Now the fun part of the planning process begins! Once you have divided your teams, remembering to spread the athletic talent pool as evenly as possible, it is time to create team names for the groups. Rather than let the guests fight over their team name, assign each team a country beforehand. Try to be creative when assigning countries - besides including Greece (a historical requirement for ANY Olympic party), consider including smaller countries. How about Belgium, Ethiopia, Barbados, Cameroon, Portugal and Madagascar, rather than America, Canada, Russia, Spain, France, Germany and China?
Create team flags – these can be as simple as downloaded flag images that are printed in color on adhesive nametags or shipping labels. Each athlete representing a certain nation will wear his or her team flag throughout the day.
Another fun idea is to recreate the Olympic Parade of Athletes, where the nations would march through the party space, carrying their country’s flag. This activity is slightly more involved, as you will need to create a full-size flag. Consider using your artistic talents to enlarge and transfer the downloaded flag image onto an old white pillowcase. Use fabric markers or fabric paint to color in the design, before you fasten the pillowcase flag to an old broomstick or length of PVC pipe.
Decorations
- This is where your creativity can explode! You can create an Olympic Torch in any style that you desire. Use foam core board covered in plastic sheeting to recreate the two-dimensional look of a black iron torch and gold flames. If you are super handy, you can create a three-dimensional torch in whichever style you prefer. Place the torch in a prominent location, so that the Olympians can march past it during the Parade of Athletes.
- Other decorations to display throughout your party space would have to include the traditional Olympic rings. You can recreate this using foam core circles that are interlinked. For something even simpler, purchase paper plates in the Olympic colors (red, blue, green, yellow, black). Remove the center portion of each plate, leaving a perfectly round, colored ring. Staple the rings together in the correct pattern (left to right upper level is Blue, Black, Red; left to right lower level is Yellow, Green). These decorations are simple to mass produce, and will go a long way to decorate your party space economically and creatively.
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