Games and Activities
Greet each "athlete" upon his or her arrival with a small gym bag containing a small towel, insulated bottle filled with a sports drink like Gatorade®, T-shirt, headband, wristbands, baseball cap, or other athletic apparel that matches the guest’s team colors.
Before your games begin, try to give the kids an explanation of the Olympic ideals of peace, sportsmanship, and friendship. Then lead the teams in a short opening ceremony parade around the play area. A foil-wrapped citronella candle makes a great faux Olympic flame.
O'Neill recommends events that stress concentration as much as coordination. He also suggests activities that can be played outdoors or indoors in case of bad weather. Holding the party at a local park is an option if you don’t have a large yard.
You will need:
- A grassy outdoor play area
- Yellow tape for finish lines
- Small marker flags for each team (matching the team colors again is a nice touch)
- A soft (but dense) small round foam-rubber ball
- A few light Frisbees®
- Ping-pong paddles and balls
- A whistle and measuring tape
- A book of Olympic trivia
- Gold-, silver-, or bronze-wrapped chocolate coins, ribbons, and strong clear tape
The Nerf® Ball Shot Put – Most kids would barely be able to lift (let alone toss) the heavy metal ball used in the real Olympic shot put event, but you can substitute a Nerf-type rubber ball in its place. Give each player one warm-up and one real toss and keep score of each team’s total distance. This will keep the kids involved as they cheer their teammates on!
Frisbee® Discus Throw – If you have a large play area, measure the longest tosses. Otherwise, set up targets like styrofoam cups on tables or hula hoops hung from branches.
Ping-Pong Paddling – Using ping-pong paddles and balls, see which kid can hit the ball into the air for the longest time period. To add speed and drama, buy a large number of balls and paddles and have the teams line up and play at the same time. The team with the last player still hitting a ball wins!
If you have a ping-pong table, O'Neill recommends this fun game: set up empty plastic or paper drinking cups in the far corners of the table and see which players can get the most balls to land inside the cups.
Indoor/Outdoor Foot Volleyball – Stretch a rope three feet underneath a regular volleyball net. Have the players sit crabwise, with their knees bent and most of their weight on their palms, and try to kick a volleyball back and forth between the rope and the net. Follow rules of a regular volleyball game.
Olympics Trivia Quiz – This can be a formal event, or just used to pass time during rain delays or to break ties in athletic events.
Some relatively inexpensive equipment will let you attempt "real" Olympic events like basketball, volleyball, soccer, water polo, and team handball. Just about any other Olympic event can be modified to safely give every kid a chance to shine.
The Awards and Rewards
Throughout these events, keep a running tab of the number of gold, silver, and bronze medals each team is winning. You can award gold, silver, and bronze medals (attach the foil-wrapped coins to ribbons with strong clear tape) to teams at the closing ceremony. Use a portable stereo to play the appropriate national anthems or stadium favorites like Queen’s "We Are the Champions."
Make sure, however, to give each child some kind of recognition for taking part in the games. "It's a little-known fact, but every athlete who participates in an Olympics gets a medal just for playing," O'Neill notes. "While I didn't win a gold, silver or bronze medal at my two Olympics, those two participation medals mean more to me than any other awards I've received."
Let the games begin!
