Get your house ready for an Olympic Games party

All around the world, people are sharing in the excitement of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and having their own Olympic Games parties. But how do you make sure that, if you’re the host, you’ve still got plenty of time and energy left to enjoy the fun?

From a house cleaned quickly, to brilliant – and brilliantly simple – homemade decorations, we’ll show you how to prepare for a party without lots of unnecessary effort or stress.

Clean in a flash

We all like our home to be looking its best for a party, but that doesn’t mean we want to spend hours cleaning. So it makes sense to choose cleaning products that really pack a punch like Flash Multipurpose Gel which you can use all around the house.

Get decorating

A party’s not a party without decorations! The theme? Well, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games of course. Let loose with the balloons and streamers and don’t forget how much fun it can be to make your own decorations. Paperchains, for example, look really effective when you’ve got loads of them and even the youngest children can get involved in making them.

If you fancy something a little more ambitious (but not too testing!), why not make up a banner saying ‘Good luck Team GB’. All you need to do is look for the letters in magazines and cards, blow these letters up on a scanner or photocopier and then mount on card before taping to a ribbon and hanging up.

Set up a ‘photo booth’

How about creating an Instagramable Rio 2016 Olympic Games backdrop for you guests to take their selfies? You could do this in any number of ways from using your homemade banner and some brightly coloured balloons, to putting up inspirational pictures from The Games.

Soften the lighting

Harsh lighting is a real party mood-killer. Fairylights aren’t just for Christmas and they look wonderful inside and out. Candles are great too, although do make sure you don’t leave them lit in an unattended room.

Stock up on essentials

It’s a good idea to make sure you have all the boring but important stuff available before your party. A bottle opener, garbage bags, paper towels, extra toilet paper rolls…

Create a kids zone

To make sure your youngest guests feel welcome at your party (and their parents get some peace!), it helps to put out some fun stuff to keep little bodies busy.

If your party’s outside, this might be inflatable pools, slip and slides or sprinklers, whereas an inside event needs a good selection of toys and games.