Bastille Day Bonanza - 14th July

Time

4 3 2 1 All Stages

Benefits

What you need

French music
French themed food (like croissants, crêpes, beef bourguignon and chocolate soufflé)
French decorations and pictures of famous landmarks
Clipboards, paper, and pencils
French words quiz (download resource)

Intro

France is a nation that’s brought us so much – from tasty croissants and Breton stripes to café culture and incredible holiday destinations. So why not share the ‘amour’ by throwing an event to celebrate Bastille Day? By immersing everyone in French music, food, drink and activities, you can create an awesome sensory experience that people will love. It’s bound to stir up nostalgia, but it’ll create new memories too.

We recommend planning this about a month in advance, so you have plenty of time to prepare your decorations.

The Activity

On the build up to the event, why not host an arts and crafts session to make French flags? (You can find out more about how to do this on our Flags of the World activity)
On the morning of the event, ease people in with a fun French language quiz (see our Parlez vous Francais activity to find out more) and serve coffee and croissants as people participate
When you’re finished with the quiz, hand everyone a clipboard with paper and a pencil and ask them to have a go at drawing someone in the group as a traditional French caricature. They don’t have to perfect. In fact, the sillier the better!
Afterwards, you can hold the pictures up and see if others can guess who’s been drawn.
Prepare and serve a delicious French-themed lunch of beef bourguignon or French cassoulet, followed by chocolate mousse.
Host a fun and relaxing afternoon where lots of French music is played and anybody who wants to can dance. Even those who are seated can join in with the “can-can”.
Serve up afternoon tea with some delicate madeleines, (see the Make Mine a Madeleine activity for the recipe)
Then finish off the day with a relaxing and colourful musical, like Moulin Rouge with Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor
Round off your day with a light supper of quiche Lorraine or some onion soup, et voila – your Bastille bonanza is complete!

PDF Resource