Why should kids have all the fun?
Active-themed parties are fun for adults
If the thought of another wedding shower or run-of-the mill mixer leaves you yawning, channel the child inside and plan an active-themed gathering. Active-themed parties can liven up social gatherings, teach new skills and reinforce the fun of physical activity.
IU fitness expert Carol Kennedy's friends helped her celebrate her pending nuptials last year in Hawaiian style.
"We just lose our sense of fun and movement, and we become slower at everything we do," said Tatiana Kolovou, a long-time group exercise leader at Indiana University Bloomington and a fitness consultant. "Instead of seeing movement and activity as a stress reliever, we see it as a stress creator."
Not so for Kolovou and her friends. The group celebrated a friends' wedding plans last fall with a 30-minute bike ride around Bloomington, Ind., followed by a 30-minute walk that even more friends joined, and then bagels and pineapple mimosas at a popular eatery. The bride-to-be wore appropriate cycling apparel, topped off with a wedding veil, and the group all wore Hawaiian-print clothes and leis in honor of the location of the approaching nuptials. Everyone was talking about the shower long after the activities ended.
Here are examples of other active party themes or ideas:
- Spend money on an expert, not catering. Kolovou and a friend, for example, hired massage therapists to teach those in their group of friends some new massage techniques. They learned new skills and left the party feeling fine (they practiced on each other).
- Family fun. Kolovou and her friends rented a rock-climbing wall and ordered pizza, arranging for a fun party for the whole group.
- Searching for treasure. Kolovou has planned several birthday treasure hunts for her jogging group. They look for clues along their early morning route -- which requires Kolovou to hide clues and treats beforehand.
- Cha-cha? Salsa, perhaps? Treat your friends to a dance class at a professional dance studio.
- An active happy hour. Meet for a walk and then continue the gabfest over coffee.
- Yoga for all. Kolovou and her friends hired the instructor of their weekly 6 a.m. yoga class to conduct a special session later in the day so their spouses could join them.
- Who to invite. Active-themed parties work best with people who already are active, not necessarily friends from work or extended family.
Kids like to be active, for sure, but it doesn't happen "organically" if the children do not know each other well. Kolovou suggests planning results-oriented activities, such as obstacle courses and treasure hunts, so the kids have something specific to do.
"We as adults have to become kids to facilitate this more," Kolovou said. "Kids respond well to seeing the parents and other adults play."
