The Beijing Olympic Games are an opportunity for a unique family or kid party. We were inspired for a birthday dinner party by the square red plates we purchased at a discount store. My daughter and I added a bamboo plant for the centerpiece and she printed Olympic medals for the placecards. Favors at each place were the chopsticks and American flag.
Pull out your 4th of July decorations or find some on clearance to add to your decor. You can also find lots of cute and inexpensive Chinese favors and decorations for a Beijing 2008 Olympics theme. Serve international foods or make it easy on yourself with Chinese take-out. For a birthday party, ask your baker to decorate the cake with the Olympic rings or arrange homemade cupcakes as Olympic rings.
Beijing Olympic Party Ideas
Use the colorful Olympic mascots for a party with younger children. You can print the Official Mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to use for nametags and to sort kids into different teams based on the mascot color.
Find the official emblem of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to use in a variety of ways in your decorations. If you're handy with a graphic software program, you could adjust the size and use them for placemats.
Beijing Olympic Party Games and Activities
Human Olympic Pictograms
Print the 2008 Olympic pictograms and cut out the squares. Fold and place in a basket. Without looking at the pictogram, each child draws one from the basket and then tries to recreate the pictogram with their body. Have judges award prizes to the kids who most closely recreate their pictograms.
Olympic Friendship Bracelets
The simple friendship bracelet at Family Fun doesn't require a lot of knotting, so it will be quick to make at the party. Use embroidery thread or yarn in the Olympic colors of red, yellow, green, blue, and black.
Olympic Friendship Wreath
Use the Friendship Wreath Craft from DLTK for each child on a team to make hands in her team's color. At the end of the party, bring the kids together to share their hands with the other children. Each child will put together her wreath with the colors of all the teams.
Backyard Olympic Games
Find lots of ideas for active and competitive games for both indoors and outdoors at these web sites:
- Make Your Own Olympics About Family Crafts
- Kids' Backyard Gymnastics What Works Parent Ideas at Family Education
- Backyard Olympic Games Scholastic
- More Backyard Olympic Games Boardman's Party Ideas
Olympic Party Printables
- Olympic Sports Word Find Check this for ideas for your backyard sports games; from Printables4Kids
- Olympic Rings Coloring Page First-School.ws
- Summer Olympic Sports Coloring Pages and Poster Use the posters in your party decor or print coloring pages for quiet time; from First-School.ws
- Olympic Bingo Cards Kaboose