Kids need a lot of physical activity to stay healthy, but most of them don’t get it. One way to help fix that problem is to include some physical activities at birthday parties, or even at other events. There are a lot of options out there, so it is easy to find one that most of the kids at the party will enjoy.
1- Treasure Hunts
You can have a fun party game by hiding some treasures around your house, yard, or any other area. Create clues to help the kids find those objects, and then let them loose to go treasure hunting. They will naturally run around, climb, and generally get sweaty as they look for the treasure, so they will get plenty of exercise. You can ensure that they get more by hiding the treasure in areas that are hard to reach, or by hiding a lot of little treasures so they spend more time running around. For best results, use chocolate coins or other treasures that the kids can help make sure they are excited to hunt.
2- Building Games
Most kids also love a chance to be creative and build things. You can scale up building blocks or use other materials to give kids a chance to build on a bigger scale than normal. That provides a lot of exercise, since they need to lift the blocks into place and carry them around until they get everything exactly right. Be sure to make the blocks heavy enough to provide some exercise without being so big that the kids can hurt themselves or just have trouble moving them around.
3- Adventure Parties
The easiest way to mix fun and exercise is to go on an adventure. Take the kids hiking in the park, down a nature trail, or any other area with exciting scenery. The route should be challenging enough to keep their interest, but easy enough that all of them can handle it without any trouble. Many parks and hiking groups publish guides about local trails that include difficulty ratings, so finding the right one should be fairly easy.
4- Paddling Boats
Renting a couple of canoes or kayaks for a trip down a local river is similar to hiking, but it can be a little more exciting because most people don’t do it very often. It is also more challenging, since it does take some skill to handle a boat. Most older children should be able to do it without too much trouble, but it can be a good idea to hire a guide or a teacher to make sure that the trip goes well. Be sure to take it easy and avoid rapids or other difficult areas if there are any inexperienced boaters in the group. It is better to be safe than sorry!
5- Zoo Trips
Simply walking around can be enough to get the right level of exercise. Taking kids to the zoo ensures that they will be on their feet for most of the day as they go between exhibits, but the animals will be so exciting that most of them won’t even notice.
6- Snowball Wars
A gigantic snowball fight is a great choice for people who have birthdays in the winter. Throwing and dodging snowballs is a great source of exercise, and most kids will be willing to do it for hours on end. You can even mix this with the building activity by giving them the tools that they need to build snow fortifications to give their team the edge in battle!
7- Sporting Events
There are times when the classic option is the best. Sports are a great way to work some physical activity into a birthday party. Choose a couple of sports that most of the kids like, and cycle between them to ensure some variety. This is also a great chance to introduce them to new games that they don’t see very often. They may decide that they like the new event and start doing it regularly, which will make sure that they get enough exercise in the future to stay as happy and healthy as possible.
