This game is so much fun for both children and adults that it’s well worth the amount of time, and possibly the minimal amount of money needed to get it together.
Number of players: 4+
Ages: 5+ (although all participants should be roughly the same size)
Space: fairly large room
To begin, the players line up in even numbered relay teams at one end of the room. A couple of yards in front of each team is a basket of clothes.
Women’s clothes are a lot more fun, because men feel sillier putting these on. The more outlandish and ugly the clothes the better. If you don’t have any old clothes lying around, a quick trip to the bargain section of the thrift shop can probably fill a basket for under $10. (Yes, most thrift shops have bargain sections!) Another idea is to have party guests bring a few articles each to contribute. Each basket of clothes should contain enough clothes for a couple full outfits, as well as appropriate accessories such as hats, bandanas, scarves, gloves or umbrellas.
At the starting signal, the first player on each team goes forward to the basket, puts on an outfit of garments over his or her own clothing in any order, then runs to the far end of the room, touches the wall, returns to the basket, removes garments and puts them into the basket, and then goes on to their team and tags off to the next player. The next player, in turn, does the same thing. The team whose last player gets back first is the winner.
A large part of the fun of the game is the acting out the part of wearing the clothes. It’s also fun to see the ridiculous combinations people come up with in a hurry.
One variation of the game is to have someone act as official photographer, and have each player pose for a designated number of poses after they put on each outfit. If it’s a good crowd, there’ll be a great photo album and lots of laughs when the game is over.
Another variation is to tell all the party guests about the game ahead of time, as mentioned above, but have them clean out their closets for clothes to donate to charity. After the game, the baskets can go to the nearest clothing drive to help others.