Since July 27 the world has been buzzing with conversations about the Olympics. Despite already knowing the outcome of the events prior to actually watching them (thank you very much social media), my husband and I have been glued to our TV at night watching each event on the edge of our seats. From the US women’s gymnastics team winning the gold to Michael Phelps accomplishing his dream of being the most decorated athlete in history watching each special moment has been exciting and truly inspirational.
In part two of our five part family fun month blog post series we offer tips on how to create your own Olympic games right at home!
Create Teams & Uniforms
Choose your participants! Will this be a family only event or do you want to invite neighbors, friends from school and extended family to join? Once you have your teams picked then it’s on to choosing which countries to represent. This could serve as a great opportunity to teach younger members of your family about your heritage.
Feeling crafty? Head to the store and pick up T-shirts and puffy paint for DIY uniforms. Not enough time or not worth the mess? Solid tees will work just fine! Looking for an extra fun touch? Check out this blog post from Sheri Osborn on easy to make Olympic pins
To make your uniforms official create participant tags. Cut a piece of printer paper in half and draw on the participants’ last name and have them choose their favorite number.
Opening Ceremony
After the teams have been decided and the uniforms are complete it’s time for the opening ceremony parade! Turn on some marching music, announce each team, and get the camera ready!
Light the “Torch”
The Olympic games can’t start without a torch lighting! Depending on the age of the participants you can light a special candle or create a fake torch out of a paper towel roll and colored tissue paper.
Let the Games Begin!
The best part of hosting the Olympics at your home is that you can make up your own games and rules! Here are a just few suggestions for games:
- Foul Shooting
- Water Balloon Toss
- Egg and Spoon Relay Race
- Soccer Shoot Out
- Relay Race (complete with baton hand off)
- Three legged and sack races are always crowd favorites!
- Discus using frisbees or paper plates
- Shot-Put with aluminum foil balls
- Table Tennis
- Long Jump
- Tug-O-War
- Wii Games (if the weather is bad)
- You can even include brainteasers!
Hand Out Olympic Medals and Hold the Closing Ceremony
Again, keep age range in mind when determining the amount of medals to hand out. Family Crafts provides instructions on how to make fun Olympic medals from cardboard and paint. You can also pick up medals from your local party store.
During the closing ceremony you can have each champion stand on an empty milk crate while you play the national anthem of the country they represented.
Last but not least it’s time to feed your little athletes! Here are just a few adorable Olympic themed treats & recipes:
- Olympic Waffle Rings
- Medal Cookies
- Orange Sherbert Ice-Cream Torches
- Gold Medal Vegetable Dip
- Champion Chocolate Cake
We hope you enjoy hosting the games at your home and create memories with your friends and family that you will always treasure!
