The Case of the Missing Pinata

My sweet little girl loves to read mysteries. We joke all the time about mysterious things going on around us. We read Encyclopedia Brown, The Gwen and Jill series (Something Queer at the Library), Scooby Doo, Cam Jansen, and any other mystery we can find!

She loves mysteries so much that for her 5th birthday party, I turned her and her friends into detectives to solve 'The Case of the Missing Pinata'. 

Here is the birthday cake...complete with a large cookie topper of my Grace as a detective. 

I added her name using cookies and decorated them with fun designs. 

This cookie topper was quite large. And lots and lots of fun to make.  

It was adpated from this coloring image.

I turned him into a girl and then added lots of pink!

Here is my little detective saying, 'A-ah! I solved the mystery!" Did you notice the cookie detective has pierced ears? Yeppers! That was Grace's big birthday present this year for turning 5! So of course the cookie had to match!

For the kids coming to the party, I also made cookie disguises. All good detectives need to sneak around unnoticed. 

The kids had a blast trying on their disguises and then eating them!

Guess who! I made a little poster for the kids to stand in front of and we took lots of funny pictures of everyone! 

Even Topher and I got in on the fun! 

As all the children arrived, I kept telling them that something mysterious was going on all morning. I told them to keep their eyes peeled and let me know if they saw anything funny going on. I mentioned the pinata had gone missing several times. 

We had the pinata on display on a plant hook in the living room. Every child had to walk by it on their way into the party.

Then, while everyone was on the deck eating their lunch, Topher sneaked back into the living and grabbed the pinata to put it in it's hiding place. No one noticed him - perfect. 

My sweet niece was the first one to realize the pinata was missing. She ran out to the other children yelling, "It's missing! The pinata is gone!!" The kids got super excited!

The all ran into the house to see the empty hook! 

I got out the Yorks Agency Detective kit and hired every kid at the party to be a private eye. They each got sunglasses, a pencil, detective notebook, and a magnifying glass. 

And then it happened, the first clue appeared. Topher discovered it! I had written five rhyming clues for my sweet little detectives to find. They were hidden under Grace's pillow, at the shed, in the bathtub, and under the front tree. 

The very last clue lead the kids to the missing pinata.

It lead right to Nannies' house. Who was sitting on her sofa and eating a pack of skittles thinking she had gotten away with the perfect crime. And she would have to, if it wouldn't have been for those meddling kids! Ha ha!

I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun ALL the kids had finding all the clues and solving the mystery!

Maybe even more fun than actually doing the pinata!

After the pinata, it was cake and present time. We had the detective cake, vanilla. And chocolate cupcakes with cookie toppers. 

Plus, we had a big tray of cookies...each detective got to pick one and take it home with them. There were detective hats, magnifying glasses, ribbons, badges, fingerprints, and a few others. These were lots of fun to make!

When the party was over, Grace gave Topher and I the biggest hugs and said "Thank you Mommy and Daddy for the best party ever." What an awesome girl! Made all the work totally worth it! 

My mom suggested that maybe we should have another mystery party next year...The Case of the Missing COOKIES! (but she said she might eat them all before the kids find her!!) 

I hope you enjoyed a little peek at Grace's 5th Birthday Party!!

Anne