Three Relay Races for Dad's Day

With flowers in full bloom and the days long and warm, Father’s Day offers a perfect opportunity for outdoor fun. Getting together with cousins, or with a couple of other families? Here are three hilarious relay races you can try. All ages can join in for these memorable fitness-boosting, laughter-enducing games.

“Dress Like Dad!”

This two-team relay race works especially well when two families compete against one another. Start with two good-sized laundry baskets. In each one, place a full outfit that one family’s Dad likes to wear (but doesn’t mind getting a little rumpled today!). You can make it a casual outfit—tee shirt, sweatpants, athletic socks, shoes, sweatshirt—or a formal one with button shirt, jacket, tie, pants, and so on. Just be sure that each basket has similar types of clothing, with at least 4-5 pieces. Set the baskets side by side, about 10 feet apart, and then use cones or a rope to set a “start” line several yards away.

For the race, select one person who will end up dressed “just like Dad.” This could be anyone—but it’s especially fun to pick a kid. Have that person stand just to the side behind the start line, perhaps sitting in a chair or standing in a hula hoop circle.

Appoint a referee to start the race and call the finish. Then each team member will take turns running a relay. To play, a runner must race to the laundry basket, select one item of Dad’s clothing, put it on, and then run back to the finish line with it (yes, shoes and pants tend to make for some especially good laughs). While the next racer heads off, the team must quickly put each item of clothing on the person selected to be “Dad.” The first team to dress “Dad” completely wins the round!