City-Wide Blog
| 07 January 2010
On your mark, get set, go!
There's logic to the notion of an obstacle-course-themed birthday party considering how many real-life obstacles an 8-year-old has surmounted. Each little triumph of language and locomotion has been a confidence-building occasion.
On this golden afternoon, the challenges are pure fun -- navigating a slalom course with a wagon and tiptoeing across a balance beam -- and energy. The obstacle course can be set up easily on your lawn or at a local park (call ahead to make sure it's okay), using items found around the house: a wooden ladder, a table, and an inflatable pool. Other elements double as party favors, including plastic hoops and foam noodles. Have the birthday boy or girl, or an older sibling, test the course ahead of time to see that everything works as intended.
Upon arrival, guests receive a numbered T-shirt (cut numbers from sheets of iron-on fabric) and a map of the course. Then gather kids at the starting line and send them through one at a time. Once everyone has run the gamut, take a break for cake and gifts. Afterward, it's back to the course, perhaps to run in reverse this time. At party's end, hold an awards ceremony and present an appetizing Olympic-style medal -- a cookie pendant strung on a ribbon -- to every participant.
The Obstacles
A week or two before the party, closely examine your backyard. Make note of slopes and sinkholes (trouble for ankles) and useful features like trees. On the day before, set up the course, and blow up the balloons. Balloons can be a choking hazard for children; only grown-ups should inflate them. Supervise children closely around balloons, and discard any popped ones immediately. This course required about 150 balloons, inflated with a hand pump, and took three adults about three hours to arrange. Number some balloons using a broad-tipped permanent marker and tie to tall garden stakes; use them to mark each obstacle.