My daughter turned 14 on Saturday. We invited 12 of her friends, boys and girls, to meet us at the mall at 2:30. We divided them randomly into three groups, with a fourth group of her two younger sisters, one friend each, and dad. Each group got $50, a clipboard with a list of tasks, a pencil, and a map of the mall. There was at least one cell phone in each group. This is their list of tasks: - find a store label water bottle and buy it (harder than you might imagine - restaurants don't have them, but department stores sometimes do) - buy the cheapest thing for sale in the mall, and save the receipt to prove what you paid. (If I had it to do again, I'd specify "non-food" since the candy store at this mall lets you buy one jelly bean for $.03 and that makes it too easy.) - buy party favors for one other group (specified in advance) for not more than $5 per person - find but don't buy the longest pair of shoelaces. List where and how long - find all the stores that sell sunscreen and list them. What is the highest SPF? (Again, if I had it to do again, I'd pick something harder, like all the stores that sell sunglasses or feather boas). - get at least 10 different things for free (brochure, job application, business card) with logos from different stores.  - buy my daughter the birthday girl the most outrageous pair of socks you can find - use your leftover funds to buy a gift card for a charity We allowed 2 hours, but 90 minutes would have been enough. We met at a restaurant with a buffet meal, and the kids ate and talked about what they did while shopping. Because it was a Saturday, we ate early (5 PM) so the restaurant didn't mind giving us a big long table (19 people!) and a table on the side for gifts. I spent the "shopping time" sitting in a place centrally located in the mall, so kids could find me if they had questions or got separated from their group. Kids were told they had to stay with their group, and my cell phone number was listed on the task list.