Backwards Birthday Party Ideas

Backwards birthday party? Yes, it's a perfect party idea for those kids and parents who don't mind being a little outrageous and crazy!

This theme really allows you to use your imagination. Your guests will love the party so much, that they will be talking about it for weeks!

Resources:

Invitations

All the fun at your backwards birthday party starts with invitations.

On the front of your invitations you can say "Use Mirror to Read Our Message!" On the inside of your invitation cards, write all your party details backwards so your guests must decipher it.

Fold the cards inside out, and place them in the envelopes upside down. Make sure that you write the addresses correctly and not backwards. (Post Office might have a tough time decoding the message!)

You can make a suggestion to your guests to wear their clothes inside out and walk in the door backwards.

Decorations

You can have party balloons, streamers and other decorations in any colors you choose. Whatever you decorate - make sure you do it backwards.

Hang an "Exit" sign in front of your entrance door. Hang balloons by strings from the ceiling so they appear upside down.

Place the paper streamers on the floor. Hang your party posters upside down. Play a video in the background, but run it on a slow rewind.

Put the tablecloth on the floor under the table instead of covering it. Set the cups and plates upside down and the silverware backwards (put down silverware, then napkin and the plate over both). Have your backward party chairs facing away.

Guest Arrival and Introductory Activities

Greet your party guests facing backwards and tell them "Good bye, thanks for coming!"

*Guess How Many: Fill a jar with jellybeans and candies. Get the kids to guess how many candies are in the jar as they walk in. The player who guesses the furthest away - wins!

*Funny Coloring Pages: Provide some funny looking coloring pages for your younger guests. Occupy those youngsters by letting them color the pages with crayons and pencils.

*Drawing Backwards: Give the backwards birthday party guests sheets of paper and set them in front of the mirror. Place a picture facing the mirror, and have children copy the picture without looking at it. They may look only in the mirror as a guide. See who can get the best drawing.

Favors

For the backwards birthday party favors, offer the kids anything that can be turned upside down, inside out, or backwards. For example, give out snowstorm jars that must be turned upside down to see the snow fall.

Give children mirrors so they can do backwards things at home.

Backwards Birthday Party Games

Get the kids to play their favorite games - but with a twist: backwards!

*Pin the Donkey on the Tail: Play classic Pin the Tail game, but be sure to flip it around.

*Inside Out - Upside Down: Have the players dress normally, and choose one player to leave the room. While the player is gone, have one guest turn an article of clothing inside out, backwards, or upside down.

When the player returns, have him or her guess which guest made a change and what it was.

*Reverse Musical Chairs Have kids play Musical Chairs, but instead of finding a seat when the music stops playing, they must sit down when the music begins! The twist of the game is no one is ever eliminated after each round - just another chair is taken out. In the end everyone will be sitting in one chair on each other's laps.

*Backward Relay Races: Divide the guests in two teams. Have a bunch of relay races in the backyard: have them run, crab walk, or crawl backwards. The team to finish last is a winner (but don't tell the kids about this before the race).

*Backward Water Balloon Toss: Prepare a bunch of water balloons before the party.

At game time, divide the group into partners.

Have one child throw water balloon behind his or her back and the other kid has to catch it. Every time he or she catches it, they must take a step away from their partners.

Continue in this manner, and then the players throwing and catching will switch roles.

*Yes/No Questions: Put an animal sticker (or write the name of the animal) on the back of a player. He or she must ask yes and no questions to figure out what kind of animal he or she is. For example, "Do I live in Africa?" and so on. When the kids answer "yes", it really means "no".

*Do the Limbo: Play the party limbo music in the background. Have the kids do the limbo, but instead of going underneath the stick - they have to jump over it. Have adults hold the stick. They will start very low and incrementally increase the height.

*Scavenger Hunt: Write the clues backwards, so the kids must decipher the message before they find any items.

*Seek & Hide: One person hides, and the rest look for her. As they find her, each player squeezes into the hiding place until the spot is jammed with kids. When the last person finds the hiding place, that child starts a new game by hiding first.

*Board Games: Lay out a board game on the floor. Have the children play it backwards!

Food and Drink

Set up the food for your backward party under the table. Have the kids sit on the floor - under the table - to enjoy the backwards birthday party treats. You can also decide to serve the dessert before the main meal.

Backward Birthday Cake:

*Pineapple Upside Down Cake: Bake a packaged pineapple upside down cake, or use a favorite recipe.

Turn the cake out of the baking pan in front of the kids so they can see the surprise topping when you flip it upside down. Use colored alphabet macaroni noodles to write the kids' names backwards on the cake.

Make upside-down ice cream sundaes to go with the cake. Begin with the toppings, and pile on the sundae ingredients until you end up with ice cream on top.

Backwards Birthday Party Food Ideas:

Whatever food your decide to prepare - make sure you stick with the backwards birthday party theme. For example, serve soup with a fork, peas with a small plastic knife, pizza in bowls, and spaghetti with a spoon.

*Inside-Out Sandwiches: Prepare sandwiches. Place the filling on top of the bread slices, instead of inside.

*Upside-Down Fruit Salad: Place a cherry at the bottom of a bowl, sprinkle some chopped nuts on top, add a spoonful of vanilla yogurt or whipped cream, then add the fruit.

Cover with a lettuce leaf, and serve. Let the backwards birthday party guests eat it as is, or turn the salad out onto a plate for a surprise.

Backwards Birthday Party Drink Ideas:

*7-Down: You can turn "7-Up" into "7-Down". Just carefully poke holes in the bottom of soda cans and have the kids drink it upside down.