For my daughter's #6 birthday we had a Scooby Doo Party. We made up groovy 60s/70s inspired invitations on the computer with the Scooby gang that said "Jinkies, Olivia is turning six! Please help her celebrate by solving the Mystery of the [our street] Street Ghost!" We decorated with scooby paraphernalia, of course, got a Scooby Cake, etc. We rented a van and decorated the outside as the Mystery Machine using posterboard and magnets, then put a carpet on the inside and groovy Scooby music we had recorded. As kids came to the party, they left presents inside the house. Outside they did a craft "Decorate your own collar" using glitter glue and gemstones on Scooby collars pre-made out of blue ribbon and yellow craft foam (in the Scooby diamond shape). They then played two-three traditional party games, had dinner, and then I asked them to come inside to open presents. But... the presents were gone! (My hubby had snuck inside and moved them to the van.) As we were debating what to do and the kids were standing by the door listening to me, my hubby ran across the yard dressed in a ghost costume! The kids were VERY excited and we went outside to look for clues. I deputized one boy to act as Sheriff and help me catch the thief, gave him a plastic badge. A father visiting the party had been given a script and read it: "I'm Old Man Withers. You have to look for clues to solve the mystery." The kids looked in the yard for clues and found a "key" on the ground. It was a magic skeleton key from a magic store and I had practiced to make it turn over by itself. We asked the key questions and if the answer was "yes" the key would roll over! The kids did this and then we looked for more clues and found a magic scarf also left by the ghost (meanwhile my hubby reappeared to show himself in normal clothes). The scarf (also from a magic store) changed colors if the kids asked "yes" questions. We did this then kept looking. Outside again a Mother visiting the party with a script acted as "The Widow Jenkins" and said to keep looking, etc. This brought us out near the van. The kids noticed white cloth (from the ghost costume) hanging out of the back van door. The kids saw it and we quickly snuck over and opened the door -- out jumped the ghost, who the kids grabbed! The Deputy helped me "arrest" the ghost (we had handcuffs) and we unmasked him. And of course, my hubby said "I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids!" Parents and kids had a big laugh. The kids played in the van while we got cake and ice cream ready, we ate our treats, and then we gave everybody a real dog food bowl with a "Thank you for coming to my party" sticker on it and filled with homemade "people chow," bone candies, and a small Scooby toy, all wrapped in cellophane like a basket. It was a lot of fun and our neighbors loved the Mystery Machine. Many months later kids still talk about the time Olivia's Daddy was the ghost!