Turn your tweens' next party into a mall scavenger hunt. Credit: Pink Sherbet, Flickr

They're no longer kids, but they're not teens yet either, and tweens can be the hardest people on the planet to throw a party for.

Just ask Lisa Kothari. The owner of Peppers and Pollywogs used to plan big budget children's parties in some of the nation's biggest cities. But even Kothari admits tweens are tough. They are too old to let Mom and Dad make all the decisions, and peer pressure is running at an all time high, she warns.

"They are not children where the parents plan everything," Kothari says. "And they're not teens who are almost lackadaisical about their parties, who just want to hang out with their friends."

Fortunately there's one place no tween ever said no to: The mall.

"A mall scavenger hunt is a great idea for a tween party," Kothari tells Holidash. And while the parents chill out in the food court, the kids take over the mall -- and leave your house as clean as it was when you left it.

Kothari tells us how make it happen:

1. Divide the guests into two teams to complete the scavenger hunt is fun and the kids can work together to find the stuff around the mall. Designate an equal amount of money for each team to spend on different items on their list.

2. "I love the idea of not giving out the next clue until the kids have brought back the previous item," Kothari says. The clues can be anything you want, like "find a farm animal," "find an item that says 'whatever' on it," etc. One caveat: Tell the kids to not get "junky" items since they will serve as the "goodies" that are taken home at the end of the party.

3. The object is to get the nicest thing for the least amount of money. As a further incentive, you could also let the team with the most amount of money left over keep their change.

4. For an added challenge, you could give the kids a list of things that are free in the shops. For example, a business card, job application or a shopping bag. For this portion of the hunt, you have the first team back to the table with the free stuff win something special, like lip glosses or something small that you can hand out to every team member.

5. If you want to have the guests do something kooky, have them ask an employee where the bathroom or food court is located. Even funnier, have them ask these questions to employees in stores that are obviously close to the bathroom or food court. You could also have them sing a song in the mall together (since they may be shy as individuals) or skip down the center with arms entwined. Silly stuff like that would be fun and can be done as a group. Just make sure to check the mall rules before encouraging any behavior that might disturb other shoppers.

The best part of the hunt? "You can enjoy your coffee at the mall food court throughout the entire party!" Kothari says.