| Throwing your child a memorable yadhtrib party! |
By: Michelle Villanueva, Celebrations Columnist
On 1/21/06
One of the challenges you face when putting together your child’s birthday party is finding a theme. Lavish parties are certainly pleasing to the eye, but are they actually memorable?
| "Hand out prizes before the games start and congratulate kids on how well they did." |
When I look back on the birthday parties from my own childhood, the most vivid things I remember aren’t the decorations or the cake or even much of the presents. The defining factor has always been: Did I have fun?
You don’t have to spend a lot to get a lot out of a party, and with just a few creative touches, you’ll have your child and her guests squealing and laughing in delight. The Backwards Birthday Party is a simple, creative, interactive, and downright enjoyable theme for everyone involved.
Start the theme with the invitations. Design invites on the computer spelling out “Ytrap Yadhtrib Sdrawkcab.” If you and your child are feeling creative, use a mirror to help in writing out the invitations backwards. It’s probably a good idea to practice writing first, making sure that the only way for the card to be legible is to hold it up to a mirror. For a switch, use Thank You notes instead of regular party invites. If the party is being held in the middle of summer, try Christmas cards! The possibilities are endless.
In the invitation itself, explain to the guests what the theme is and encourage them to arrive with their clothes on backwards, wrap their gifts backwards, walk backwards, etc.
Party decorations should also be backwards. Happy birthday signs can be upside down. Face all the chairs backwards, and the eating area can be below the table instead of above it. Keep the theme running with the food and drink.
Instead of the standard cake and ice cream, why not make ice cream cone cupcakes? Family Fun has a great and very easy recipe for creating these, and you can even make them look like they’re made of ice cream, thanks to some inventive use of frosting! Set Jell-O in paper or plastic party cups for some colorful fruity “drinks” or use food coloring to turn regular drinks into strange colors like pink, blue, and green.
When guests arrive (depart?) have them enter through the back door of the house and greet them with a “Goodbye.” Switch the party schedule around so that things that are normally done last are done first. Open presents first and distribute the party favors as the guests arrive. Then have cake (with the option of singing “You to Birthday Happy”) then start playing the games.
Hand out prizes before the games start and congratulate kids on how well they did. Coolest Child’s Birthday Parties has some wonderful backwards games here for your backwards themed party too. Play backwards Musical Chairs by having the kids sit until the music starts playing. You could also set up inside-out piñatas by using this tip from Boardman’s Birthday Party Ideas: Have each child blow up a balloon and attach candy to their balloon using Scotch tape. Afterwards, when the guests are ready to leave, don’t forget to say “Hello” and invite them to go outside.
There are so many ways to switch a regular birthday party around to a Backwards birthday that it’s nearly impossible to write down all the ideas. You and your child will have a wonderful time planning out the various backwards activities and games for the party, and don’t be afraid to think up the goofiest things. These will probably be the ideas that will turn out the best!
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