With the economy the way it is, my husband and I, like most other people, have been cutting back on the unneccessary spending in order to conserve cash for the important things such as food, shelter, etc… So, birthday parties would fall into this category. We agreed that with the upcoming birthdays of our children that we would have “home parties” as opposed to renting out one of the many birthday places here in town.
On the approach of my youngest child’s 7th birthday, I was really at odds at how to create a fun “home birthday party”. We’ve done the gymnastics party, the ice skating party, the jungle gym party, and many types of “rented places” parties that kids would enjoy. But, how on earth was I going to entertain up to 15 of her friends at our home? I new that I had to come up with a party that had several activities that would keep the kids’ attention long enough to get through a two-hour party.
My mother gave me the idea of having a backwards birthday party, which is perfect for my daughter’s age group. Any younger and they wouldn’t understand, any older and they’d think it was “baby-ish”. I talked to my daughter and asked her what she thought on this new idea. She absolutely loved it! Just be sure that the children are at a reading level. 1st and 2nd grade is perfect.
We planned the party together and explained, in a fun way, what we’d do at the party. On the invitations, I wrote that “we’ll play backwards games, sing backwards songs” and even asked them to “wear their clothes backwards”. I let them know that when they came to our door, that we’d say “good-bye” and when they left the party, we’d say “hello”. It turns out that this party was a hit with these kids. Here is a break-down of what we did:
1. Before the party, I wrote out the word to the song “Happy Birthday to You” on paper and made plenty of copies. The kids thought this was hilarious and they are all at a reading level to have fun with this song. We sang the song slowly and they read it as they sang it. A great way to keep their attention (and their hands out of the cake)!
2. Backwards obstacle course. I set up two relay race courses and created two teams. I had bought colored crepe streamers and gave one team green and one team blue. They tied their piece of paper on themselves in their own creative way and, presto, we had two teams. Make sure that you are the one to assign the teams, not the kids – it’s much easier that way. Each team had to do the crabwalk between orange cones, run backwards to a hopscotch grid (that my daughter had fun making in sidewalk chalk before the party) and hopscotch backwards to the top, then they put a balloon between their legs and hopped backwards to the next teammate, who had to get tapped before he/she could start the obstacle course. The first team to have everyone through the course wins. Be sure the all areas are clear from large debris since you don’t want anyone falling and bumping their head 
3. A simple thing to add to the party is nametags. As each kid arrived for the birthday party, I gave him/her a nametag and marker and asked him/her to write their name on it backwards and place it on their shirt. Then, the rest of the time, we would call each kid by their “backwards” name. It was really funny sounding them all out.
4. The party was run “backwards” as I explained to everyone once the party began. We normally play games first, then eat cake, then open presents. But, at this party, we opened presents first, then ate the cake, then played the games.
5. I added a fun element at the last minute. It really wasn’t a backwards thing, but the kids enjoyed it. I recruited two of the moms who stayed at the party to paint the kids’ faces. I lucked out in that I had a fine arts graduate among the moms who agreed to help. It was great fun and kids love face paint!
I hope this helps anyone out there who is looking for a unique ‘at home” birthday party. It definitely helped in saving money by staying home. We saved half the cost of past parties by hosting it in our home. And the kids had just as much fun, if not more fun because this party was something different. Let me know your thoughts and any other ideas that could be added to this posting for others to enjoy.
Now, on to my oldest daughter’s 9th birthday party….starting to plan. I’ll let you know the progress.
~ Erica
http://www.abcfavors.com
