M wanted a Where’s Waldo themed 5th birthday party. A look around Pinterest led me to believe that most people stopped having Waldo parties in the mid 1990s, so I was on my own.

My art-student sister designed a cute invitation for me: (inspiration here)

For activities, we had pin the hat on Waldo and a treasure hunt. My mother-in-law drew a cute Waldo for the hat game. I think some of the kids cheated instead of closing their eyes though, haha!

For the treasure hunt, the kids each got a pair of Waldo glasses (cheap sunglasses with the lenses popped out) to wear to help them find Waldos hidden throughout the house. Each Waldo was holding a clue to help them find the next Waldo.

Clues were things like “Waldo will go really far, when he’s racing in his ______!” and “chugga chugga choo choo, Waldo likes to watch the _______.”

The prize at the end was a coloring book ($1 bin at Target!) for each child. (Pictured are all the favors: the book, glasses, and a bag of chocolates with a Waldo sticker.)

When the kids showed up to the party, they were greeted at the door by Waldo himself! (My husband really is a great sport!)

Last but not least was the cake! M wanted a red and white cake, to match Waldo’s shirt. So, we had a red velvet poke cake with oreo cream pudding inside. I topped it with cool whip and made red icing stripes (which were sadly not well done, but you live and learn!).

I will say that in retrospect, I wish I’d planned a couple other activities. I underestimated the speed at which 14 preschoolers speed through snacks and games! 30 minutes into the party they’d had snacks (bagel bites and grapes) and played both games, so we only had cake and presents left. Solution: At the end, opening up a few of the presents for the kids to play with together!