow, sounds like a really great party. I'm busy planning my daughters 6th birthday circus themed party.

Beth's Blue Blog said...

So funny about the dry ice! It looks like a great party. Eight is such a milestone!!

sandy stewart and ajjacksclothing said...

your party looks great. thanks for inspiring me to be a fun mom!

Billie Jeanne

Lauren said...

Happy birthday Ethan. Great party!!

Wee Gallery said...

Love this! My son turns 7 in April and he would be thrilled to do something like this! Thanks for sharing...

alexandra said...

Lynne, I am so so grateful that you are sharing these ideas. I still want the invitation to Ethan's 2nd or 3rd birthday (it was a recipe and ended with something like "pick up before meltdown).