Family Fun > Olympic Themed Sleepover Party for Boys
Food for an Olympic themed party can be as elaborate or simple as you want. Top a cake with cookies or M&M’s in the olympic ring formation, or bake number cookies for “2016.” Make taco fixings in a ring shape on plates, or cut the tops off of peppers for a pasta dish (no, there are no blue peppers--you will have to see my page to find out what food it is!). Breakfast is really easy--either doughnuts or bagels--already in the ring shape. For these and more ideas, see my page on “Fun foods for the olympics.”
https://www.olympic.org/rio-2016
This website explains the concept behind the mascot, logo, and torch
For the Hardcore Olympics Fan:
If your boys are really into basketball or soccer, etc., the most exciting event of the party will be to watch these matches, so plan the party to coincide with these events. If you want to kick off the olympic season, or to wrap up the olympic season to celebrate the final medal count for your country, the opening or closing ceremonies would be a good opportunity for a party, too. However, these ceremonies are usually too long and boring for kids to sit through, so you may want to provide other activities for any kids who are not interested.
For the Athletic Kids:
The most iconic olympic movie is “Chariots of Fire.” Another option that older boys might enjoy is a documentary, which follows 31 paraplegic athletes on a 267 mile course up a mountain in Alaska, then continues to follow two of them who medal in the 2008 olympics. This documentary was named one of the top 10 summer olympic movies by TIME. Available to rent or buy on Amazon
For the Fun-loving Kids
All night parties last a LONG time, so there are times when you could use a little peace and quiet!! A movie is an easy solution. There are lots of movies based on the olympics, but FEW are appropriate for children. Cool Running is a fun movie, and even though it is a movie about the winter olympics, it is about a country that is hot year round, so it is appropriate for both summer and winter olympics! Another just for fun option might be the 2008 cartoon, Asterix at the olympic Games.
For the Fun-loving Kids (what boy isn’t?!)
Some Boys are less interested in competing, and more interested in just having some fun. For a funny twist on the olympics, see my page for “Silly Summer Olympics” for some fun games and activities, like sock hockey or grocery bag hammer throw, or balloon soccer, or wacky relay races.
For the Active, or Athletic Kids
Unless boys are really into a particular sport, DOING is much more fun than watching. So take them to play put-put in the name of the newest olympic sport, golf. If you want to make sure they run and work off that energy before they come inside for the rest of the night, see ideas for adapting olympic sports on my page “Use Olympics to get your kids excited about exercise.
Use Olympics to get kids exercising
For Everybody
Make the olympics more fun for everyone by making it into a game or activity. Let each boy make a chart to record the medals won by your country--give each a sheet of gold, silver, and bronze stickers, to fill in the chart as the olympics unfold. Show the boys how fill in the sports down the side of the chart. Or, Print out flags for different countries, and make an activity to learn them, with a prize for who can name the most. Or give kids turns being the commentators for an event, complete with hairbrush microphone! For more ideas:
How other people have celebrated olympics with kids
Designing, for the creative kids
Show them the current olympic torch (look at the official olympic website) or show several of the past torches. It may be interesting to read the concept behind the design. Give them each a piece of paper to design their own torch. When they have completed the design give each an empty paper towel tube, or wrapping paper tube to wrap their design around and glue or tape to the tube. You can even tape bits of yellow and orange tissue paper in the top of each. The Rio 2016 website below has:
List of countries with each country’s flag,
Google map to follow path of torch
short video of first olympics
list of matches
Show the boys this year’s olympic mascot, or better yet, several of the previous mascots, then challenge them to design their own mascot. You can find these on the official olympic site. Give prizes for the most colorful, the most creative, the funniest, etc.
Make a boat in honor of all the rowing and sailing events. Use empty cardboard boxes to make the boats. Begin by cutting the bottom or side off of an empty cardboard box, such as crackers or granola bars come in. You have an open rectangle box, which is not yet a boat. To make the front end of the boat pointed, choose which end will be the front, then cut along that corner seam down to the bottom. Next cut along the bottom seam from the corner, to about 1/4 of way toward the back of the “boat.” Cut along the end seam, and also on the other side to match the first side. Now cut the bottom into a rounded point. Finally, bend the sides around the bottom (the end of the box is one one side, so that side is longer than the other side--overlap these ends) and tape or glue in place. Use some of the excess cardboard from the box make benches: cut a strip of cardboard and fold it to fit the boat. Fill in the front point: lay a strip of cardboard across the point, and fold the ends so they fit inside the boat. Trim off any bits that keep it from sitting straight in the boat. Cover the boats with colored paper, or paint the boats. You can even cut oars out of the cardboard as well. The boys will probably want to try these out in the bathtub, but these are not water proof. Of course they can play with them till they sink. You can make waterproof boats out of milk or juice cartons, as long as you don’t cut the sides and bottom.
Logos are a harder concept to get across. You can show them some iconic sports logos that everyone knows, such as the Nike swoosh, or the NBA basketball player. If your son is a sports fan, there should be lots of examples in his room. Make it a game to see who can find the most logos, or who can name the most correctly. Another option of looking at logos is to google search sports logos. If they are still interested, let them design their own logo.
Coloring pages
Give them the materials to design olympic medals, and step back and see them get creative. You can give them paper to draw them, or give them gold, silver, and bronze paper to glue to cardboard, or use clay that you can bake in an oven, such as Fimo, and bake their designs. Give them multi colored ribbons to glue on after baking. You could even give them cookie dough to design olympic medals, then bake them so they can eat them! You can color the dough, yellow for gold, and or make cookies with brown sugar for bronze, or go all out with real metallic colors to put in icing, available at some baking supply stores, or baking departments of craft stores.
Design boats
For the less confident artists, you can download coloring pages, and use this framework for them to design olympic uniforms and medals. Go to these websites, or google search olympic coloring pages.
Design Olympic Medals
Watching: Choose what will be fun for the kids
Eating: Olympic themed foods can make it more exciting
Doing is way more fun than watching
Family Fun > Olympic Themed Sleepover Party for Boys