Mystery Dinner Party

 

 

Fun and crazy birthday idea for kids, tweens and teens! 

The guests are served dinner - but don't know what they have ordered until the food arrives.

Guests order off of a crazy menu that doesn't tell them exactly what they will be served.  

There are 3 rounds and finally most of the guests will figure out what to order to get the type of food they want to eat.   Fun group or party activity or icebreaker!

We've included a sample menu to get you started!

1.  Make a list of the food that will be served. 
When we do this we usually serve - 2 kinds of pizza, 2 - 3 kinds of soda, chips, dip, goldfish crackers, and salad, but you can serve any menu.  
Spaghetti, tacos, hamburgers and hot dogs all work well.   

 

 

 

 

2.  Give each food item a "mystery" name. 

Cheese pizza = round moo
Pepperoni pizza = dotted round moo
Coke = bubble brownie
Sprite = light sparkle
Chips = flat crunchy
Goldfish crackers = swimmers
Chicken Nuggets = golden fear
Spaghetti = ropes
Breadsticks = swords
Salad = Shredded and tossed
Croutons = Little blocks
Dressing = Pants and Shirts
Fork = Spear
Spoon = Dipper
Napkin = Tree square


The fork, spoon and napkin should all be separate items.  

Part of the fun is watching the kids choose three things and then not having anything to eat them with once they arrive (especially entertaining when serving spaghetti!) 


3. Make up menus with the mystery names. 

Menu's should contain only the mystery names of the food items so that the players do not have a clue what they are ordering.

Each player gets their own menu.

Make sure that their name is on the menu and that there are three boxes on each side of the items (you'll be giving them back their menus three times)  so that they can check off what they want each time. 

 

4. Tell players to check off 3 items each round. 

Keep the food hidden in the kitchen so they can't see it before or during the dinner.  

Be creative - this idea works with any menu (taco's, hamburgers & fries, hotdogs) and with any number of food items. 

Tips:  Write the guests names on their menus so they can order from the same menu 3 times.  Grab some helpers (older or younger children) to help deliver the food and turn in orders.

 

 

 

 

 

Mystery Food Dinner Sample Menu

This is the sample menu for the Mystery Food Dinner listed in our party food ideas section
 

#1	#2	#3		Menu Items		Translation Don't print this on the menu!
				swimmers		Goldfish crackers
				thin square		napkin
				round moo		cheese pizza
				bubble brownie		cola
				dipper		spoon
				dotted round moo		pepperoni pizza
				spear		fork
				light sparkle		sprite
				flat crunchy		chips
				green toss		salad
				slimy brown		chocolate pudding
				little blocks		croutons
				pants and shirts		dressing
				red section		tomato slice
				orange flats		nachos
				formal toss		bow tie pasta

Print out our sample Mystery Dinner Menu or a blank Mystery Dinner Menu that you can customize yourself for free here:

Printable Mystery Dinner Menus

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Party games for tweens -  for ages 10, 11, 12