BIRTHDAY PARTY IDEAS FOR KIDS
Yes! You are most likely surprised when searching the internet for kids’ birthday ideas, that you have found yourself on a blog site about fitness. However, you have found what you were looking for! The information in this article will help you arrange and manage a great, fun, cheap, healthy kids’ birthday party.
Birthdays can be as expensive or as cheap as you want. All parents look to do something different every year, to make sure their child has a day they’ll never forget. As a parent myself, I have heard our kids come home excited from a friend's party wanting their next party to be just like their friend’s party. This could be as extravagant as hiring rides, animals, clowns, jumping castle or hiring a venue. This cost will come out of your bank-account. Instead, consider a fun, healthy party you’re kids and friends will never forget - one that will be totally different to any party they’ve ever been to before. The great thing about this party is that it can be for boys or girls, and kids of all ages.
Parents know that children are now playing electronic games for longer periods, as well as watching more and more television and movies. We often hear about new research saying that children are having more problems with signs of early stages of Type 2 Diabetes as well we are seeing more children become (obese) and even carry this obesity into adulthood.
As a (Personal Trainer), I have heard heartbreaking stories from my adult clients, telling me that their child has been teased at school about their weight. Even some of my toughest clients who are male have been in tears when they tell me about their child coming home in tears and telling them that they hate themselves and that they hate school. Some of these clients tell me about their own experiences of being teased at school because they were also overweight.
Amazingly, some of my clients, tell me they teased kids at school and now they see their own child come home and hear what kids have said about their own child and know they once said it to kids when they were at school and wonder if those kids went home in tears and wonder what their parents said to them.
EXAMPLE CHILDREN’S PARTY
· Getting Started
· Choose Party Location
· Invitations
· Shopping List for the Party
· Party Food
· Allergies
· First Aid
· Party Day Schedule
· Ground Rules
· Activities
- Warming Up
- Musical Skipping Rope, Bean Bag Relay
- Tug of War, French Cricket
- Warming Down
· Contact Form
· Party Check List
· Warnings and Disclaimers
This Example Children’s Party is provided by
for better Health and Fitness.
More information about Hard On Fitness can be found at:
www.facebook.com/hardonfitness
Social Media Code of Conduct
Privacy Policy - Hard On Fitness
www.truelocal.com.au/business/hard-on-fitness/holland-park
GETTING STARTED
At any party you host, you have some responsibilities to your guests, especially if they are children. Here are some important things to remember.
1. If you choose to hold a (Fitness Party) or do any exercise at all, remember this will raise your (heart rate) and put some minimal stress on your body.
2. Let the parents of the children know that it is going to be a physically active party and the types of activities that are being held at the party. It is important to include this information on the birthday invitations. Doing this, will identify any (illness or illnesses) the child may have e.g. asthma, which could potentially be aggravated during a physical fitness party.
3. Have a contact list of parents’ phone numbers in case of any (emergency). There is a Contact and Information Form provided further on in this document.
4. Always contact (Emergency Services) in case of (Emergency). Here is a helpful video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1DPWLsbU5A
5. Always be sun smart and apply (sunscreen) when out in the sun. It is always safer to ask a (parent to apply sunscreen) to their own child. Some people, including children, can have an (allergic reaction to sunscreen) and a parent would know their child's medical history. Here is some helpful information:
http://www.youtube.com/wath?v=tGgn5nwYtj0
Cancer Council Australia web link - Cancer Council Australia
6. Set some ground rules before starting, to avoid any fighting or aggression.
CHOOSE PARTY LOCATION
Find a nice park that is in your local area, which has plenty of grassed and shaded space. One way of finding a park in your local area is to use Google Maps.
When holding any party in a park, check the local Council’s rules for use of the park, e.g. whether dogs are allowed etc.
Choose a nice level space which is free from obstructions, holes and water.
SHOPPING LIST FOR THE PARTY
As well as your usual party items such as food, drinks etc. here are some items you will require especially for a fitness party.
· FIRST AID KIT - Always have a (First Aid Kit) at home, in your car and at work. This is for your own safety and others. Have a first aid kit at the fitness party. More information on first aid can be found at: www.firstaid.com.au
· MUSIC PLAYER - For the (fitness party) you will need a device with some decent speakers to play music.
· SKIPPING ROPE - When choosing a skipping rope remember they come in all sizes. So depending on the age of the children make sure the length of the skipping rope is suitable for their age and height. Make sure there is a skipping rope for each guest.
