Olympics Party

i still can hardly believe it, but the weather held out for us last weekend, long enough to fit in Canaan’s Beach Olympics party!!

we were SO close to canning the whole thing, but within 30 minutes, the chance of rain during the party went from 80% down to 20%. i don’t think that’s a coincidence! i totally believe God cares about ALL the details, even the small ones, like an 8 year old’s bday party!

the wind, however, was a different story. like….knock you over kind of wind:

like…blew our brand-spanking-new tent all the way over and down the beach, breaking it into pieces, and taking every bit of my lovely decor with it.

so long balloons, cute pendants, and personalized b-day banner that took oh so long to make!

so i unfortunately don’t have any cute table-scape pictures to show you, all set perfectly and neatly, with matching decor hanging as a backdrop. and if you know me personally, or have been around the blog long, you know that this gives me heartburn big time, and just might’ve caused a few tears and some frustrated sighs!!

but here’s to windy, storm-gusty days, no rain, and a momma’s perfectionist driven, idolatrous heart, that finds life in perfectly set tables and kids bday decorations, that was in deep need a little refining from a God who just knows me all too well!

however, i’ve still got details galore to share with you, if you can look past the jumble, i’ll break it all down for you.

the bday boy could’ve cared less about the wind or any bit of decoration, and was just so excited to participate in his Birthday Olympics with all his buddies:

i made each kiddo a tshirt, using iron-on transfer paper. i bought packages of cheap boys undershirts, and used a coupon for the transfer paper at the craft store. they served as uniforms during the games and then acted as the take home party favor!

totally worth it! they all looked SO cute in their matching personalized uniforms!

i found all kinds of great patriotic themed snacks on pinterest, and tried to keep the party food simple but festive:

Strawberries dipped in white chocolate and then dipped in blue sanding sugar:

Watermelon stars and blueberries:

Twizzlers wrapped in Patriotic Ribbon (hot glued in the back):

i made simple water bottle labels, to encourage the athletes to Rehydrate…

and little snack cups filled with pretzels and cheese crackers:

i LOVED these cute torches, made with ice cream cones and popcorn, but unfortunately the wind loved them more and snatched them right off the platter as i tried to put them on the table!

so we kept them inside until we were ready to hand them out to the Olympians:

and the cupcakes were SUPER simple. i bought already colored fondant (using coupons to make it less expensive) to make the rings. i rolled out the fondant and used the bottom part of a large piping tip for the outer ring and the top of a marker cap for the middle part of the rings:

the registration table was where each boy was to get their t-shirt and pinwheel labeled with their name, but things were flying all over the place, so we just did our best to keep it all in one place, using some all natural weights!!

the pinwheels were meant to be each child’s marker for events such as the Long Jump and Javelin Throw, to make sure we kept track of where each child landed. but they really just ended up being fun to play with in the wind!

and of course, each boy got a gold medal at the end of the events! we talked about how countries compete as teams in the Olympics, so instead of keeping score, we really just were one big team, where everyone was a winner. we figured that was a better way than having actual winners, since there was an age range of kids at the party. it worked really well, and each boy still tried their best, and not once seemed to care that there wasn’t really a winner:

the Events:
Hurdles: i found hula hoops at the dollar store, and dug them into the ground just a bit, creating a hurdle of perfect height:

here’s coach Dad demonstrating for the boys:

40 yd Dash:

on your mark…get set…

GO:

Shot Put:
we used bocci balls as the shot put, and each boy tried to throw it as far as they could:

Soccer Shootout:
each boy had one shot at the goal:

Javelin:
i happened to find this water shooter at the dollar store that served as a safe javelin:

Discus:
we used a frisbee as a discus:

Relay:
i made batons out of paper towel rolls, wrapped in red wrapping paper with blue crepe paper stripes to make it a little more fesitive:

Long Jump:
we drew a line in the sand, and each boy got a running start, and then once they reached the line, they jumped as far as they could:

i LOVE the intensity in their faces!

Bean Bag Toss:
the kids didn’t seem to mind that bean bag toss isn’t an official Olympic Event!

i made a scoresheet just for fun, but we didn’t end up using it:

the boys really got into the Olympic Spirit:

and the Birthday Boy had an absolute BALL!!

i loved this theme! it was really easy to pull off, and with the plethora of 4th of July items out in stores right now, there was plenty of great options for decorations!

the boys LOVED the events, and we made sure to move through each event quickly before they lost interest. they all seemed to enjoy every minute!!!

the Boy’s actual bday is tomorrow, so i’ll be back with a special bday post!

ps: i’m seriously blogger illiterate, but i’ve been frustrated with this new Blogger. i can’t get my pictures to be the size they used to be. is anyone else who uses Blogger having this issue or know how to fix it??