30 Dress Up Games and Activities For Imaginative Kids – Say Goodbye To Boredom!

If you are a parent or caregiver of younger children, here are 2 statements with which you’ll likely agree: 1) Kids have great imaginations.  2) Kids get can get bored easily.  If both are true though, wouldn’t we just need to tap into #1 in order to solve #2?  

Let’s see what we can do to spark your children’s imaginations so they can kick boredom to the curb, and have a great time playing all sorts of wonderfully creative games!

Here at Kids Love Dress Up, we are HUGE fans of role playing, dressing up fun, and of activities that encourage children to think outside the box, to put themselves into the shoes (and character) of another, to communicate and cooperate with their playmates, and to generally, say “good bye” to boredom.

Today’s post is all about fun dress up games and activities for kids! We’ve compiled a list of 30 games and activities related to dress up play that your child will enjoy! You can play WITH them, or just help them get started… and then peek in every now and then to smile at the fun your kids are having!

This, dear reader, is where you come in. And where I can possibly help. 🙂  AND where maybe we as parents of little children can help each other.  PLEASE share in the comments below what games work well with your little ones… we’ll all benefit!)

(As an Amazon Associate I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you. Full Disclosure.)

30 Dress Up Games And Activities For Kids With Great Imaginations!

1. Play-acting out a well known story or song.  Favourites are actually well known stories like “The Three Little Pigs” and “The Three Bears”.
2. Taking a well known story and improvising/switching characters.  The Three Little Monkeys and the Big Bad Elephant. Why not, if those are some dress up accessories you have!
3. Playing house.  Make the house a castle, or a teepee, or an igloo – and dress up as the main characters (ie., Mom and Dad, Baby)!
4. When I Grow Up. Kids love to play “grown up” and go on adventures! (Here are some fun “role play” costume ideas for BOYS and GIRLS.)
5. Shopping! Set up a (costume?) store and go shopping.
6. Cops & Robbers  (or “Cowboys & Indians” of old.)  Sometimes it helps kids get started if you set up the situation for them… “Aiden has to sneak around and “steal” the bag of treasure… Carter has to catch him and put him in “jail”…)
7. Top 3 Costumes – Show and Tell!  I use this one for my daughter when I want to encourage her to do some choosing and thinking on her own. She has to come up with and model her 3 favourite dress up outfits for me, and then tell me about who she is, and why she loves the outfit.
8. Top 3 Costumes – Photo Op!. This one is all about the camera, baby!! Each costume gets to be photographed to show Daddy later when he gets home from work.  (There’s just something about being photographed in an unusual outfit that kids seem to love…)
9. Playing Chase.  My little guy LLLLOOOOOOVEEESSS this. Especially when Daddy gets in on the act. There’s a little boy in a tiger costume that gets chased (and is the chaser) a fair bit around here! The growls are soooo cute. 😉
10. Fashion Show.
11. Emergency Scene!  Create a problem/emergency, and have your kids figure out how to fix it! (The Fisher Price Medical Kit is awesome, by the way!)
12. Zoo Animals and Zoo Keeper  (or Pet-Store and workers?)
13. Paw Patrol! Work out their love of Paw Patrol – act out an episode or two. Or three. Or four. Those little dogs… sigh… they are rather popular, aren’t they? Good thing they are cute too.
14. What’s The Best?  Make the funniest/scariest/loveliest/weirdest/ugliest/____ costume you can.
15. Does your child like reading? Check out my  List of Books For Kids Who Love Dressing Up
16. Dress Up Dolls: Stickers – check out my post on the Melissa & Doug Dress Up Reusable Sticker Pad
17. Musical Chairs, Dress Up Version – like traditional “Musical Chairs”, except the “loser” of each round must put on one funny piece of dress up clothing before the music and play recommences.
18. Restaurant – this works well if you have a chef’s hat or costume, a waitress one… or even just a play kitchen with some supplies!
19. Paper Dolls – if you have a child who loves to draw, teach them to design their own outfits for a paper doll! You can also purchase kits of pre-made paper doll outfits to play with.
20. Superheroes – which child doesn’t love running about with a cape flapping in the wind?
21. Play School – pretty self explanatory, but sometimes you may have to suggest what sort of “lessons” to “teach” the other kids / dolls. Try “learning your colors” or “learning your shapes” if your child hasn’t mastered the alphabet enough yet to do “letters”.
22. Safari – On a rainy day, create a “crocodile infested” Safari room around with your child must climb carefully (help set up a “path” using cushions, etc.)
23. Dress Up Puzzles  – Like these Chunky Puzzles from Melissa & Doug – they are great for quiet rainy days!
24. Ninjas – you may need to set some physical boundaries for your child’s Ninja fun… perhaps “outside” or “where there are lots of pillows”… but honestly, some energetic boys can have a RIOT with this!
25. Playing Royalty – very few girls and boys can resist playing royalty every once in a while. For girls, it’s pretty obvious: pretty dresses, glittery jewels, etc.  But for boys, that fancy (fake) sword, daring rescues where they fight dragons to save the princess, etc… are pretty fun too!
26. Dress Up Mom – kids get to create a costume “for Mom” (or Dad/Grandma, etc.) out of whatever they can find in their dress up trunk 
27. Create a Costume Hat! – use craft supplies to create something new for the dress up box. Be it a crown, a cape, monster shoes (made from empty Kleenex boxes)… you can DIY all sorts of fun costumes together!
28. Treasure Hunt – Kids can have a great time either following a treasure map that you made for them… or making their own “hunt” up as they go! Encourage pirate dress up… or see what they come up with! My daughter does her treasure hunts wearing her “fairy wings”. Not sure why! 🙂
29. Wedding – role play a beautiful wedding!  (Have the girls take turns in the groom’s outfit…)
30. Playing Church – as long as it’s done respectfully, kids can have fun pretending to be the pastor, the deacons, the worship music leaders, etc.

There is NO END to the fun your child can have playing dress up games and activities!  Not all need elaborate costumes, either. Just a few props and dress up accessories and they are good to go! Kids really DO have great imaginations… and if you can kick start them with some of these ideas, they will be as far away from “I’m bored” as they can get!

Their imaginations are their limits… so let’s help your little princess or your little tiger stretch her or his imagination to the max.

I hope these dress up games and activities have been helpful to you in some way!  If you have any more ideas, please share them below in the comments! We parents of young kids need all of the help and ideas we can get, right!? 🙂

Cheers!

Marlaine

Want some more games and activities?  Check these out!

Dress Up Games For Girls – The Non-Screen Kind

12 Fun Dressing Up Games For Girls Who Love Fashion

15 Fun Activities For 4 Year Olds That They Can Do On Their Own!

Want To Save This For Later?  Pin This Image!