Sharing is caring!

Teen Birthday Party Idea Mall Scavenger Hunt

Have you ever tried to plan a Teen Birthday party?  Try a teen birthday party idea mall scavenger hunt!

It’s not the easiest thing in the world to do when you are planning a teenagers birthday party.  They can be so darn picky!  There are a few things that most teenagers like.  The mall.  Cake.  Games.   So there we have it.  We decided on a Mall Scavenger Hunt for our teen’s birthday party.  And guess what?!  It was a huge success!

Have you ever tried to plan a Teen Birthday party? Try a teen birthday party idea mall scavenger hunt!

It’s not the easiest thing in the world to do when you are planning a teenagers birthday party. They can be so darn picky!

There are a few things that most teenagers like:

The mall.

Cake.

Games.

So there we have it.

We decided on a Mall Scavenger Hunt for our teen’s birthday party. And guess what?! It was a huge success!

First things first. I had to call the mall to make sure this was okay with all the rules at the mall. My teen also likes Anime so she decided they would have this party in their Anime Costumes too. Cosplay!!!!

Oh, the attention they got! Teens LOVE attention! Not all part guests dress up but most of them did.

There were a few mall rules with costumes though.

First, no weapons (not even play weapons).

Second, no face masks either. Not a problem.

Did I mention these kids are nuts?!!!  Here’s a photo they took in GNC!

We headed to the mall about 30 minutes prior to the party for set up. We made a customized iPhone cake for the birthday girl! Notice the iPhone has the date of the 24th with a 6:00 time. That was the date and time of her party. Notice also that she has 16 messages. This is her 16th Birthday party! Everyone LOVED the cake especially the birthday girl!

Now for the Scavenger Hunt!

We decided on a few prizes to get a little competition going!

We decided to have a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize category.

First prize was a $25 gift card to the mall!

Second and third prizes were goodie bags with games and such in them.

These teens LOVED IT!

We gave each teenager a list they had to complete and we sent them off free into the mall to complete their lists!

The teens playing the games were considered the team members in this game.

You don’t always have to purchase anything in the mall to make this a fun game either.

Be sure to get creative with the invitations and make sure everyone knows they are being invited to a scavenger hunt party.  It’s not required to play the game.  Teenagers who wish not to play can stay at the party area with the rest of the adults.  We didn’t have any teen that didn’t want to play.  Some of them paired up though.

You won’t need credits cards, receipts, and you don’t need to involve any employees to make their jobs hard either.

Most malls have an elevator but you really don’t want these teens playing in the elevator so you can make it off limits if you want.  The escalator is much easier to use anyway with groups of people.

You can probably get a mall map from the mall office ahead of time if you want to include that in your hunt instructions.

I made sure to have a few chaperones also just in case the teens needed any help.  This wasn’t necessary for our group because it was small but may be needed for you depending on the size of your party and the age group too.

You will want to list the items in the scavenger hunt to the likes of most of the kids.  For example, if it’s a girls party and they really like makeup you can ask them to grab a perfume sample or take a photo of a certain pricing tag from their favorite store.

They can also ask for employment applications too.

How about finding a funny tshirt in the mall?!

Or a photo of gumballs, candy machine or even sunglasses?

You could ask them to take a certain photo at the shoe store or at the mall playground that includes a kiddy ride or playscape.

Make sure to include a time limit though.  You don’t want the kids to miss the ending of the party.

We gave all the teammates ideas that included the least amount of money possible.  You might be able to include a shopping bag, free samples, or a coupon from a certain department store.  Macy’s always has coupons.  The mall almost always has a toy store too.

Create your own list based on the items in your mall and the rules allowed.  They can use a digital camera for a funny t-shirt,  nice gift, or even talking to a store salesman.  Funny buttons are everywhere or a video game or maybe even a photo of some beard oil.

You can use riddles and give the next clue on the list to make it a full on adventure!  Heck, it’s even fun for the parents to watch too.

There are apps where you can add everyone on a platform to see where they are too.  Life360 app would be perfect for this if everyone had a phone.

Here’s the best part: The parents got to stay in the food court and chat while all those teens were running around like crazy! Best. Time. EVER!

It was about 40 minutes later we had our first confirmed winner!

Now for the Scavenger Hunt! We decided on a few prizes to get a little competition going!  We decided to have a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize category.  First prize was a $25 gift card to the mall!  Second and third prizes were goodie bags with games and such in them.  These teens LOVED IT!

We gave each teenager a list they had to complete and we sent them off free into the mall to complete their lists!  Here’s the best part:  The parents got to stay in the food court and chat while all those teens were running around like crazy!  Best. Time. EVER!

It was about 40 minutes later we had our first confirmed winner!

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is a mall scavenger hunt?

It’s a preplanned event where you send people off to find something specific in the mall area before time runs out.

What are some ideas you put in a mall scavenger hunt?

​Here’s where you can get creative as you want.  Below we have a list of ideas but you can expand on those ideas also.  For example, you can task your players with taking a photo of a specific thing in the mall.  Almost like playing the I Spy game.

You could also ask your players to find a person wearing a pair of converse shoes and get photo proof.

You could ask them to take a selfie in front of a certain hidden item in the mall.

You could ask them to get a sample of any item that you know the mall is handing out.  Or grab a straw or napkin from a certain mall restaurant or the food court.

Most malls have a movie theatre with posters.  You could task them with taking a selfie in front of a certain hidden item in a poster too.

How do you plan a simple scavenger hunt?

If you want really simple, just use the scavenger hunt list below.  It gives the teenagers plenty of time to get them done and they all had a lot of fun doing it.

How do you make a scavenger hunt with clues?

You simply write the clues on the task list.  For example, if you tasked them with finding a lock that is in a poster photo at the movie theatre the hint would be:  Find a lock at the movie theatre.  It’s not a real lock but something in a photo or poster.

How do you end a scavenger hunt?

Make sure you decide ahead of time an end time.  This way participants can come back at a designated time if they aren’t done finding all the items.  Most teens have phones also.  You could send them a group text too.

How do you make an interactive scavenger hunt?

You would want to use an online platform that all the teenagers are familiar with already.  This could be a Discord channel, Facebook group, WhatsApp, or even just a group text.  This way everyone can talk to one another if they wanted to.

What is the difference between a scavenger hunt and a treasure hunt?

A treasure hunt is everyone looking for only one treasure.  A scavenger hunt is finding multiple items and the first person to find them all wins.

All these suggestions would depend on the age of the group and the mall rules of course.  I highly suggest you meet with the mall office just to make sure these games don’t break any mall rules.  They are very helpful.

Here’s a snapshot of the Birthday Party Mall Scavenger Hunt list:  (Printable list below)

Print the complete Mall Scavenger Hunt List here!

Enjoy!  We sure did!