by Ivana Baric

Created on: July 06, 2009

Canada Day is often the unofficial kick off to summer for many Canadians. School is out for the year, the days are long and the nights are warm. The first day of July not only celebrates Canada's birthday, but like a genie in a bottle holds the promise of wonderful summer fun yet to come.

Many Canadians find themselves hosting or attending Canada Day fetes. And while most adults are satisfied with good food and cold drinks, it often takes a bit more to satisfy the party's juvenile guests. Therefore, in order to avoid the dreaded I'm bored and There's nothing to do, parents should arm themselves with an arsenal of fun activities that they might even want to join in on once they see all the fun being had by the primary set.

If your celebration has you heading to the beach, than Mother Nature will more than likely take care of entertaining the young ones, but you can still pitch in with some ideas if splashing in the surf begins to take a backseat to boredom. Organize a sand castle competition, but stipulate that the creation must be in some way distinctly Canadian. See if your competitors can come up with their own ideas, but come prepared with some suggestions if anyone gets stumped. Suggestions can include: the Canadian flag, RCMP, moose, Canadian geese, beaver, hockey themed items, Parliament Hill, Bluenose schooner, Winnie the Pooh, totem poles etc.

Children also love to participate in traditional relay races. Try the three legged race, potato sack race, wheelbarrow race, crab walk or egg toss. These are activities that can be played at the beach, park or in the backyard. If there are older children at the party put them in charge of organizing the events and adjudicating them. Another fun game could be Pin the Tail on the Beaver.

Children love to make arts and crafts so another option is to set up craft stations. Kids will entertain themselves creating and will have fun mementos to take home. Possible ideas are:

1. Flag Making Station: Supply white and red construction paper, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, straws, etc. Children make their own flag and adhere it to a straw. They can wave them patriotically while singing 'O Canada'.

2. Craft Paper Station: Kids can make their own beautiful craft paper in just a few steps. Cover a baking sheet with a thin layer of shaving cream. Splatter drops of food coloring over top. Marble it using a popsicle stick. Gentle press a piece of card stock on top. Remove and squeegee away the excess shaving cream. You will be left with a beautifully, colored piece of paper.

3. Canadian Maple Tree Paper Craft: Children can make a beautiful picture using tissue paper and construction paper. First they will make a tree trunk by tracing their hand and arm up to their elbow on a brown piece of construction paper. Next, they will make the maple leaves by wrapping 1.5inch pieces of red and white tissue paper around the eraser of a pencil. Leaves are adhered to the tree branches with white glue or a glue stick. The finished tree can be place upon a blue background which children can further decorate.

A fun game that children and adults can play is Don't Say. As people arrive at the party give them a white or red bracelet. Once all your guests have arrived let them know the word they can't say is EH. When a guest catches another saying EH they get to take their bracelet from them. The person with the most bracelets at the end of the party wins a prize.

Having a variety of activities that children can participate in will ensure that parents and kids alike have a remarkable Canada Day.

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