Pimp my ride! (7 yr old bday party edition)

October 3, 2023 5:05 AM

I made a busymom blunder and inadvertently cancelled my sons birthday campsite that I had booked since April and had used every year.… Just found out and he turns 7 this weekend! :( He was in tears but cheered a bit with a plan to use a local covered area w an adjacent skate park for a ‘bicycle party’. Mefi, help me turn his frown upside down! What are your best 7yr old games/ decoration/ music/ bike decorating ideas to help him and his friends have fun and feel celebrated and special?

I was so looking forward to the camping myself I’m finding it hard to pivot! Lol shifting my own attitude is key! Help me get excited! :) Forecast is terrible (rain rain rain) so I’m grateful to have found the only covered space in our (tiny) town. There’s a cement ‘stunt basin’ for skateboarding under the cover- maybe a game involving balls or something rolly in it? There’s a small pump track there my son really likes- a relay? Chalk obstacle course?

We live in a pop. 5000 rural town so shopping is v limited and shipped items won’t arrive. We have a hardware store, a regular (small) bike shop, and 2 grocery stores here in town so specialty items are very limited- but I can probably get my hands on some chalk, straws for spokes and streamers and have a friend who agreed to do a ‘bike tune up’ station. we could bring (creative?) supplies for bike and helmet decorating? Music selection? Im no Pinterest artist but welcoming clever on theme food or decorating ideas too! Thanks in advance!!

posted by iiniisfree to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (19 answers total)

DO that thing where you use a clothespin to clip a playing card onto (??? not sure what exactly) so that it makes a clicking noise as it hits the moving spokes. Totally 1970s cool.
posted by lulu68 at 5:23 AM on October 3, 2023 [3 favorites]

I've read about using a playing card as a bicycle noise maker but never have done it myself. I think putting pinwheels (handmade) to the handlebar could be fun.

Decorations: stickers, sharpies, streamers/ribbons. Some ideas from a Google search
posted by ellerhodes at 5:28 AM on October 3, 2023

Ah, that's it - thanks, ellerhodes!
posted by lulu68 at 5:34 AM on October 3, 2023

To save yourself a bunch of effort, decide on a loot bag budget per kid - then get just ONE cool thing that costs that much and looks impressive. Offer that item with no extra packaging, rather than a bag of small items.

For my toddler’s party I gave each kid a $5 board book from a clearance shop. One time I got a set of cool scented markers for $6 per child. For a 7 year old I might get each kid a $10 one-pound chocolate bar, or something fun like that.

Label each item with a sharpie if you want to avoid confusion, and bring them all stacked in a nice basket borrowed from your home decor, and just put it out at the end for each kid to take one. Saves SO MUCH hassle, gets all your loot bag budget going towards the treat not the bag, and generates less plastic-toy trash!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 5:34 AM on October 3, 2023 [6 favorites]

Turn his bike into a rocket, train, or what he likes.
posted by sammyo at 5:36 AM on October 3, 2023

Oh, too bad about camping, but what a good pivot!

Washi tape sticks okay to bike frames, certainly okay enough for a single party. (Put a layer of packing tape over it to keep it for longer.) If that hasn't made it out your way, I'd think painters' tape would be an acceptable alternative, and permanent markers write on that well for bonus (supervised) customization options.
posted by teremala at 5:41 AM on October 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

Here's an instructional video for the card/spokes affair.
posted by lulu68 at 5:41 AM on October 3, 2023

You could look into getting a chalktrail device if the skate park looks good for it. No tools and it drags a big piece of chalk behind the bike. Kids could take turns using one bike outfitted with it or make it available for various adults to have something to do…
posted by drowsy at 5:45 AM on October 3, 2023

Here are some bike rodeo ideas - includes both fun/decorating as well as safety/bike handling.

Sounds like a fantastic and fun way to spend a day, and bonus if the kids leave with a better fitting helmet and properly inflated tires.
posted by lulu68 at 5:47 AM on October 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

Also you might find an advocacy group that runs bike safety rodeos, our town also gives out helmets to kids who don't have them.
posted by drowsy at 5:48 AM on October 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

Whoa lulu68 - jinx!! (and a better post..)
posted by drowsy at 5:49 AM on October 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

Biking fun for my kids at this age included spoke lights (one to clip on each wheel, simpler than the weave-through stuff, maybe as party favors?

Also helmet accessories that stick on and are lightweight/aerodynamic-think shark fin, narwhal, Mohawk-inspired flair.
posted by childofTethys at 5:53 AM on October 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

Bring sidewalk chalk and draw out a course and of course have a pit stop area.
posted by plinth at 6:02 AM on October 3, 2023

Sorry, misread about availability. For helmet decor, Velcro or painters tape to attach any lightweight foam or fabric creations.

For bike spoke lights, do a test run with weaving glow bracelets/necklaces (in stock for Halloween) through spokes.
posted by childofTethys at 6:02 AM on October 3, 2023

I was going to suggest helmet spikes but then I looked for a link and found out helmet decor can cause worse injury by making the helmet catch on pavement in the event of a crash, which could lead to neck injuries.

Maybe a good loot bag item would be a set of detachable blinking bike lights for their own bikes?
posted by nouvelle-personne at 6:36 AM on October 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

An image search for "scraper bikes" will give you plenty of decoration inspiration.
posted by cmfletcher at 7:13 AM on October 3, 2023

More bike rodeo/games ideas including pool noodle limbo.
posted by brookeb at 2:49 PM on October 3, 2023

7 year olds? Bring on the bling.
- Battery powered disco ball.
- His favorite music.
- Bubble machine.
- Glow sticks or flashing LED bracelets/clip on thingies/necklaces. Get a LOT of them.
- Balloons everywhere. To play with as well as decoration.
- All the sugar.
- Let him choose what goes in the goodie bags. He may surprise you.
posted by EllaEm at 7:46 PM on October 3, 2023

Last one - some kind of bunting ribbon from a dollar store could be a great finish line tape for “races” The races don’t have to be speed based, and you could have a bunch of categories (push bikes, skate and scooter partisans might roll up!) to give everyone a tear. If the group has fewer than 20 bikes each heat can be a single.

We have a crazy busy skate park, so if we tried this at home we would need to plan for young kids who just show up, and it sounds like the ideas you have (the goodie bags can happen off to the side away from the action) would help if that situation arises.
posted by drowsy at 7:44 AM on October 4, 2023 [1 favorite]