INVITATIONS
- Invite the kids to your Olympic Games Party by awarding them their first gold
medal! Cut out cardboard circles and cover them with gold foil or spray-paint them
with gold paint. Attach a colorful ribbon so the kids can wear their medals around
their necks. Write the party details in permanent felt-tip pen on one side of the
medal. Write "Winner" on the other side. Mail to the athletes.
COSTUMES
- Have the kids dress in sweats, athletic outfits, or their favorite sports attire.
- Dress the party helpers as referees, in black-and-white-striped T-shirts and matching shorts.
DECORATIONS
- If you have any Olympic memorabilia, display it in the party room to set the mood.
- Hang up posters from around the world to give the party room an international atmosphere.
- Hang up posters of sporting events or favorite sports figures.
- Place sporting equipment on the party table as a centerpiece. Have fun by decorating
the centerpiece with Ace-Bandages, Ben-Gay ointment, crutches, and so on.
- Fill the ceiling with helium balloons.
- Hang flags from other countries or states on the walls.
- Play Olympic music in the background to greet the guests.
GAMES
- Create a series of challenging games for the competing athletes, using the
Olympic Games as a model. Include a relay race, a high jump, a weight-lifting
contest, and a discus throw.
- Organize a decathlon. Have the kids perform ten different sports during the
party-such as running, jumping, dancing, skating, swimming, hiking, bowling,
Ping-Pong playing, Frisbee throwing, and miniature golfing.
- Get some thick mats and have the kids do gymnastic stunts, following the
lead of a gymnastic teacher.
- Have Silly Olympics, with such silly stunts as pie eating, wheelbarrow racing,
clothes changing, feather-in-a-spoon carrying, Frisbee throwing, Hula-Hoop passing,
or balloon popping.
- Divide the kids into two or three teams, and let them design the challenges
for one another!
ACTIVITIES
- Make flags to represent each individual or team, using rectangles of white,
fringed cloth attached to sticks or thin wooden dowels. Have the kids color the
flags with fabric paint, permanent felt-tip pens, or puffy paints.
- Make T-shirts for the kids to wear during the events or create pennants to
hang up while they compete.
FOOD
- Serve long, hearty hero sandwiches that the kids can cut to size.
- For snacks, give the kids fruit bars. granola bars, or other healthy treats.
- Offer the kids Gatorade or other athletic drinks to quench their thirst.
GOLD MEDAL CAKE
- Bake two round layer cakes; cool.
- Tint white frosting with yellow food coloring.
- Frost one layer with the yellow frosting; top it with the second layer.
- Frost the top layer with the yellow frosting.
- Attach a large ribbon or length of fabric to make the medal's neckpiece.
- Write the words "Happy Birthday, Winner!" across the top of the cake.
- Set tiny flags around the outside edge of the cake.
FAVORS
- Send the athletes home with Frisbees, balls, Hula-Hoops, or other inexpensive
sporting equipment.
- Give the kids pictures of famous athletes or sports-team banners, flags, or T-shirts.
VARIATIONS
- Take the kids to a sporting event and enjoy live-action athletics. Root for
your team and eat ballpark food.
- Place penny bets on who will win, who will get hurt first, who will fall, and so on.
HELPFUL HINTS
- Try to include some cooperate games, or group games, so everyone wins.
- Be sure to have medals for all the kids, so that everyone takes home a prize.
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