· MINI BEAN BAGS
· TENNIS BALLS
· 5 BUCKETS
· CRICKET BAT
· LONG, STRONG ROPE FOR TUG OF WAR
· HEALTHY FOOD AND DRINK
If you do not have some of these items, here are some online stores which you might find helpful:
www.shoppingonline.com.au
www.ebay.com
www.gumtree.com.au
www.sportinggoods.com.au
PARTY FOOD IDEAS
As most parents would know, food is a very important consideration for kids when they’re active. This is a (healthy fitness party) so the food must also be healthy. However, we know it's not easy to get kids to eat healthily. We think the best ways to find fun, healthy, interesting foods is to research the internet for reputable food recipe sites or to ask your friends for recipes. You could even try a healthy option for the birthday cake!
Please take into account any food or drink allergies when preparing the food and drink.
ALLERGIES AND MEDICAL INFORMATION
Always remember when serving food and drink, to always know if the person you are serving food and drink is (Allergic) to any particular foods or drinks. If so, this information can be stored on the Contact and Info Form for easy reference.
FIRST AID
Always, for your safety and others have a (First Aid Kit) at home, work and in your car. It helps greatly if someone attending the fitness party has a recognised and current (First Aid Certificate) and has had recent CPR training. For more information on (First Aid) or (CPR) you can visit:
www.firstaid.com.au
PARTY DAY SCHEDULE
1. Make sure you have all items you need before leaving home.
2. Arrive one hour before the party starts to organise things.
3. Walk around the whole area where you're holding your party to check for any sharp objects, holes, water, obstructions or anything that could cause injury to yourself or your party guests.
4. Have the children’s activities before their meal, or at least 30 minutes after eating their meal.
GROUND RULES
Here are some Ground rules for the children before starting activities.....
1. Make sure that your helpers and children are aware of danger safety.
Tips
· Keep a constant head count up.
· Make sure that children go to the toilets in groups and make sure they return in the group.
· Always make sure that when pairing children & adults up that everyone feels safe in their group's.
ACTIVITIES
Warming Up
A warm-up is very important, as your guests will be exercising. A warm-up can lower the risk of injury and muscle strain.
Here are some useful warm-up ideas. Take a five minute slow walk. Do five to ten minutes of basic, slow body stretching. Remember not to overdo it.
Musical Skipping Rope Game
1. Find a safe open place. The size of the area will depend on how many kids there are playing.
2. Each child gets a skipping rope.
3. Just like the old game musical chairs, someone is in charge of the music. The person who is in charge of the music will start and stop the music. They should make sure the children can't see when the music is about to start or stop.
4. When the children are ready, the music is started. When music the stops the last child to sit down is out. This happens until there is only one child standing. They are the winner!
Bean Bag Relay
Relay games are a great, fun and engaging way to entertain children at a birthday party.
How do Relays work?
Relays are team races where one person in the team completes a specific task or set course, then tags the next person who completes the same task. They then tag the next person and so on. The game continues until all the team members have completed the task, and the first team finished wins.
If you are working with a large group and have more than two teams, it’s a good idea to have a finish position such as ‘all sitting with hands on head’. This makes it easy to see when a team has actually finished, and can stop any potential arguments about a photo finish.
Here are some tips to get your relays started.
1. Organize the teams. In the spirit of fair competition, you may want to customise the teams a little bit, and make sure there are an equal number of both boys and girls, active and not-so-active kids, older and younger and so on. Depending on the number of contestants, divide them into equal groups.
2. Once you have your teams organised, explain what the task or course is, and perhaps give a demonstration so everyone is clear.
3. Get each group to stand in their separate teams.
4. Get the separate teams to stand in a straight line behind each other in their teams.
5. Have about two body lengths distance between each team.
6. Have a point where the runner must run to and turn around and return to the team to hand the (bean bag) to the next person. Please note: The running distance should be varied appropriately depending on the age of the children involved.
7. Give each team one bean bag. Please note: Always make sure there are no splits in the bean bags as the insides of the bean bags can be a choking hazard for young children.
Finally to play, teams carry their (bean bags) from the starting line to a turnaround point and back again, then pass the bean bag to a teammate to repeat the process. If the bean bag is dropped, the player must stop and retrieve it. Whichever team gets the bean bag back and forth the fastest with everyone in the team having a go wins. Enjoy!
Tug Of War
For this activity it is important to make sure that the rope diameter is suitable for the size of the children's hands and also that the rope will not hurt their hands (through rope burn). For the length of rope, the longer, the better. Line up the kids and let the craziness start as they compete to be the strongest team. Tug of war is a classic birthday party game and kids’ activity to keep children active and laughing.
Here are some helpful tips.
1. For this game it helps to have a minimum of 3 kids on each team.
2. Split the children and adults evenly on either side of the rope.
3. It works best with the smaller or weaker players towards the middle and the stronger players at the ends.
4. Find a spot on the ground to mark as the middle. Also mark the middle of the rope. The objective is for one team to pull the other over the mark on the ground.
