Looking for fun classroom party ideas? A dress-up relay race is great for any age and it's infinitely adaptable. We've used it for back-to-school parties, Valentine's Day and end-of-school shindigs, kindergarten through fifth grade, and it's always popular!
For a Valentine's relay, you'll need one small suitcase, duffle bag or backpack for each team. Pack each suitcase with a pair of ridiculous red tube socks, huge boxer shorts with red hearts, a feather boa, a tiara and sunglasses. The boa and boxers make kids laugh, so we always include them, but you can use any variation of clothing.
Here's how to play:
1. Set up teams of four to six kids at one end of the room or playground, and mark a finish line a suitable distance away. A good way to split kids into teams is with a matching game, which uses up party time too — always a good thing! For younger kids and non-readers, divide a stack of index cards into sets of four to six, and mark them with different colors or images — hearts, roses, cupids and chocolates, for example, or just colored dots. Shuffle them, distribute them to the class and let them find their teams. Older kids may get a kick out of finding pairs: Homer & Marge Simpson and Itchy & Scratchy, for example, would form a "Simpsons" team.
2. Tell the kids they're getting ready for a fabulous night on the town, so they're going to dress up just like grown-ups do to go out — then whip out the boxers, the boa and such. Wait for the laughter to subside, then lay out the ground rules ...
3. At the signal, the first member of each team grabs a suitcase and power-walks down to the "dressing area" to don all the dress-up clothes over his or her own clothing. He'll pose for a picture or a "ta da!" moment, then race back to his team to strip off the clothes, re-pack the bag and pass it on to the next kid.
Variations? For back-to-school parties, we add a lunchbox or similar school item to the famous boxers and boa combo. For summer festivities, we tell the kids they're going on vacation and add inflatable water wings or an inner tube to the get-up.