14 Spirit Week Ideas That Kids Of All Ages Can Get Into

Super Hero day is such an easy Spirit Week theme. Everyone can picture a common super hero. Just add a cape or an eye mask and you’re halfway there. If some kids have old superhero Halloween costumes they can wear, even better.

Beach Day is another simple, straightforward Spirit Week concept. Just tell students to dress up as if they’re at the beach. Think Hawaiian shirts, sunglasses, visors, maybe a little SPF on the nose. But do let kids know in advance of any dress code rules. For instance, you don’t want kids getting sent to the office because they wore revealing swimwear.

As mentioned before, Sports Day is actually a super inclusive option because there are so many sports to choose from. Kids could come as basketball players, ice skaters, gymnasts, cross-country runners, the list goes on and one. And with this idea, you could even add in a fun Olympics-esque game component to get students extra pumped.

Another classic, Decades Day invites students to pick a decade and dress up as if they’re from that time. For example, if a kid opted for the 1950s, they might wear a poodle skirt. If they chose the 1970s, they might find some bell bottom pants to rock.

A seasonal favorite for parties, Ugly Sweater translates nicely for Spirit Weeks, especially in cold climates where Beach Day may not make sense. This is a subjective idea too, meaning kids can wear anything they deem ugly. That said, this is another case where parameters might need to be exercised. No profanity or sweaters that depict gory scenes.

Kids love to imagine what celebrity they might be and Movie Madness Day gives them that chance. They can pick a favorite film and become a character for a day. You could even add a guessing game where other students have to see if they can figure out who each student is.

A favorite of elementary school students, Pajama Day might just be the easiest Spirit Week assignment there is. All kids have to do is wake up and roll out to school. Easy peasy.

Book Character invites children to marry their reading with a bit of show and tell. This is a great one to add to Stop, Drop, and Read week as well.

Perhaps your child already does this everyday. All the better. They’ll be ready for Spirit Week then. The idea behind this theme is that you can mix and match any clothing you want. Snow pants with a tank top? Go for it? Two different colored socks. Of course.

Want to encourage kids to see the world? Let them pretend to be tourists for a day. They can don a fanny pack, carry around a Fodor’s travel book, or pretend they’re Rick Steves. Anyway they work it, it’ll be entertaining.

Twin Day is a fun concept because it could mean anything. Two kids could dress up as each other. Or students could dress up as a teacher.

Most American households have one piece of tie dye. It’s just the natural order of things. So for tie dye day kids can rock their favorite pieces of handmade clothing. Or, if you’re worried this will be cost prohibitive, run a tie dye day following a class or school tie dye crafting event to ensure everyone has a shirt.

Hats are fabulous accessories and no home is without them. Let kids get wild with their chapeaus for one day during Spirit Week. You might be surprised by what they wear.

Typically the final day in any Spirit Week, School Colors Day is the culmination of all the fun and ends with everyone showing their school pride by rocking their alma mater's signature hues. The best part about this is you can encourage kids to really go for it. Face paint? Sure. School mascot fake tattoos? Why not?