Birthday Games for an Olympics-Themed Party for Teens

If your teen has chosen to have an Olympics-themed birthday party, you can't just have the usual backyard games and a little cake. The Olympics takes sports to a different level and the party should follow suit. Plan to have the party ideally in a large park with plenty of room to run around and set up activities. Choose games that are related to the Olympics but are tailored to keep them entertaining and short. Whatever games you and your teen decide on for the party, don't forget to have an awards ceremony where the participants receive medals.

  1. Races

    • Have the invited teens come to the party wearing leisure or athletic wear to participate in a variety of Olympics-themed sport activities. If you are having the party in a large park, you can set up sprint races, such as the 50- and 100-yard dash. You can also set up a one-mile run through the park, or around your neighborhood, setting up cones to direct the teens through the course. If you have a very large number of teens, plan qualifying and semi-final races for the sprints. Make sure you keep track of the top three finishers in each race and plan an awards ceremony.

    Field Games

    • Plan field games to represent the games played at the Olympics level. For a "discuss" throw, have the teens take turns throwing a plastic flying disc to see who can throw it the farthest. For the shot put, the teens can throw small weight balls. For the javelin, have the teens throw lawn darts and measure the distance where they land. Show the teens how to properly hold and throw the various field objects as it is done in the Olympics.

    Team Games

    • Have the teens compete in a series of team competitions. Choose only one or two team games and keep them short so they can have time for other activities. Games to consider include kickball, flag football and volleyball, if you have a court and a net available at the party location. You can also have the kids compete in relay races. Choose races where the teens have to do silly things that will get them laughing. For example, you might have a race where the first person on the team must crab walk, the second person must cartwheel and the third person must hop with two feet.

    Obstacle Courses

    • Combine an Olympics-themed activities with messy challenges for an epic obstacle course the teens will have a blast going through. You could have the teens run a 50-yard dash to a wading pool filled with gelatin dessert, where they have to dig for a weight ball, which they must then throw as far as they can. Then you can have them cross a plank elevated by two cement blocks and do a gymnast's pose in the middle, hop over a narrow plastic tarp covered in chocolate pudding, kick a soccer ball into a goal, then "swim" to a finish on another large tarp covered in baby oil and whipped cream. The teen with the fastest time wins. You are only limited by your imagination when it comes to making a cool obstacle course for teens.

    2. Previous:

    Next: