A Quick Guide for Playing Dress-Up at Home

#familyfun #familyactivites #playingdressup

Have you thought about playing dress-up with your kids, but you just haven't gotten around to it yet? Maybe it's something you haven't tried before and that makes it feel daunting. Or, maybe you're concerned that you'll get halfway into the process just to realize that you're missing something you need to complete the look and that'll create an opportunity for a tantrum from your little one.

Those are totally valid concerns. But, this quick guide will help you plan ahead a little so that you don’t have to stress. 😜

(Psst...If you're looking for activities to do at home with your kids, you can grab my free list of 20 Fun Things to do at Home with Your Kids from The Monster Crew website! Just scroll to the bottom of The Monster Crew homepage to download. 😋)

Here are some easy steps to follow for a successful dress-up play experience:

Step 1: Pick the clothes

The first step for playing dress-up at home is picking the clothes because they set the tone for everything else. If your little one picks out a princess dress, you may decide you want to put her hair in a fancy updo and add sparkly fingernail polish. If your kiddo wants to wear a fireman costume, you may want to do a simple ponytail and accessorize with a toy fire extinguisher.

Step 2: Style the hair

Now that you know what outfit your little one wants to wear, it’s time for hair. (Yep, that totally rhymed!)

Doing my daughter's hair is one of my favorite parts of playing dress-up. It can really bring a look together. If you have a little one with long hair, braids can be a super fun style.

In fact, here is the youtube video that taught me how to do a dutch crown braid for our dress up time:

Step 3: Paint the fingernails

If your little one is a fan of fingernail polish, now’s the time. Fingernail polish can really help complete a look, whether you stick with 1 color or 5 (having rainbow color nails can be exciting for kids). 😉

Tip: You might want to consider how you plan to help the polish dry. If your kiddo is young, sitting still and waiting for the nail polish to dry might now work out so well. You may randomly find it your furniture or your kiddo's outfit. So, you can use a hairdryer or a nail dryer fan to speed up the process.

Step 4: Add accessories

Don’t forget the accessories! 😆

Accessories can really help your kid feel special about their dress-up time. That could mean wearing 3 necklaces, 4 bracelets, and a headband or simply adding a bow to their hair. That’s the great thing about accessories, what you use to add a special touch to the outfit is totally up to you!

Step 5: Pretend Play (or) At Home Photoshoot

That’s right, it’s time to put all that hard work into action. Pretend play is usually a big hit with the kiddos, but doing an at-home photoshoot can be a special activity to mix things up (especially if it’s not something you would normally do).

We chose to do an at-home photoshoot after our dress-up time. Here are some of our favorite shots: 😀

Now that we’ve been over the steps for playing dress-up at home, I’ll leave you with the most valuable info for the process…go with the flow. Your kiddo wants to wear a princess costume with a baseball hat…sure. Your little one wants to wear a tie and shoes that are 3 sizes to big…no problem!

And, if you do get halfway into the process and you don’t have something on hand that will complete the look, pivot. You were going for a princess look and you suddenly realize that you don’t have a crown; but, you remember that you have some leftover ladybug ears from last Halloween. Perfect! Your kiddo can be a ladybug princess. The secret here is staying positive. If you’re excited, your kid is more likely to be excited. 🥰

And, remember that most important part of playing dress-up with your kids is to have fun!

Thanks for reading this post!

Stay awesome 😜