Celebrating the end of school with a party is a great way for your family to create lasting memories and it’s the perfect opportunity to start a new tradition that your kids can look forward to year after year.

 

But as you know, if you’re planning a kids’ party you need plenty of activities to keep your young guests busy. Make sure some of your games are active ones, so kids can burn off energy and excitement (not to mention calories).

Here are a few creative ways to celebrate the end of school and kick off the start of a fun, active summer:

Water, water everywhere: Take advantage of the warm early summer weather with slip n’ slides, kiddie pools, water balloons, sprinklers, etc!  Play water games like sponge relays, water balloon catch, water balloon relay races, fill the cup on partners head with a water gun or sponge, etc…it all turns into a water fight anyway!

Have a P.O.O.L Party: Playing Outside On the Lawn…If it’s nice but not warm enough for water play, set up croquet, bocce ball, badminton, soccer baseball, Frisbee, skipping ropes, etc (or whatever you have in your garage). 

Throw a Sidewalk Chalk Festival: Keep it simple with some popsicles, lemonade, and baskets of sidewalk chalk scattered around the driveway and let the kids inner Picasso run wild and free. Work a bit of physical activity in with all the creativity by drawing hopscotch, tic tac toe and four square grids on the sidewalk for the kids to play with when they get tired of drawing.

Throw a neighborhood/block-wide scavenger hunt: Draw up a list of items found outdoors (red leaf, green leaf, rock bigger than your thumb, etc.). Distribute to individual party guests or form teams and have players fan out to find the items.Check out this great blog for a printable check list for your hunt

Rainy Day? No problem! You can still get the kids up and moving around inside if the weather is too poor for them to play outside. Music games are fun, like freeze dance (kids freeze in silly poses when music stops), musical chairs or hot potato, not to mention classics like Simon Says (or in this case, Teacher Says) or grab a broom and get them to try to limbo.

 

Dalplex, Dalhousie University’s main fitness and recreation facility, has been proudly serving the community for over 30 years, offering a wide variety of fitness, wellness and recreation programs and classes for adults, children, youth and seniors.  Visit their website or follow them on facebook.