Year-End Fun: The November and December Kids’ Events at Life Time

As we get into the craziness that tends to be the holiday season, it’s helpful for parents to have a few nights of kid-free time to tackle to-dos — whether that’s shopping for gifts, cleaning for guests, preparing to host a party, or simply taking a restful break from all the obligations.

The Life Time Kids team has planned a handful of Parents Night Out events in November and December for your kids to take part in themed fun — and so you can get that time to yourself.

“This time of year is busy enough for families,” says Shelly Forsberg, director of kids and aquatics at Life Time. “We’re here to make it easy for parents by providing an enjoyable place for their kids to spend time with other kids their age, and do this while parents can take advantage of some extra time to complete tasks or do something they enjoy.”

These are the events and themes taking place in November and December:

Tween Takeover

Ages: 9 to 13 years old
Length: Typically 3 hours

At Tween Takeover nights, kids rule! This time is for your tween to decide what they want to do at their athletic country club: They can play sports, create crafts, challenge one another to a board game, or participate in other fun activities. The space is theirs.

Superheroes Unite

Ages: 4 to 12 years old (ages may vary by club)
Length: Typically 3 hours

Calling all superheroes! You’ll want to get to Life Time in a flash for this super party. Youngsters will unite to develop their own catch phrases and secret identities and to “fight crime” — a.k.a., complete superhero training exercises and obstacles courses. They will play gym games such as “planet krypton” and “superhero tag,” and build their own secret fortress and craft stick superheroes.

Painting Party

Ages: 4 to 12 years old (ages may vary by club)
Length: Typically 3 hours

Kids will break out paint brushes and channel their inner artist at this guided painting party where they’ll create their own masterpiece.

Typically, kids use tempera paint (because it’s washable!), although some clubs may provide watercolor paints, to paint on either cardstock or watercolor paper. They’ll be able to choose which station they wish to paint at: the freestyle station where they can paint whatever they want, the resist station where they’ll use white crayons or tape to make designs on the paper where the paint resists it, or the directed station where a counselor walks them through a painting, step-by-step.

Drop Off & Shop: Winter Theme

Ages: 4 to 12 years old (ages may vary by club)
Length: Typically 3 hours

This event’s activities are centered around the elements of the season: Kids will make snowflake art and run around while playing “snowman tag” and frozen (or freeze) tag. For a STEAM project, kids will be challenged to build the tallest tower, while pre-K kiddos will complete an ice cube-counting activity.

Bonus: Parents can use this time as an opportunity to cross off items on their to-do list or make some headway on holiday shopping.

Drop Off & Shop: Cookie Theme

Ages: 4 to 12 years old (ages may vary by club)
Length: Typically 3 hours

This event is sure to be sweet: Kids will create hot cocoa and gingerbread house paper crafts. They’ll also run around in the gym playing “gingerbread man tag” and “gum drop dash.”

Pre-K kids will create a bridge for the gingerbread man, while school-aged kids will do a shopping bag STEAM challenge.

Pajama Jingle Jam

Ages: 4 to 12 years old (ages may vary by club)
Length: Typically 3 hours

Let your kids come cozy in their favorite pajamas. They’ll make jingle bell necklaces, play “reindeer tag” and “candy cane tag,” and work on engineering a snowflake.

Common FAQs About Kids Events

Shelly Forsberg, director of kids and aquatics at Life Time, shares answers to commonly asked questions from parents.

Life Time Editorial | What can I expect if I sign my child up for a Life Time Kids event?

Shelly Forsberg | Each event has a theme, and we build the curriculum around that so there are always fun, new activities for kids to take part in. There is a new theme each week to help accommodate family schedules and to allow for a greater chance for every child to attend. Kids’ events occur every Saturday. Depending on the club, there may also be additional events on Fridays.

Regardless of the theme, every curriculum follows an intentionally designed format: There’s always arts and crafts time, a STEAM project, a gym game or a sports activity — or some combination of those. Then, we always serve dinner, which is usually pizza and juice.

Events typically last two to three hours and can accommodate kids ages 4 to 12 years old (ages may vary by club based on state requirements). Tween Takeover events are generally for kids ages 9 to 13 years old, though that may vary by club as well.

Our Life Time Kids team members go through training before being entrusted with your kids. This training includes CPR training, a child-development course, and a classroom-management course to ensure your kids are in the safest hands.

LTE | Do parents need to stay at the club while their child is attending an event?

SF | No. Parents can leave the club or stay on site. Most often, we see parents using this time in the club, whether that be to take a fitness class, use the space and machines on the workout floor, relax in the sauna or steam room, grab a bite to eat in the LifeCafe, or hit the pickleball court with friends.

LTE | Is there a cost to these events? And do you have to be a Life Time member to participate?

SF | All Kids events are included at no cost in Junior Memberships. Your child does need to be on a Life Time Junior Membership to attend the events.

LTE | How do I sign my child up for an event?

SF | Reservations can be made up to 30 days prior to each event. View the schedule on my.lifetime.life or in the Life Time app by clicking “View All Events” and under “Activity,” filtering by “Kids.”

If your child is registered and you need to cancel, we ask that you please do so at least five hours prior to the event to open up the spot for someone else. (Two missed reservations within a 90-day period without prior notification will result in a temporary suspension of your ability to make kids’ event registrations for 30 days.)