Fun Ideas for Enjoying the Grand National with the Family

Fun Ideas for Enjoying the Grand National with the Family

The Grand National is the world’s most famous horse race. It’s held annually in April at Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. This year it will be on Saturday, April 11. This horse race is a major British cultural event – it attracts millions of viewers (and bettors) worldwide. If you’re looking for fun ideas for how to enjoy the Grand National with the family, read on. 

Celebrate the Grand National at Home

Some people will be lucky enough to attend the Grand National in person at Aintree Racecourse which is of course very special. Celebrating and watching the event at home can be lots of fun and just as exciting too though. 

If you’re watching the race with your family, there are things that you can do to make the day feel extra special. The race itself only lasts about 10 minutes but you can do other fun things before and after.

Decorate Your Home

If you’re hosting, why not put up some fun horse racing/Grand National themed decorations in your home? This can be things like bunting, balloons, posters, or racing flags, for example. 

Dress Code

To make the event feel extra special, encourage all guests to dress for the occasion in smart, race-day attire complete with hats or fascinators!

Serve Themed Food & Drink

Any celebration needs some drinks and snacks so theme these to the occasion. How about British classics such as cucumber sandwiches, mini pork pies, and small individual sweet treats? A really easy way to make the food match the theme is to add The Grand National Themed pick sticks to any items. 

Another fun thing would be to make horse shaped biscuits (using a biscuit cutter) and then decorating these with icing to match some of the actual horses and jockeys from the race. This would also make a great activity to do together before the race and one that kids are sure to love. 

For drinks for grown-ups, there are some fun themed cocktails such as the Grand National Punch and The Horseshoe Sling. Pimm’s would be another great choice! 

Choose Your Winner

Since this is a race, it’s exciting to choose a horse to cheer for. You can do this just for fun or put on a bet yourself or as a sweepstake together with your family or guests. 

For young children, a fun idea is to create drawings of the chosen jockeys shirts as a visual way to keep track of who’s in the lead when the race is on. We always do this and it’s a great hit!

Watch the Race

The most important bit is of course to watch the race live on TV when it’s on. Ensure that your TV is all set up in time for the race to start and that all your family and guests are ready to watch. Enjoy and fingers crossed that you’ve chosen a winner!