Why should the Olympic athletes have all the fun this summer? Send your kids back to school with something to talk about by throwing a kids’ Olympic party.

The real Games began Friday in Athens. But you can turn your own back yard into an Olympic stadium of sorts. First, the nitty-gritty to help you plan:

Keep the guest list manageable: About 12 to 15 kids is the maximum. Schedule the party late in the afternoon and early evening. Keep the party to two hours, tops. Games should last no more than an hour, Becky Sledd says, because it’s hard to keep kids’ attention much longer than that. Games first, food later. Sledd is owner of Party Adventures in Kansas City, Mo.

Have adults around to supervise. They could dress alike, in black-and-white striped T-shirts and matching shorts like referees.

But most important: Make sure everyone takes home a medal.

Invitations

The torch. Roll up the invitation and place it inside an empty paper-towel tube. Wrap each tube with white wrapping paper; write the guest’s name on the side. Cut strips of red, orange and yellow tissue paper and glue a strip of each color to one end of the tube. Hand deliver.

Decorations

Decorate a banner of butcher paper with the words “Welcome International Athletes” and the Olympic rings. Hang international flags or posters, or posters of Olympic athletes or sporting events, on the walls of the party room.

Anchor a tiki torch to a high place, such as the top of a swing set, to serve as the Olympic torch. Use lots of red, white and blue balloons and patriotic-colored bunting. Use sporting equipment as the food-table centerpiece.

Medals

Spray-paint large metal washers if you don’t use the cardboard kind (see above). Give each child a cord or ribbon and let them add their “medals” to it.

Opening ceremony

You must have a parade of nations, and this begins with a craft project for your guests.

In advance, find flags in an atlas or on Web sites that represent a country for each guest. Sketch each flag onto a piece of large construction paper. When the guests arrive, invite them to color their country’s flag with crayons or markers that you supply. Tape the finished flags to long, wooden dowels. When everyone is finished, play the national anthem and have one child carry the Olympic torch (the birthday child if this is a celebration) while they lead the others in a parade around the front yard.

To make an Olympic torch: Cover a wrapping paper tube with aluminum foil. Glue strips of red, yellow and orange tissue paper strips to one end to simulate the torch flames.

FOOD

All-American fare: hot dogs, hamburgers, sloppy Joes, hero sandwiches, potato chips and healthy food such as baby carrots, olives and fruit salad. Serve Gatorade and sport drinks. One popular treat: red, white and blue snow cones. Make them yourself or rent a snow-cone machine.

For dessert, buy or make three dozen cupcakes. Frost at least five each with red, black, blue, green and yellow frosting-the colors of the Olympic rings. Arrange the cupcakes on a large serving tray in the shape of the intertwined Olympic rings.

Take-home treat: Bake or buy at least one cookie for each guest. Wrap each cookie in gold foil. Glue the ends of a ribbon, about 18 inches long, to the back of each cookie. Award them at the closing ceremony. (See below.)

THE GAMES

To mimic Olympic-style competition, include relay races, standing long jump and gymnastics on a tumbling mat under adult supervision. You can use water balloons for the shot put; Frisbees for discus; darts for javelins; and hop, skip and jump for the triple-jump. Or, mix them up with silly party games, such as wheelbarrow racing, tug-of-war, Hula-Hoop passing and potato sack races.

Other ideas:

Swim noodle javelin throw. Draw a chalk line or use a tape line for athletes to stand behind. Have each take a turn throwing a “javelin”-one of those foam swim noodles. Give each participant three throws; let them use their farthest throw as the one that counts. The farthest throw wins.

Balance beam. Place a 2-by-12-inch board across two concrete blocks or something else of similar height and use it as the balance beam. Have each child take a turn on the beam and, in Simon Says fashion, give them instructions on moves to complete, such as “turn around,” or “stand on one leg.” Everyone wins in this event.

Plunger pass. It’s the passing of the torch, only the “torch” is a plunger. Form two relay teams. Put a tiny water balloon inside two plungers. Each contestant takes a plunger, holding it high in the air like a torch, runs to the end of the lane around an orange cone and walks backward to the starting line, where they transfer the balloon to their teammate, who is holding another plunger, without dropping it. If they drop the balloon they either lose a point or start over.

Shoe pile scramble. Have the kids remove their shoes and pile them together. Scramble the shoes. Line up the children, side by side, at the startling line. At the signal, the kids race toward the pile, find their shoes and fasten them. The first one back at the finish line, wearing the correct shoes, wins.

Greco-Roman thumb wrestling. Seat two participants at a table directly across from each other, one elbow near the edge of the table. Athletes connect hands with their thumbs pointing up; they are not allowed to lift their elbows during the game. When the judge says “Go,” athletes use only their thumbs to try to pin their opponent and hold them down for the count of three.

The final event: “Marathon” around the block. The kids can either run or walk it, depending on their age and ability. Make sure one adult on a bicycle is at the front of the pack, and one in the back to supervise. Give each participant a medal.

GOODIE-BAG STUFF

Keep it sports-oriented – Frisbees, yo-yos, sports cards, sports magazines, balls, jump ropes, decorative shoelaces, sunglasses, sweatbands, plastic stopwatches, photos of famous athletes, sports-team banners, stickers or pins of other countries. Local party planners say U.S. Toy Co. in Leawood is a good source of inexpensive trinkets.

CLOSING CEREMONY

Place three milk crates together to represent the Olympic medal stand. Invite the guests in groups of three to stand on the crates and place their “cookie medals” around their neck. Play the national anthem. Use an instant camera to take pictures of everyone as a souvenir.

OUR SOURCES

We gleaned the party ideas here from Internet sites such as verybestkids.com , kidspartyfun.com , partypop.com and familyfun.go.com.

We also surveyed professional party-throwers Kathy O’Malley of Cathy’s Custom Parties and Ponies in south Kansas City, Mo.; Becky Sledd, owner of Party Adventures; and Kent Blansett at Wacky Banana Fitness and Entertainment Co., both in Overland Park, Kan.