Host Your Own Olympic Games, Auntie!
If your niece or nephew has caught the excitement of the Olympic games, here's how to celebrate them with some fun games that will develop athletic skills, teamwork and sportsmanship. What a great way to bond over these spectacular activties!
Greet your niece and nephew "athlete" upon his or her arrival with a small gym bag containing a towel and insulated bottle filled with a sports drink. T-shirts, headbands, wristbands, baseball caps, or other athletic apparel. They can each have a different color to represent a different "country."
Before your own games begin, try to give your nieces and nephews an explanation of the Olympic ideals of peace, sportsmanship and friendship before leading the teams in a short opening ceremony parade around the play area. A foil-wrapped citronella candle makes a great faux Olympic flame.
Games
Frisbee Discus Throw – If you have a large play area, measure the longest tosses. Otherwise, set up targets like Styrofoam cups on tables.
Ping-Pong Paddling – Using Ping-pong paddles and balls, see which niece or nephew can hit the ball up 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!
Indoor/Outdoor Foot Volleyball – Stretch a rope across three feet underneath a regular volleyball net. Players sit opposite each other 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 used to pass time during rain delays or 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 children a chance to shine.
Make sure to give each niece and/or nephew some kind of recognition for taking part in the games like personalized water bottles filled with gold chocolate coins.
Party Menu
Given the Olympics Games embrace all countries; it would be perfect to serve an international party menu. Suggestions include:
- Chinese food served with chopsticks and fortune cookies
- Pizza, Stromboli, pasta and meatballs
- Hoagie sandwiches with potato chips
- Taco bar with chips and salsa
- Serve sports drinks and strawberry-banana smoothies
Make a batch of cupcakes and have the children create the flags of various nations out of candy as decorations on the icing.
Lisa Kothari is the founder of Peppers And Pollywogs.