5. To start, someone yells "GO" and everyone starts pulling as hard as they can... until one team crumbles and they're all pulled across the line.
French cricket
French cricket is a great outdoor activity and kids' party game. Grab your kids and friends, a cricket bat, a tennis ball and let the game begin. If you don’t have a cricket bat you can substitute a tennis racquet.
Here are some helpful hints.
1. Direct the players to stand in a circle.
2. Choose someone to be first batter.
3. The first batter stands in the centre of the circle.
4. The rest of the players try to throw the ball and hit the batter's legs below the knees. This area is known as the “stumps”. If the ball hits the batter’s legs, the batter is out.
5. The batter must hit the ball away, because if he fails and the ball passes by, the batter cannot turn around to face another bowler.
6. Instead the batter must twist and turn to try to defend the stumps without moving his feet.
7. If the batter hits the ball and it is caught by one of the other players the batter is out.
8. Once out, the batter is replaced by the player who bowled the batter out.
Warming Down
A warm-down is very important, as your guests will be exercising. A warm-down can lower the risk of injury and muscle strain.
Here are some useful warm-down ideas. Take a slow five minute walk. Do five to ten minutes of basic, slow body stretching. Remember not to overdo it.
CONTACT AND INFO FORM
Guest – Child’s Name
Full Name: _________________________________________________________
Contact #1
Full Name: ____________________ Relationship to Child: ___________________
Mobile Phone Number: ___________________ Phone Number: ___________________
Contact #2
Full Name: ____________________ Relationship to Child: __________________
Mobile Phone Number: ___________________ Phone Number: _____________________
Medical Information
Foods Allergies?: __________________________________________________
Drink Allergies?: ___________________________________________________
Asthma?: _________________________________________________________
Other Conditions?: __________________________________________________
Other Useful Information
_______________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
PLEASE NOTE - Always treat your guest’s information with strict confidentiality.
PARTY CHECKLIST
- Choose Party Location o
- Invitations o
- Shopping List for the Party o
- Party Food o
- Allergies o
- First Aid o
- Party Day Schedule o
- Ground Rules o
- Plan Activities o
- Warming Up
- Musical Skipping Rope
- Bean Bag Relay
- Tug of War
- French Cricket
- Warming Down
- Contact and Info Form o
This Example Children’s Party is provided by
for better Health and Fitness.
The staff at Hard On Fitness would love to hear how your fitness party goes.
Join us on Facebook and let us know. Post your photos and upload video from the day.
www.facebook.com/hardonfitness
About Hard On Fitness
For over 10 years Hard On Fitness has been helping Brisbane residents to ditch the extra weight they have been carrying around. There is no faster way to accelerate your results than by having a Personal Trainer. Hard On Fitness is a private, personal training studio gym at Holland Park on Brisbane’s south side (in Queensland, Australia).
Hard On Fitness Testimonials
“When looking for a personal trainer I was very hesitant with choosing a male. I know this may sound funny however I like to feel as comfortable as possible when training. Then I found Alan! He possessed all of the qualities in which I was looking for in a personal trainer. He has a large and varied set of skills with years of personal training experience.”
“I have only been going to Allan for 3 weeks and I can definitely feel my body getting stronger. I like the fact that in my training sessions we do a variety of things to target all areas of the body such as cardio, weights and boxing. This makes training session more interesting and fun.”
Contact Hard On Fitness
For full contact details, locality map and gym reviews please go to:
www.truelocal.com.au/business/hard-on-fitness/holland-park
WARNINGS AND DISCALIMERS
If you or your child have never exercised before, you should seek your Doctor’s clearance before starting exercise. If you feel dizzy while training stop immediately and seek a Doctor's advice.
Hard On Fitness management believes safety always is the first priority when exercising.
If you choose to participate in any exercise program or article Hard On Fitness has published, you agree that it is entirely at your own risk.
For any injury, illness or adverse changes in medical condition directly or indirectly from any exercise program or instructions provided to me from any owners or staff of Hard On Fitness, I hereby waiver on my behalf, my heirs and my executors hereafter any liability against owners of Hard On Fitness, its staff and any of its affiliates or investors.
Any third party websites, videos or products, brands or trademarks listed in any Hard On Fitness documents or online content are the sole property of their respective owner. No affiliation or endorsement is intended or implied.
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www.facebook.com/hardonfitness
Social Media Code of Conduct
Privacy Policy - Hard On Fitness
www.truelocal.com.au/business/hard-on-fitness/holland-park
2012 Hard On Fitness - (Social Media)
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