!ytraP yadhtriB sdrawkcaB a ot detivnI er’uoY

Translation: You’re Invited to a Backwards Birthday Party!

A backwards party is a fun way to celebrate a birthday at any age. Both kids and adults will surely have a good time, and maybe a few laughs, at a backwards party.

Backwards  Party Invitations
Use thank-you notes for the invitations (and then use invitations for thank-you notes). Another idea is to create your own invitations using card stock and hand-write all of the party details backwards.


Include a note to let guests know to decipher the invitation by reading it in the mirror.

Backwards Decorations
Buy a “Happy Birthday” banner. Cut out each individual letter and reassemble the banner so it reads backwards. Put tablecloths on the table upside down, and mix up the place settings so the plates, cups and utensils are all in the wrong place. Put the balloons on the floor instead of on the ceiling. Hang as many decorations backward (or upside down) as you can and turn any of the furniture you are able to backward or upside-down as well.

Backwards Party Tips

• Begin by having guests enter through the back door, rather than the front. When they arrive, hand out the favors and greet them with “goodbye,” just as you would at the end of a party.
• Ask guests to go and put their clothes on backwards, or give them each a shirt to put on backwards over their clothing.
• Give each child a name tag, on which his or her name is written backwards, and teach them how to pronounce it that way.
• Open presents at the start of the party instead of at the end.

Backwards Party Food

Serve the birthday cake first. Make sure to write Happy Birthday on it backwards. Print out the words to the “Happy Birthday Song” in backward order. Pass them out to guests to sing after the cake has been served (but blow out the candles before singing).

Serve the party food after they’ve had the cake. Some ideas for backwards menu items:

• Reverse sandwiches: Turn party sandwiches inside out by placing the bread between two layers of filling.
• Serve pizza, but tell kids they have to eat it backwards (from the crust side first).
• Blankets in a pig: slice hot dogs lengthwise, but don’t cut all the way through. Stuff the slit with crescent dough and bake.
• Fill cupcake liners with frosting. Place the cupcake, upside down, on top of the frosting. Serve with a fork or spoon.
• Serve ice cream sundaes where the toppings and whipped cream go first and the ice cream is scooped over it.

Play Backwards Games

At a backwards birthday party, even the games are played in reverse!

• Play musical chairs backwards with kids finding a seat when the music is on, rather than off. The same tactic can be used to play a reverse game of freeze dance.
• Play “Remove the Tail from the Donkey” (kids have to take the tail off, instead of putting it on).
• Have relay races where the kids run backwards to their goal, or set up an obstacle course that they can go through backwards.
• Do the Pokey Hokey:  It’s the same as the Hokey Pokey, but the words are all backwards (“you put your right foot out, you put your right foot in”).

 

Backwards Party Favors

Use goody bags that have been turned upside-down or inside out. Instead of a thank you card, attach a party invitation to the favors.

As guests leave, make sure to send them off with, “welcome to the party!” Have them exit through the front door since they came in through the back.