Olympic Cousin Camp - Guest Post From Doris

Thank you to all the bloggers who have shared their Olympic party ideas in the past.  It made it so much easier to plan a party with their fun ideas.   Have you held an Olympic Party yet?    Go for it, you will have so much fun.  All the pins I used for inspiration are on my Olympics board at https://www.pinterest.com/dorisgarner/olympics/

A few weeks before a big family party, I like to send out an invitation.  It adds to the anticipation of the party

This quote fits perfectly with our Olympic Activity:

"If your parents ever measured you as a child, they had you stand against a wall, and made a little pencil mark on the wall to show your growth. They did not measure you against your brother, or the neighbor's kids, or kids on tv. When you measure your growth, make sure to only measure your today self by your past self. If you compare your relationships, your success, or your anything against anyone else, you are not being fair to you. Everyone has a different path, a different pace, and different challenges to face along the way!"  ( Doe Zantamata)

Pre-party events included:

Measuring the Olympic Athletes  (We measure the grandkids once a year on the wall)

We learned about the symbolism of the Rio Torch.   http://rio2016olympicswiki.com/rio-2016-olympic-torch-unveiled-photos-videos/126/  Then made our Rio Torches to use for the Opening Ceremonies the next day.  Every Olympics has their own style of torch so you need to research it.

We learned what the Olympic rings stand for and their colors then everyone made their own Olympic rings shirt.  Cups worked very well to make a circle on the shirts!!  Always remember to put cardboard in the shirt so the paint doesn’t bleed through on to the back of the shirt J

Some Random, easy  decorations to add to the atmosphere of the Olympic Party:

The morning of the Olympic Event we met for a simple BREAKFAST OF THE CHAMPIONS

After running the torch, singing the National Anthem and learning about Sportsmanship we did a team photo shoot

We did warm-ups to get ready for the Track and Field events

( which gave the adults time to set up the games)

LET THE GAMES BEGIN:

We chose to do Track and Field Events in the morning before it got too hot.    We competed in:

Long Jump, Shot Put, Discus Throw, hurdles, javelin throw, 50 yard dash and a relay!

Time for a “RIO” taco  lunch:

Oops, I forgot the “Blue” Chips for the blue ring

Olympic Ring Donuts

I wonder if the bakery realized why I wanted such random colors!!

In the afternoon we chose to do our events indoors because of the heat outside.  We headed to Fat Cat’s for .99c Bowling and Golf.   Bowling isn’t an Olympic event yet but is on the potential list.  This is the first year for Golf to be in the Olympics in over 100 years!!

The kids had a great time doing the SHOOTING EVENT with the Olympic rings as the target with their Nerf guns.

One thing I forget but need to remember,  is that the kids have great ideas and I should include them in the planning more.  This event was totally planned by the kids and they had a great time

We took some time for the Athlete’s to have some photo shoot’s

Oh I love these kids!!

Dinner was just Pizza….Pizza’s are round like the Olympic rings right?  J

It’s a tradition at our Cousin Camp to make “Tin Can Ice Cream”  Some of the kids considered it a Soccer Olympic event kicking it back and forth to each other.  All I know is… it was Olympic Quality Ice Cream!

I loved that the girls even made Olympic ring colors on their ice cream!!

Closing Ceremonies were held admonishing the Athletes to always remember how important they are and to be the best they can be in whatever they choose to do.  Then they all received Gold Medals because all my grandkids are Champions!!!

It was a full day of fun!!  I am grateful to my daughter and daughter in law for all the pictures, because you can’t run the activities  AND  take pictures J    Our Grandkids showed great stamina, superb sportsmanship and most of all created memories with their cousins that hopefully last forever.