UPSIDE DOWN BACK TO FRONT

Recommended age group: 7–12

SETTING THE SCENE

From FINISH to START the children will have so much fun at this party!

The possibilities are endless and may be incorporated into any of the other themes.

INVITATIONS

  1. Write the invitation details (see Suggested Wording), back to front, on the back of the square board paper.
  2. Attach the mirror to the centre front of the board paper using a small blob of Prestik®.
  3. Write the guest’s name backwards on the nametag.
  4. Punch a hole in one corner of the invitation and another near a side edge of the nametag.
  5. Thread the ribbon through the holes to attach the nametag to the invitation.

SUGGESTED WORDING

Turn the world upside down on (date)

Walk back to front to: (child’s name)’s party

Upside down house: (address)

Be topsy-turvy from: (time party starts) to (time party ends)

RSVP: The upside-down lady at (phone number) before (date)

Dress: Back to front and upside down!

TREAT BAGS

The treats should be attached to the OUTSIDE of this upside-down treat container!

  1. Write the guest’s name on the lid of the bucket and turn the bucket upside down.
  2. Attach the twirling windmill toy to the ‘top’ of the bucket with Prestik® and surround with sweets and favours of choice.
  3. Tie curling ribbon around the base of the windmill to enhance.

GAMES AND ACTIVITIES

BACK-TO-FRONT MUSICAL FREEZE

  1. Have the children dance about. When the music STARTS they must freeze on the spot. The last child to stop moving is eliminated. When the music STOPS they must dance about once more. The game continues in this manner, with one child being eliminated in each round, until only one child remains. The first child to have been eliminated wins the prize (don’t divulge this information until the end of the game!) while the actual winner (the last child) gets second prize. The rest receive tokens.

TREASURE HIDE

  1. Divide the children into two or more teams. Present each team with their bag of colour-coded stones and instruct them to follow the clues to the various hiding places for each of the stones. On starter’s orders, the teams must set out to hide their stones. The first team to return to the starting point after successfully hiding their stones in the relevant spots is the winner, but the LAST team in wins the prize! The rest of the children receive tokens.

WRAP THE PARCEL

  1. Have the children sit in a circle, with the paper and adhesive tape in the centre, and pass the prize from one to the other until the music starts. The child who is holding the present on the first beat of the music must wrap the present in a layer of paper. Once he has finished, the music stops and the present is passed around again until the music starts once more.
  2. The game continues in this manner with the present being wrapped in all the layers of paper. The child who wraps the last layer is the winner and gets to keep the prize, the rest receive tokens.

BALLOON SQUEEZE

  1. Divide the children into two or more teams and have them line up one behind the other. On starter’s orders, the first child in each team places a balloon between his knees and runs backwards to a predetermined point and then returns to the starting point. The balloon is handed to the next child in line, who repeats the procedure. The game continues until all have had a turn. The winning team is the one that finishes first, having used the least amount of balloons, but of course the last team in will win the prize! The rest receive tokens.

PARTY FOOD

PERFECT HANDSTANDS

  1. Use a serrated knife and the template to shape the wafer biscuit.
  2. Coat with orange icing and attach the hands and feet as shown.
  3. Place the chocolate disc in position for the head.
  4. Attach two chocolate chips for the eyes. Use the writing nozzle and white icing to make the pupils. Draw the mouth with the pen (or use red food colouring diluted in a drop of water or white alcohol).
  5. Use the writing nozzle and green icing to pull out strands of hair. Decorate the body with silver balls.

OUTSIDE-IN ICE CREAM

Prepare these well in advance and serve with plenty of serviettes!
  1. Lightly coat the top of a Marie biscuit with icing.
  2. Place a Flake® inside an ice cream cone and upend onto the biscuit. Press gently to secure.
  3. Coat the outside of the cone with ice cream, covering the entire surface with a generous layer. Place in the freezer until required. Dot with Astros™ and distribute to guests along with a few serviettes.

DOG HOTS!

  1. Cut the hot dog rolls down their length, taking care not to cut right through. Butter as preferred and then close again by pressing the two halves together.
  2. Cut the sausages in half down their length and attach one half to each of the sides of the roll, securing them with cocktail sticks.
  3. Create squiggles of tomato sauce and mustard along the length of the roll.
  4. Serve on top of a foam hot dog food tray with a serviette.

TOPSY-TURVY CUPCAKES

  1. Bake the cupcakes in the foil cookie cups according to the recipe and leave to cool completely.
  2. Use a serrated knife to trim the cupcake if necessary so that the top is level. Cover with icing.
  3. Coat the top of a Marie biscuit with icing, then place the cupcake upside down on top of the biscuit, pressing down to secure.
  4. Use the star nozzle to pipe a row of stars on the edge of the Marie biscuit to neaten.
  5. Decorate with silver balls.
  6. Push the candleholder into the centre of the upturned cupcake and place the candle in position.

SPOT THE MISTAKE CAKE

I have illustrated a few examples of toys that may be used for this ‘spot the mistake’ cake, but make it as busy as you can while your imagination goes upside down!
  1. Bake the cakes as per the recipe and leave to cool completely.
  2. Place the cakes alongside each other with the longer sides joined together. Secure the join with a layer of icing.
  3. Use a toothpick to mark a boundary diagonally across the cake to separate the sea from the land.
  4. Cover the sea with blue icing and roughen up the surface with the point of the knife.
  5. Coat the land with a thin layer of green icing and then use the star nozzle to cover completely.
  6. Allow the birthday child to help with the arrangement of the toys as you place all sea creatures and water activities on the land and vice versa. If preferred, you may also place some of the articles upside down.