Olympic Games Party

What better way to get into the Olympic spirit and celebrate the diversity of the Games than by throwing an Olympic costume party? Plan an afternoon full of games, crafts, and food from around the world for a truly international experience.

What You Need:

• Card stock (for the invitations)
• Markers
• Tape
• Glue
• Computer
• Printer paper
• Selection of clothing items (to fir the country chosen)
• Recipes from a variety of different ethnic cuisines
• Globe, atlas, or world map
• Posters or photographs of the Olympics and different countries

What You Do:

1. Start by creating a Winter Olympics 2010 world costume party invitation. Fold sheets of card stock in half, one sheet for each invitee.
2. Ask your child to design a Winter Games theme for the invitations with markers. He could draw the Olympic rings, a globe, or an Olympic sport, or anything else related to the Olympics.
3. Type a separate information page for the inside of the invitation with the date of the party, time, place, RSVP phone number, and the party's theme (make sure to note that it's a world countries costume party).
4. Print one information page for each invitation and have your child tape or glue them inside.
5. Brainstorm with your child a creative costume that represents an Olympic country. Try researching the traditional dress of different countries for inspiration. For a quick and simple costume, you can recreate the dress of Ancient Rome: a toga!
6. Once he's chosen his costume, it's time to make it! Use clothing and materials from around the house to put his costume together. Alternatively, you can also turn the costume making into a party activity. Just make sure to ask the other parents to bring materials for their kids' costumes to the party.
7. Plan activities, games, and crafts for the party that focus on world cultures. Help your child research what children in other countries do for fun. You could make origami birds, play the French game cache-cache (hide and seek), play a sound game in which the children learn how to say “hello” in other languages, or make international flag t-shirts using plain white shirts and fabric or puff paint.
8. Once you've got your costume and activites planned, it's time to select the menu. To keep with the international theme, pick a variety of dishes that each represent a different country's cuisine.
9. Cut  label cards out of the the card stock and have your child write the name of one dish and its country of origin on each card. During the party, you can use these cards to let your guests know where each dish comes from.
10. On the day of the party, ask your child to help you decorate the house with posters and postcards of other countries, maps, and Olympic sports decorations. Be sure to hang up a world map so kids can locate the countries their costumes come from.
11. Once the set-up is complete and the guests have arrived, get ready for an Olympic event filled with costumes, fun, and food from around the world!