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Kids love the Olympics, and will enjoy watching the Vancouver Olympics this year! Whether it’s the figure skating competition, ski jumping, snowboarding, or any of the other number of sports in the Olympics, throwing your own Olympics party or organizing some of your own Olympic activities will definitely please your kids this winter.
Send an invitation to your own personal Olympic Games using the symbol from the current games. When the kids arrive, have them take a torch (even a flashlight will do!) and run around your yard to begin the games. The host child will run with the torch last and place it in a prominent place in your party area.
If you are looking to create a crafty torch, use the following: paper mache, orange felt glued to cardboard for the top of the torch, duck tape, floral sprigs, and silver spray paint.
Organize an Opening Ceremony when all of the kids have arrived. Have the kids create their own Olympic flags using small wooden dowels and crepe paper in red, white and blue. Once their flags have been made, play the Olympic-themed music and open your games with everyone waving their flags. (The kids can keep these flags as a favor from the party.)
Create an Olympic Rings Mural. Cut out five large ring shapes out of thick paper. Have the kids color each ring with the Olympic colors: red, green, black, yellow, and blue. Arrange the rings on a plain white sheet of butcher paper and hang it up for your Olympic games and closing ceremonies.
Set up a series of your own games for the kids to compete in. Here is a starter list for games to play:
- Wheelbarrow Race
- Sprints
- Crab Walk
- Bear Walk
- 10-Yard Dash
- Potato Sack Race
- Egg Spoon Race
- Water Balloon Toss
- Long Jump Competition
- Frisbee Toss
- Hula-Hoop Competition
- Skateboard Competition (Make sure the kids are wearing helmets!)
- Leap Frog
- Three-Legged Race
Organize an Obstacle Course: Set a series of obstacles, like crawling through a tunnel, climbing under a table and over a chair, and crawling under a carpet.
Hold a Gymnastics Competition: Set out a pad or mattress and have the kids do stunts on the pad, such as somersaults, rolls, cartwheels, and handstands.
Set up a Croquet set in a long line and have the players hit the balls around each wicket.
Play Blanket Volleyball: Using two blankets of equal size and a large beach ball, divide the kids into 2 teams and give each one a blanket and have them hold it around the edges. Place the ball in the middle of one of the team’s blanket, instructing them to serve the ball by quickly lifting their arms at the same time so the ball is flung through the air to the other team’s blanket. The other team then catches the ball in their blanket and launches it back the same way. If one team lets the ball touch the ground, the other team gets a point.
Olympic Rings Game: set up 5 hula hoops in “Olympic Ring” style on the lawn. Throw Frisbees into the rings and assign points for the Frisbee landing in the different rings.
Hold a T-Shirt Relay: Give each team 10 oversized T-shirts and divide each team into halves. Have one half the team on one side of the games’ area the other half on the other side. Each team member must run to the other half of the team and put all the shirts on and then run back to their starting point and take all of the shirts off (one by one). Then a member from the opposite end would repeat. Each team member takes a turn and the first team done wins!
Create a Balloon Train where team members stand in a line and a balloon is placed between each player. The team has to hold the balloon in place between their belly and backs. Give the team a course to walk through as a team holding the balloons in place. If the balloons drop they must start over.
Play Pin the Flame on the Olympic Pyre game. Use a large cardboard box, some aluminum foil, and construction paper to create a shallow dish, and then cut out orange crepe-paper flames for the kids to attach with tape after being blindfolded and spun around a few times.
The final competition: Hold a Marathon where all the kids run around the neighborhood block. Make sure that one adult is on a bike in front of the kids and one in the back to supervise.
Use a large flip chart and red, white, and blue star stickers to keep track of who wins the games. Using foam stars in the colors of gold, silver, and bronze and bright colored ribbon, hole-punch the foam stars and create medals that the kids can win during the games. Have a ceremony to commemorate all of the winners of the games.
Make an authentic Olympic Party Menu and serve food fit for athletes, including protein bars, trail mix, dried fruit, and nuts (watch out for nut allergies).
Serve Gatorade as a sports drink treat.
For a sweet treat: make a Five Olympic Rings Cake by baking a single layer 9″ rounds with a small circle cut out of the center in red, blue, black, green, and yellow.
