In the US, we celebrate Halloween on October 31 and this is a time when many people enjoy dressing up in costumes. The Halloween Costume Swap Game can be played to add some humor to your team meeting that falls on or near Halloween.
Based on a game commonly called “the white elephant gift exchange” where everyone brings a gift and then takes turns choosing or stealing a gift, this new twist is sure to encourage some laughter. Instead of wrapping gifts, you will wrap up simple costumes that will be worn for the remainder of the meeting (or day).
Preparation:
- Ask each person to bring a simple costume that anyone can wear including 1-3 items such as hats, glasses, scarves, or fake mustaches. The costume props need to be wrapped up or placed in a non-transparent bag. Encourage people to find things around their house or at thrift stores so there is little to no cost involved.
- You need small pieces of paper with one number per person to determine the order. For example, if you have 8 people, you’ll have eight pieces of paper, each will have a different number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8)
- When ready to play the game, place all of the wrapped costumes in the center of the room.
Instructions:
- Each person draws a number from a hat or bowl.
- The person with the number “1” goes first. This person chooses one of the packages, opens their costume, and puts it on.
- The person with the number “2” can choose to steal the costume from the first person or open a new costume. If they steal from the first person, the first person opens another costume.
- On subsequent turns, each person has the choice to either unwrap a new costume or to steal another’s. When a person’s costume is stolen, that person can either choose another wrapped costume to open or can steal from another player. Typically, a costume can only be stolen once per round so the game can’t go on indefinitely.
- The game is over when everyone has a costume.
- Be sure to get a team picture!
Note: There are variations on rules and how many times a costume can be stolen. Be sure to determine your rules before you begin.
Summary
The Halloween Costume Swap Game is a fun way to add some laughter and have some seasonal fun around Halloween.
About the Author: Leigh Ann Rodgers, Founder of Better Teams, Team Consultant Academy, and FORWARD, is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator with 20 years of experience in the human development field. Leigh Ann is a skilled meeting facilitator, trainer, and coach working across the globe to help leaders cultivate teams that are happy and high-performing.
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