Theme parties are definitely one of my favorite things to plan and post about here on the blog! I recently told you about Lily’s Amazing Race Party, which you can read all about here in case you missed it.
My husband and I have done this for our first 3 kids’ 13th birthdays, and I guess we’ll be doing it one more time in a few years! It’s always a big hit with the kids (and the adults), and every time I’ve posted about this party, I get questions about how to plan it, so I’m finally putting together this post with some tips.
With this party, it’s especially important to request an RSVP because you’ll need to have a good idea of how many kids will participate ahead of time. Then, you’ll know how many sets of parents to ask to help out as drivers for the different teams. Be sure to state on the invitation that the kids will be in cars riding around town with adults so the parents will be clear that their kids will not be staying in one location for the party.
Once everyone arrives, let the kids draw to see which team they will be on and announce the rules. We try to leave the game to the kids, reminding the adult drivers that they are there as drivers and chaperones to make sure the kids are safe. The kids are the ones who are supposed to be figuring out the clues, performing the challenges, and directing the drivers to each location.
Of course it’s the clues and challenges that require the most planning. And each party will be different and unique to your own city. But, I’m providing a list below of several ideas that we’ve used in our parties that can be adapted for your own Amazing Race…
1. Get the signature of a policeman or fireman and take of picture of him or her with the team.
2. Go to a specific candy store and buy exactly .13 lbs of candy. Be sure to bring the candy and the receipt to the finish line.
3. Go to a specific landmark and take a picture of the team. (You may create a puzzle for them to figure out which landmark.)
4. Find a statue of a specific named person and go take the teams’ photo there.
5. Go to a specified cemetery and have them search for a certain name and tell how old the person was when they died. (Racers must be quiet and respectful while in the cemetery or will incur a penalty)
6. Go to a named park and take a pic of the team going down the slide together.
7. Go through a certain drive-thru, tell them you are with the Amazing Race, and ask for the next clue. (Race coordinators will have to plan accordingly ahead of time.)
8. Go to a specified Chinese restaurant and ask for an Amazing Race fortune cookie. (I did this for one race and bought fortune cookies from the grocery store, removed the original fortunes with tweezers, then slipped the clues in, repackaged them, and left them with the restaurant for the kids to pick up!)
9. Go through any fast food restaurant and convince the worker to give you an empty cup with their signature.
10. Head to a specific library, find a certain book and solve the puzzle to find the next location. Racers incur a 5 minute penalty if called down by a librarian. (Will require planning ahead to create a puzzle. Also, be sure to choose a book with several copies on the shelf in case it is to get checked out before the race.)
11. Search a specified location for a clue envelope which contains letters to unscramble next location.
12. Go to a certain location and draw a specific object on the sidewalk with chalk provided inside the clue envelope. Take a picture of the team with the drawing.
13. Head to a specific monument or wall where there may be many names. Have the team search for the first name of the birthday girl or boy and make a pencil rubbing of it on the clue sheet.
14. Go to the local bowling lanes where the team will have to choose one team member to bowl until they bowl a strike. If another team arrives at the same time, they must take turns. (Arrange this with the bowling lanes ahead of time. You can rent that lane for an allotted amount of time to keep it open for the racers.)
15. Head to a paint store and find a certain paint color. Hand the paint chip to the employee to receive the next clue.
16. Go to a specific frozen yogurt or ice cream shop. One team member must be blindfolded and do a taste test conducted by the employee. When they have guessed the correct flavor, they get the next clue. (Race coordinators will have to plan accordingly ahead of time.)
17. Search around an iconic landmark for a clue.
18. Drive to a donut shop, buy a half dozen donuts. Must give away the donuts to 6 different complete strangers before receiving next clue. (Provide the money in the clue envelope to buy the donuts.)
19. Hide the clues in Easter eggs in a specific yard for the racers to find. (Include empty eggs for more of a challenge)
20. Send the racers to a specific location where they are required to sing a certain song before receiving the next clue.
For our parties, the finish line has always been back on our front porch where someone is always waiting at the house. After the race, we eat, hand out awards, and let the kids hang out.
For ideas for decorating, be sure to see Lily’s recent party here and download some free road sign printables to use for your big race!
I’ve also got the file to print some Amazing Race clue envelopes if you’d like to download them here!
I hope this helps get you started on planning your party! I’d love to hear all about yours, and if you have further questions, I’ll try to answer! Good luck!
Those are all just dependent on what you want for your own party. We probably had about 10 stops each time. About 2 hours of race time, and about 4 or 5 per team. We gave mini trophies out for winners.
You are such a life saver! I was put in charge of a scavenger hunt for my sister’s bachelorette party. So this is going to be such a help!
But I do have a question, did you set up people somewhere to give out clues?
Yes, if it is a place of business or something like that, I would give the workers a heads up so they know what’s going on. And if it requires the players to pick up a clue at that place, the workers will need to know and get the clues ahead of time. Good luck with your scavenger hunt!
Did you do a staggered start time or perhaps have a different order for each team? I’ve done this type of party twice before with kids walking/running within the neighborhood. I tried both ways and each had its advantages and disadvantages. I’ve got another 13 year old party in a couple weeks and I’m debating which way I want to go with it.
This is awesome! My daughter turns 16 in October. Sounds like it would be fun for a group of 16 year old girls too, don’t you think? Any other suggestions?
This party looks amazing! I have to ask, how did you do the starting and finish mats? I’ve been trying to organize my own Amazing Race party and the mat would be the final touch to make it perfect!
