Every four years, the world comes together to watch some of the most impressive displays of athleticism and talent during the Summer Olympics. From water sports like swimming and diving, track and field challenges, team games, and everything in between, there’s something for everybody to watch.
Whether your passion is gymnastics, fencing, basketball, or golf, there is sure to be an event that you’ll want to tune in to when the torch is lit in France. It can be a lot of fun to gather with friends and family to celebrate the games, and you’ll find some great ideas to include the whole group below.
From yummy Olympic-themed dishes to parties to kid-friendly activities, we’ve got you covered with plenty of ideas. Hopefully, you can gather to enjoy watching the athletes compete and make some memories together along the way.
Plan a Watch Party - Get in the spirit with friends and family by inviting them over to watch the opening ceremonies or your favorite events. Have people dress up in support of their favorite country or athletes and serve Olympic-themed snacks.
Paris-themed Party - This year’s Olympics will be held in Paris, so why not have a little Parisian soirée to kick things off? Serve French food, decorate with French flag colors, and play French music as you gather with friends.
Discover History - A great activity to do with your children is to research a little about the history of the Olympic Games. They have a rich and fascinating history that spans thousands of years and countries all over the world.
Fantasy League - You can coordinate a fantasy league with your friends where you each are assigned certain countries and compete against one another to see which countries wind up with the most medals.
Get Active - Get out and try an Olympic sport! You can often find lessons offered locally for things like archery, fencing, or judo. Use some inspiration from the champions and try something you’ve never done before.
Get Crafty - Encourage your children to get involved with following teams by helping them make the flags of different countries. Not only will they learn something, but they can wave them and cheer on their countries during each event.
Raise the Stakes – Placing a friendly wager with friends can add more excitement to watching Olympic events! You could bet on all sorts of things from medal standings to world records, just make sure to keep the stakes fun like awarding the winner their favorite dessert!
Backyard Olympics - A backyard Olympics challenge is always lots of fun. Set up silly games like water balloon toss, wheelbarrow races, ring toss, relays, or an obstacle course. You can adjust the games based on how many participants you have as well as difficulty level if you have children playing along.
Countdown Chain - Hype your children up by creating a countdown chain out of paper and tape. Just create a chain of loops out of strips of paper and tape and make a loop for each day until the Opening Ceremonies. Each morning, your children can tear off another chain and visually see how close the Olympics are getting.
Expand Your Tastes - If you’re inviting people over to watch the games, or just want to switch things up from your usual potluck, have friends bring dishes from other countries. Assign countries around the world or have guests pick their own so you can all try some foods you might never have experienced.
Toga Party - Since the Olympics hail from Ancient Greece, you can throw a good ol’ fashioned toga party! Have everybody fashion their outfit from sheets or fabric for a fun college throwback.
Décor on Theme - If you’re looking to spruce up your Olympics-themed party, consider DIY’ing some décor. You can use hula hoops to make the interlocking rings or make donuts in the Olympic ring colors.
Olympic Stories – Encourage kids to write stories inspired by the Olympics! Bring out paper and pencils (and art supplies for illustrations) while you watch the games and let their imaginations run wild. Invite them to share their stories with family and friends!
Dive Into Summer Fun - If you enjoy watching Olympic diving, you could try having a diving contest at your local pool. Get a group together and hand out scores for categories like “best dive,” or “most creative jump,” or “biggest cannonball splash.”
Good Old Fashioned Foot Race - All you need is an area of flat grass to set up some fun races for your children. You can have competitions like running, running backwards, bear crawl, or wheelbarrow race.
Olympic Trivia Contest - Create a fun trivia game to test your group’s knowledge of the history of the games, information about the host country, or facts about different events or athletes.
Gold Medal Parenting – Turn your kids’ everyday responsibilities into Olympic style competitions! Time them to see who can win the race of putting their shoes on, introduce synchronized teeth brushing, or hold up scores for their abilities to complete chores.
Olympic Bingo - Create bingo cards for the whole family and then have fun watching for items on your cards. You might include things like spotting a gold medal, a track, a horse, the Olympic torch, the ring logo, or a hug between a coach and athlete.
Balloon Volleyball - You can do this with friends or children of all ages. Set up a quick net with string or a streamer across a room and use balloons to play volleyball at a much slower and easier speed than the Olympics athletes play.
Host Opening Ceremonies for Kids - Have each child dress up to represent a different country and allow them to do a parade of nations around the house carrying a makeshift torch.
DIY Olympic Torch - A fun craft you can do with your children is making an Olympic torch out of rolled up paper in the shape of a cone and orange, red, and yellow tissue paper. You could also use an ice cream cone for your torch base, but it might be too tempting to snack on.
Explore France - The Olympics will be held in Paris and will likely feature some scenic footage of the city. Do a little research and learn about France, cook some French food, or even practice a little of the language to really get into the spirit of things.
Doll or Stuffie Olympics - Let your kids get creative making Olympic events for their stuffed animals or dolls. They could use cardboard to create a winner’s pedestal and make medals out of paper and pipe cleaners. Or use blocks to create ramps for their dolls to skate over, Lego balance beams, or make a pretend pool with lanes made of string.
Office Olympics - Get your coworkers involved in the spirit of the games by hosting some office Olympics. You can compete in events like rolling desk chair races, throwing contests, or desk chair soccer. Split the staff up into teams and have fun cheering one another on.
Volunteer - The Special Olympics are held all around the world and allow children and young adults with intellectual disabilities to compete in athletic competitions and win medals. Donating or volunteering to help with your city’s Special Olympics events is a great way to give back to the community and change lives.
Opening ceremonies for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris will begin on Friday, July 26. Every four years we get the chance to come together as a global community to celebrate the most incredible athletes in the world, so enjoy the opportunity to come together with your own friends and family and enjoy the show!
Kelsey Caldwell is a realtor and freelance writer from Charlotte, NC. She and her husband are parents to two amazing kids, a golden-doodle, and a bearded dragon.
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