Host your own mini Olympic Games Party for kids | Ideas for kids olympic activities & sports day games

With Rio 2016 in full swing, the country is again gripped by Olympic fever and a great way to get kids into sports and exercise. One way to get kids interested is to host your own mini Olympic Games event or sports day.

We have provided some suggestions for activities for all ages whether this is a olympic games themed birthday party or part of a larger village fete or charity event. Depending on the age of the children involved, you may let them choose their own olympic teams and team names. Specifying a colour for each team works well and you could always ask the children to turn up wearing a T-shirt or sash in their countries' colour to help with identification. For older children, you could assign a country to each team - perhaps by letting them pick a card (or a flag) out of a hat. You could either ask kids to colour in their own (get started with these blank country flags - printable flags 1, printable flags 2) or print and make a flag badge for each child or if you haven't got time to do that, these mini flag cut outs are perfect. The easiest way to allocate teams for you mini Olympic Games party or sports day is to let them each pick one out of a hat - this way you allocate teams completely randomly, which can be the fairest way and prevent too much stress. Then you can simply pin a flag to each child's top to indicate which team they're in.

 

 

 

Opening Ceremony

Have your own opening ceremony and get the kids busy making flags, hats and mascots, then parade around to display their creations. You can get the kids to pass an olympic torch - this cardboard Olympic Torch is only 66p and if you buy 2 you can stick them back to back and line with stiff card to make it a bit more rigid or if you're a bit crafty, this fan olympic torch is really easy to make.

 

 

 

 

Olympic Games & Activities

It's good to have a range of olympic games and activities so everyone can get involved no mater what their age or ability. You can easily recreate some of the Olympic games track sports such as 100 meters and relay races and then adjust for the amount of space or age of the children and using a bit of imagination you could also include:

• Discus (using paper plates or frisbees)
• Floor gymnastics displays
• Shot put (using bean bags or tennis balls)
• Hurdles/steeplechase (using small, soft obstacles such as cardboard)
• Showjumping - this could be done in pairs using a skipping rope around the waist as reins with cardboard jumps

Other non-traditional and low cost mini Olympic Games activities or sports day games could involve: 

• Tin Can Alley Game - This traditional fairground attraction will get guests of all ages up and joining in the fun. Simply stack the cans into a pyramid shape, pick up a throwing bag, and throw! Aim for the cans with the highest number to get the biggest score. Only count the cans that have toppled over. Play this game at birthday parties, on holiday, at fundraising events and at fairgrounds. The Tin Can Alley pack includes 10 numbered tins, and 3 throwing bean bags in assorted colours. Sturdy storage box included. Download and print our free scorecard to keep track of your game!

 

 

• Paper plane folding and throwing
• Hoopla
• Obstacle course
• Three legged race
• Egg and spoon
• Sack race - These Specially designed potato sacks - One size fits all: each sack is 45" high and 30" wide made from best quality jute and double stitched for strength. Named Fireball, Dozy, Fever, Wired, and Mad Dog! Suitable for all ages.

 

 

You could also hold table tennis, badminton and tennis tournaments if you have the equipment or long jump and high jump if you have a sandpit. Yourmini Olympic Games party or sports day could also include team games - football, basketball, hockey etc and you can easily recreate some of the other sports. This mini Basketball and Hoop set is brilliant value at 36p and great for small spaces or indoor use. Contains a yellow hoop with adhesive sticker to attach anywhere. Hoop, 8cm by 7cm, orange basketball, 4cm.

 

 

Another fun mini Olympic Games party or sports day activity for all ages would be a hook a duck game with plastic ducks and padding pool - This hook-a-duck set contains all you need, including paddling pool, 14 ducks and 4 hooks. If you're running a large sports day or mini olympics at a fete or a larger event you may wish to consider these large garden games.

 

 

Space Hoppers - This set of 3 inflatable hoppers designed in bright colours, each hopper is also named to inspire rivalry during racing: Daredevil, Psycho and Hotshot. 24inch diameter adult sized hoppers, includes foot pump and whistle.

 

 

For older kids and adults and if you have a big space, the Garden Darts set is great, but I wouldn't recommend if you have lots of children running around. The set contains contains 6 playing darts in 3 colours, throwing ring and 4 target rings to play 3 different games; Target darts, Killer darts and Bowls darts.

 

Medals & Closing Olympic Party Ceremony

Of course no Olympic Games party or sports day can be complete without awarding medals and a closing ceremony. If possible, find some boxes so that medal winners can stand on a podium to get their applause! Older kids will accept that there are winners (and losers) in every event, but for younger children you could plan it so every child gets a medal for something. When medals have been handed out at your mini Olympic Games party or sports day, give the kids a chance to march around again, this time displaying medals proudly. If the children's parents have not been present, it is a nice touch to invite them at a specific time to see the medals and olympic closing ceremony. These Olympic medals look great and are only £1.26 each -  Bronze medal, Silver medal and Gold medal. These plastic Silver and Gold Olympic Sports trophies are also great value at 42p each and could be used for team games or the overall winner. 

 

 

Olympic Games Party or Sports Day Timetable

1. Arrival - Allocate into teams and organise crafts while all children arrive. Provide a drink and snack if appropriate.
2. Opening Ceremony
3. The Games Begin - Have a long list of events ready so that you know what is coming next! Always have more events than you need as they usually take less time than you expect.
4. Meal - Sit the children down, either at low tables or on the floor, for a meal and drink.
5. More Games - Older children may be ready for some more games; it might be an idea to keep these games a little quieter as the children have just eaten.
6. Medals and Closing Ceremony
7. Departure

 

Olympic Games Party Food

If your mini Olympic Games party or sports day is  a collaborative effort, it is a good idea to ask parents to bring a specific items of food - you could even make Olympic themed food or food from countries around the world. These fab Olympic torch crudités look great and are so simple to make (courtesy of http://pagingsupermom.com).

Standard party fair will go down well at your mini Olympic Games party or sports day - sausages or hot dogs, sandwiches, pizza slices and so on. Keep it simple as you will have enough to do supervising the games and won't want to spend too much time fiddling with the food. Remember if you are having an outdoor summer event that you will to provide plenty of water, which should be available at all times, not just when the kids sit down to eat. If you have chosen your olympic games countries/teams in advance, you could theme the party table - perhaps with the appropriate colours of paper plates and cups, streamers and so on. Encourage kids to get involved with the Olympic Games by serving up an Olympic treat or two!

Serve on these international flag tableware including olympic flag paper cups, olympic flag plates and olympic flag napkins and you could use these international flag picks to identify foods from different countries. [gallery size="full" link="none" ids="3534,3535,3536"] This Olympic Decoration pack contains everything you need to decorate your home or garden for your mini olympic games with olympic flags, olympic balloons, streamers, bunting and more - an absolute bargain at £30 For more Olympic games ideas, decorations, fancy dress and flags, see the full Olympic Games range here . For more ideas and inspiration for your mini Olympic Games party or sports day visit our Olympic games, Sports Day Pinterest page.