26 Party Ideas For the Rio Olympics

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The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio are almost here and I am so excited! I have always loved watching the Olympics. There is something so beautiful about different countries from around the world coming together to celebrate our athletes. The Olympics are an iconic event and I hope that one day I will have the chance to watch the games in person. In honor of the 26th Summer Olympics I decided to share 26 Party Ideas for the Rio Olympics.

For as long as I can remember my Mom has made watching the Olympics a lot of fun. On the opening day of the games would always go out to eat at a restaurant based on who was hosting the Olympics. When Japan hosted the 1998 Olympics we went to a Japanese steakhouse for dinner. In 2000 games in Sydney we ate at Outback. For the 2008 games in Beijing we went to P.F. Changs. This was such a fun tradition for me growing up. Maybe this year my parents and I can check out a Brazilian steakhouse.

Olympic Movies to Watch

1. Cool Runnings
This is the least serious movie about the Olympics that I have ever seen. This is a feel good comedy that never fails to make me laugh. Jamaica has a bobsled team, enough said.

2. Miracle
This movie focuses on the 1980 United States hockey team. It is a great and inspiring story of an underdog team. This movie never fails to get me pumped up.

3. Race
This is the newest of all three of the movies. Race tells the story of Jesse Owens attending the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. I really enjoyed this movie and recommend watching it.

Reality Shows about Olympic Hopefuls to Watch

4. Douglas Family Gold
Do you remember Gabby Douglas who won the All Around Gold Medal for Gymnastics in London? Gabby is attempting to be the first All Around Gold Medalist to return to the Olympics since Nadia Comaneci. The show focuses on Gabby and her entertaining family. The season finale just took place but I’m sure Oxygen will continue playing the episodes.

5. Gold Medal Families
Unlike Douglas Family Gold, Gold Medal Families focuses on multiple Olympic hopefuls. The show follows Aly Rasiman (Gymnastics), Steele Johnson (Diving), Nastasya Generalova (Rhythmic Gymnastics), Jajaira Gonzalez (Boxing), Jordan Windle (Diver), Sean Grieshop (Swimmer). What I really like about this show is that it shows all the sacrifices that the families make as well as the athletes. You can catch this show on Lifetime on Tuesday nights.

Olympic Crafts

This picture is from the 1996 Summer Olympics. The very first one I can remember

6. Olympic torch
You can see me in the picture above holding an Olympic torch. Take a paper towel roll and wrap it up in aluminum foil. Add red, orange and yellow tissue paper to the top.

7. Make an Olympic ringtone for you phone
I love making customized ringtones for my phone. For the 2014 Winter Olympics I made my text tone the Olympic theme song. I only keep it on my phone during the duration of the games.

8. Create a Fun Sign
I love the Keep Calm & Go For Gold and the Let the Games Begin signs.

9. Photo Booth Props
Be creative and come up with Olympic themed photo booth props. Maybe you’ll have goggles and swim caps. Or you can have a torch and the Olympic rings. A gold medal will work too!

10. Make Olympic bottles
I took two glass coke bottles and spray painted one gold and the other silver. I then used mod podge to put the Olympic rings on them. They are great for decoration and to hold straws. *You can see my bottles in the picture below with the pool water

Olympic Decorations

11. Hang up a Flag
The flag of your country is not only great decoration but it can also serve as the perfect backdrop for a photo booth.

12. Use any Patriotic or Olympic things that you have.
My Grandpa worked for ABC during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He has two commeritive Coca Cola bottles from those Olympics. As well as a medallion. They make for some pretty sweet decor.

13. USA letter balloons
Target has big USA balloons in store right now and they are perfect for an Olympic party.

14. Have a schedule of all of your favorite events
I like to make sure that I don’t miss my favorite events. Printing out a schedule to keep by your TV or couch can be very helpful. You can even frame the schedule and make it decorative.

15. Do you have any books by Olympians?
I have a book by Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas. This is an easy decoration to set out.

16. Make the Rings using jar lids
Do you have empty pickle jars? You can use any lid you want. I would recommend using spray paint on the lids to create the colors of the rings. Then I would hot glue them together. Is there better decor for the Olympics than the rings?

Olympic Food

17. Go to a Brazilian restaurant
Get into the spirit by enjoying food from the host country.

18. Make a dish from Brazil
Try something new to enjoy while watching the opening ceremonies or one of the events.

19. Gold Medal Cookies
To make these easy gold medal cookies I used golden oreos with red straps from a reusable grocery bag. You can also use twizlers or fruit role ups for the medal straps.

20. Balance Beam Snacks
If you’re anything like me you love watching gymnastics. You can use fun size twix bars or kitkats to create edible balance beams to snack on.

21. Olympic Ring Cookies
Yes, my cookies could look a whole lot better. And in the future they will. This was my first time and I was trying something new. I used sugar cookie dough with food coloring to recreate the colors of the rings. I do not have a circular cookie cutter so I had to improvise. They don’t look perfect but they will do.

22. Pool Water
I don’t want you to drink actual pool water. However, blue lemonade or gatorade are perfect to enjoy while watching swimming.

23. Pretzel Flags
You can print out pictures of flags from various countries or make them yourself. This is a great coloring opportunity for children if you have them. Then attach them to a pretzel stick and set them out to enjoy.

24. Pool Cake
I thought of this idea for a cake the other day and will be making it soon. My thought is to bake a cake with blue icing. Then I will use fruit loops to represent the circles that create the swimming lanes in the pool. Then using graham crackers I will create diving boards. I will finish this by putting teddy bears on the diving boards to represent the swimmers.

25. Red White & Blue bundt cake with Olympic rings
Separate white or yellow cake batter into three bowls. Use red and blue food coloring so that you can have a red, white and blue layered cake. Top the cake with the Olympic rings.

26. Fruit kabobs in the form of the American flag
By now you’ve probably seen fruit kabobs that look like the American flag. You can use blueberries for the blue square and strawberries & bananas for the stripes.

Do you have an Olympic idea? Please share it with me in the comments below.