Summer Fun Activity: Have A Bike Decorating Day
If you have kids home for the summer, chances are you are always on the lookout for new ways to entertain them. Although bike riding is a great way to channel some of that youthful energy, after a while even it can grow old.
This summer, make bike riding exciting again by having a bike and helmet decorating day. When the decorating is done, you can stage a parade around the neighborhood so your kids can show off their creative flair. Don’t have a big enough gang for a parade? Invite some of the neighborhood kids over, their parents will thank you for giving the grownups some time off!
Start With A Good Scrub
Before you start decorating, gather all the kids in the yard and let them give their bikes a good washing with the help of your garden hose, buckets of water, sponges and spray bottles. Don’t be surprised if this turns in to a water fight!
Once the bikes are washed, be sure to dry them off completely before starting to decorate.
Decorate, Decorate, Decorate
For great decorations you don’t have to spend a fortune, just raid your craft cupboard. I suggest gathering up streamers, ribbons, balloons, artificial flowers, feathers, pipe cleaners, cardboard, poster or puffy paint, glitter, letter stickers, aluminum foil and pinwheels.
For sound effects, bells and clean tin cans to drag behind are always a hit. You can also get a cheap deck of playing cards to clothespin near the spokes so the kids get that “motorcycle noise” as they ride.
Streamers can be tied to the handlebars and seat backs of the bikes, or threaded through the spokes to provide a whirl of color when the wheels turn. If the bike has a basket, it can be decorated with streamers or ribbon too, tied to the top edge of a wicker basket or woven through the bars of a metal one.
To personalize each bike, create name plates out of cardboard or foam for the front and have the children add their name, nickname or a number.
For attaching the decorations you will want to have twist ties, heavy string and of course masking tape (which won’t pull off bike paint) on hand. A few pairs of scissors will also come in handy.
Show Off All That Hard Work
After working so hard on their creations, the kids will love the idea of showing them off. Let all the moms know the moment has come and have the kids ride their bikes in a parade through the neighborhood. Don’t forget to take individual pictures of all the kids and their bikes, as well as of the parade.
Give it a try! Maybe bike decorating and parade day will become a summer tradition in your neighborhood.
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Jennifer Kirkpatrick is always looking for fun new activities for her two children. For the past couple of years she has organized a bike decorating day with friends and it has been a huge hit! When Jennifer is not marshalling parades she is the owner of Pipsqueak Boutique, an online boutique with a great selection of personalized kids gifts and first birthday gifts as well essentials for children age newborn to six years.
Holly says
Sounds like fun! I think my four-year-old would love to do this.