What is a backwards dinner party?

A backwards dinner party is a silly theme meal where familiar dinner routines are reversed. Families might eat dessert first, wear clothes backwards, greet guests with goodbye, change the table setting or serve courses in an unexpected order.

What food can you serve at a backwards dinner party?

You can serve dessert first, follow with an appetizer, then a main dish and finish with fruit or salad. Upside-down desserts, breakfast foods served for dinner and foods presented in unexpected ways also fit the theme.

What are some easy backwards party ideas for kids?

Kids can wear a shirt or hat backwards, say goodbye when guests arrive, write their names backwards, read a menu from bottom to top, sit in a different place than usual or create a new backwards rule for the evening.

What games can kids play at a backwards party?

Kids can walk a short marked course backwards, write their names backwards, say the alphabet from Z to A or try drawing while looking in a mirror. Active games should be done slowly in a clear area.

How do you decorate for a backwards dinner party?

Turn familiar decorations or table items around instead of buying special supplies. Write names backwards on place cards, place napkins under plates, dress a stuffed animal backwards or make signs such as Goodbye! Welcome to Dinner!

Backwards Dinner Party Ideas for Kids

Turn an ordinary family meal into something silly with a backwards dinner party. Eat dessert first, wear clothes backwards, mix up the table setting and greet everyone with "goodbye" when they arrive. Kids can help plan the food, decorate the table and come up with their own backwards challenges.

This is an easy theme for a family dinner, kids' gathering or April Fool's Day. You don't need elaborate decorations or special food-the fun comes from taking familiar dinner routines and doing them in an unexpected order.

Easy Backwards Dinner Formula

Start with dessert, serve dinner foods in a different order, wear something backwards and add one silly table rule or game. Even changing just three or four things can turn an ordinary meal into a memorable theme night.

On this page:

Backwards Party Ideas
Table & Decorations
Backwards Dinner Menu
Backwards Party Games
Backwards Party Invitation

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Fun Backwards Party Ideas

There are lots of simple ways to make the evening feel backwards. Let everyone choose a few ideas before the meal begins.

Try these ideas:

Wear a shirt, hat or other clothing backwards.
Say "goodbye" when guests arrive and "hello" when they leave.
Eat dessert before the main course.
Serve breakfast foods for dinner.
Set parts of the table in unexpected places.
Read the menu from the bottom to the top.
Let everyone sit in a different place than usual.
Use a wooden spoon, spatula or other safe serving utensil instead of a regular fork or spoon for one part of the meal.

Keep it safe: Choose only clean, food-safe utensils that are comfortable to eat with. Skip sharp kitchen tools or oversized utensils that could make eating difficult.

Backwards Dinner Table & Decorations

You don't need to buy decorations for this theme. Instead, turn familiar objects around or place them where guests wouldn't normally expect to see them.

Try putting a stuffed animal or doll in a chair with its clothes backwards. Turn place cards around, put napkins under plates instead of beside them, or write everyone's name backwards on a card.

Kids can also make a simple sign that reads "Goodbye! Welcome to Dinner!" and another sign by the door that says "Hello! Thanks for Coming!"

The easiest way to make dinner feel backwards is to serve the courses in an unexpected order. Start with dessert, follow it with an appetizer, serve the main course and finish with fruit or salad. You can also choose foods that are upside down, served inside something else or normally eaten at a different time of day.

Easy Backwards Menu Order: Dessert ? Appetizer ? Main Dish ? Salad or Fruit. You don't have to reverse every part of the meal-just changing the order makes the dinner feel silly and different.

Spaghetti and meatball cake for a backwards dinner party

Spaghetti Party Cake
Start dinner with dessert but make it look like dinner. This cake is decorated to resemble a plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

Upside-down cake for a backwards theme dinner

Upside-Down Cake
An upside-down dessert fits the theme perfectly. Serve it first instead of saving dessert until the end.

Tomato bruschetta for a backwards dinner party

Tomato Bruschetta
Serve the appetizer after dessert to keep the courses moving in the wrong direction.

Breakfast for Dinner
Turn the day backwards by serving eggs or another favorite breakfast food for the main course.

Monterey chicken for a backwards dinner party

Monterey Chicken
Serve an easy chicken main dish in the middle of your backwards menu, then finish the meal with salad or fruit instead of dessert.

Dinner in a Pumpkin
Serve the meal inside something unexpected. A dinner baked in a pumpkin adds another silly twist to the theme.

Fruit salad served last at a backwards dinner

Finish with Fruit Salad
Instead of ending with dessert, finish your backwards meal with fruit salad or a simple green salad.

Homemade waffles for a backwards dinner party

Waffles for Dinner
Serve a favorite breakfast food at dinnertime and let kids add fruit, yogurt or other toppings.

Backwards Party Games

Keep the backwards theme going after dinner with a few silly challenges. Have kids walk a short marked course backwards, write their names backwards, say the alphabet from Z to A or try drawing a simple picture while looking at it in a mirror.

Backwards Challenge

Ask each person to invent one new backwards rule for the evening. It might be saying dessert before dinner, beginning a story with the ending or wearing a name tag on their back.

For active games, keep the area clear and have children move slowly. Walking backwards works better than running backwards, especially indoors.

Backwards Dinner Party Invitation

Set the mood before the party starts with a backwards invitation. Tell guests they may want to wear something backwards and remind them not to be surprised if dessert appears before dinner.

Make your own Theme Dinner Party page.

Have you put together your own Theme Dinner Party? Do you have a theme menu or theme dinner idea to share? Tell us about it and we will create your own theme dinner party page.

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