anything but clothes party ideas

Anything But Clothes Party Ideas – Hilarious Ideas For an ABC Party

Anything But Clothes parties are one of the ways that people are going outside of their comfort zones and finding new ways to enjoy parties with friends. An Anything But Clothes party involves choosing something to wear for the party that is not clothing. With nearly endless options, they can be fun parties with very creative outfits and methods of dress. Read on for our favorite Anything But Clothes party ideas.

What is an Anything but Clothes party?

abc party costume ideas
Photo credit Kim

An Anything But Clothes party is a party where you can wear anything at all, except for traditional clothes. It is a new approach to the traditional toga party that was popular in decades past.

Sometimes called an ABC Party, the only rule for an Anything But Clothes party is to not wear regular clothing items. You must instead find other items that can be used instead. And this is where the fun begins!

What do you wear to an Anything but Clothes party?

anything but clothes party ideas
Paper Dress by Lucia Jantos

Opportunities for what to wear to an Anything But Clothes party are endless! Oftentimes, the easiest are cloth items that can be wrapped around. Or tye in a way that will create a clothing like affect. A toga is a popular option for an Anything But Clothes party. You could go traditional with a white sheet. Or get creative with bright colors.

anything but clothes party costume ideas

Table cloths, sheets, and towels can be made to mimic a dress. Scarves and blankets can be wrapped around the body for coverage.

bin bag dress for abc party
Loving this trash bag dress by Jess Folsom!

Another great item for an Anything But Clothes parties are pillowcases, as they can be cut for head and arms and worn pulled over like a shirt. Or they can be wrapped around the body and secured. A large pillowcase could even take the place of a dress or shorts.

Other items can be used that are flexible and easy to move, such as garbage bags or other plastic bags with holes cut for the head and arms. Soft sided bags or purses can be altered to wear as a skirt or tied around the body.

Kitchen items may be well matched, with oven mitts, dishtowels, dish cloths, and even fabric potholders are all ideal items for making clothes.

For keeping items in place, saran wrap and even tin foil are useful, chip clips and twist ties can also be used. Paper towels may even become a key ingredient in some outfit choices.

abc party outfit idea
Even face masks can be fashioned into an outfit with a little creativity! Photo credit Jed Crist.

If this is unsuccessful the bathroom is sure to yield many ideas from shower curtains, face cloths, towels, and even bathmats. Hair supplies such as headbands and hair wraps offer some versatile options for creating a new clothing replacement.

Anything But Clothes Party DIY Crafts

An Anything But Clothes party is definitely a theme your guests need to get creative about! If you dare to bare, then you could try body painting as a great costume idea!

anything but clothes party costume ideas
UV Body Paint by Lucia Jantos

Craft items are a also great source of inspiration. Ribbons, swatches of fabric, knitted items, yarn and wool, and even storage bags and fabric storage containers can be repurposed for new outfits.

Best Anything But Clothes Party Ideas

anything but clothes party dress
Photo credit Jorja Warburton

When planning the party itself there is also a lot of room for creativity and new themes. You can choose to limit the type of items that can be chosen. For example by picking a room of the house they must come from, the colors that are acceptable, or any other limitations. This is one way to make it harder. And by choosing themes you can ensure that people will need to use different items for each one.

Anything But Clothes Party Games

There are several opportunities for games and other interactions. By holding a costume Anything But Clothes party everyone can guess who the others are dressed up as. This is sure to be more difficult than a traditional costume party as they can’t be out of the bag costumes, making it much harder to guess. Interacting as the people the costume represents can add an extra twist to the night. This is a fun way to learn more about the people around you.

Anything But Clothes Party Food

Ensure that there are suitable snacks and drinks, or a meal if you are having dinner party. Items that can be eaten while standing are ideal as some of the things being worn will not allow for easy sitting. Items such as finger sandwiches, fries, kebabs, buns, and chips and dip are all great snacks for most parties, including Anything But Clothes parties.

Anything But Clothes Party Ideas Final Note

Finding new ways to enjoy time together can help to keep friendships strong and build new memories. Theme parties are a fun and light-hearted way to do this. And an Anything But Clothes party is a funny theme that anyone can enjoy.

They can be held with a low budget. Plus if everyone brings something to share there will be plenty of refreshments as well. Many items can be turned into clothes, from reusable cloth shopping bags to towels and pillowcases. There is no end to the items that can be used. Some will even alter baskets or buckets, cutting and adapting anything from milk cartoons to storage bins to fit their ideas.

Fun for any age, adding a theme to the party that will direct how to dress and the types of food and beverages that will be served can make every party different and help to build new memories of all of them. This can easily become a tradition that is done every year at back to school, on the anniversary of something, or for a birthday.

About Author

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Jane Sheriff is the founder, creative director, party planner and mom of three. She started Darling Celebrations back in 2012 to share easy and beautiful ideas for celebrating the special events in life.

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