I guess that would depend partly upon the places you would be visiting to make sure businesses or venues would not be over crowded with a sudden onset of kids. But ideally I would think a max of up to 8 teams of 5 or 6
I’m actually planning this for my boyfriends 29th, because he and his friends love these type of things. I have a few questions – when the race start are they give multiple tasks to do in a row or do they always get a clue that leads them to the next task? I’m mostly wondering how to keep the flow and make sure the tasks are done in a particular order/time period.
Another question was if the teams often finish in a similar time frame?
Thanks so much! We are doing a social distanced version of this for our daughter’s 13th bday! She loves The Amazing Race and this will be perfect! How did the girls get from place to place? Because my daughter all has friends with siblings so we are doing teams of 2 with their siblings and I was wondering how the kids could get around. Would you recommend having a parent be a chauffer for each team? I’m a little worried that the parents might try to take over.
Awesome! Yes, I do recommend having at least one adult with each group for this age. We had parents to drive each group around. It’s best if you have two adults, then one might be able to stay with the car if necessary and another go with the kids to chaperone them on different tasks! Hope your party goes great! We have so many good memories from doing this four times!
Beth S
March 23, 2016 @ 2:52 pm
Thanks so much! Lots of ideas here for my son's party. And, thanks for the printables!!
mckenzie Sant
March 23, 2016 @ 10:12 pm
I love the Amazing Race and this is such a fun idea! I might have to plan a date night with my husband using this, thanks đŸ™‚
Mikala
July 31, 2016 @ 2:20 pm
How many places do you have the teams go? How long do you plan for the race to be? What kind of awards do you give? How many people per team?
Julie
July 31, 2016 @ 2:29 pm
Those are all just dependent on what you want for your own party. We probably had about 10 stops each time. About 2 hours of race time, and about 4 or 5 per team. We gave mini trophies out for winners.
Morgan Hight
October 26, 2016 @ 2:25 pm
You are such a life saver! I was put in charge of a scavenger hunt for my sister’s bachelorette party. So this is going to be such a help!
But I do have a question, did you set up people somewhere to give out clues?
Julie
October 26, 2016 @ 2:37 pm
Yes, if it is a place of business or something like that, I would give the workers a heads up so they know what’s going on. And if it requires the players to pick up a clue at that place, the workers will need to know and get the clues ahead of time. Good luck with your scavenger hunt!
Christie G.
January 19, 2017 @ 1:45 am
Did you do a staggered start time or perhaps have a different order for each team? I’ve done this type of party twice before with kids walking/running within the neighborhood. I tried both ways and each had its advantages and disadvantages. I’ve got another 13 year old party in a couple weeks and I’m debating which way I want to go with it.
Julie
January 19, 2017 @ 6:18 am
No, we’ve always started it together & done the same order. It’s always worked fine for us!
Andrea
March 12, 2017 @ 8:37 am
Thanks a lot for sharing all these ideas.
Really great ones!
Andrea
Susie
September 20, 2017 @ 11:27 am
This is awesome! My daughter turns 16 in October. Sounds like it would be fun for a group of 16 year old girls too, don’t you think? Any other suggestions?
Thanks
Julie
September 20, 2017 @ 12:05 pm
I’m sure 16 year olds would love it! This is my kids’ favorite type of party!!
Katie
April 10, 2018 @ 2:40 pm
This party looks amazing! I have to ask, how did you do the starting and finish mats? I’ve been trying to organize my own Amazing Race party and the mat would be the final touch to make it perfect!
Krista
April 10, 2019 @ 10:00 pm
How many teams would be to many and how many kids per team? I’m looking for a game idea for a conference I’m planning.
Julie
April 11, 2019 @ 7:00 am
I guess that would depend partly upon the places you would be visiting to make sure businesses or venues would not be over crowded with a sudden onset of kids. But ideally I would think a max of up to 8 teams of 5 or 6
Bria Jones
July 14, 2019 @ 12:49 pm
I’m actually planning this for my boyfriends 29th, because he and his friends love these type of things. I have a few questions – when the race start are they give multiple tasks to do in a row or do they always get a clue that leads them to the next task? I’m mostly wondering how to keep the flow and make sure the tasks are done in a particular order/time period.
Another question was if the teams often finish in a similar time frame?
Julie
July 14, 2019 @ 1:13 pm
We have always done one task at a time that leads to the next! And the teams have always finished very closely to each other!
Melissa
October 19, 2020 @ 6:35 pm
Live this idea! So do the teams all do the same clues in the same order? Thinking of planning this for a friend’s Bday – thank you for sharing!!
Julie
October 20, 2020 @ 1:55 pm
Yes! Everyone starts at the same time with the same order and clues.
Anna Grace Stewart
February 28, 2021 @ 1:05 pm
Thanks so much! We are doing a social distanced version of this for our daughter’s 13th bday! She loves The Amazing Race and this will be perfect! How did the girls get from place to place? Because my daughter all has friends with siblings so we are doing teams of 2 with their siblings and I was wondering how the kids could get around. Would you recommend having a parent be a chauffer for each team? I’m a little worried that the parents might try to take over.
Julie
February 28, 2021 @ 4:31 pm
Awesome! Yes, I do recommend having at least one adult with each group for this age. We had parents to drive each group around. It’s best if you have two adults, then one might be able to stay with the car if necessary and another go with the kids to chaperone them on different tasks! Hope your party goes great! We have so many good memories from doing this four times!
Liz LeBar
April 18, 2021 @ 11:40 am
Anyone have any other suggestions for small parties or families? Similar to Scavenger Hunt or Amazing Race?