Opposite Day Ideas
Opposite Day, also known as Backwards Day, has become very popular in recent years. It’s fun for adults and can also be a good way to teach younger children the concept of “opposite”.
Some people like to celebrate Opposite Day on a particular day of the year but it can be declared any time. In particular a school class might be told “Friday is opposite day” or an office party might be designated as an “opposite night”.
Here are some simple ideas and activities for getting into the swing of things:
Food
All sorts of things can be done with food; some are simple, some are messy! You could simply eat a meal backwards, starting with the pudding. You could make a sandwich by putting a slice of bread between two slices of meat. If you cook then you could make things with unusual colours or unexpected flavours.
Speech
Try saying the opposite of what you mean; “I don’t want any chocolate” for example! Or switch “yes” and “no”, or “boy” and “girl”, “he” and “she”, “left” and “right”, etc. Just make sure that everyone around knows what’s going on!
Gender
Changing apparent gender is usually easier for a man than a woman: “dragging up” has a long history. Borrow an old skirt or wear a cheap bra and pad it out. You could even buy fake costume boobs! Unfortunately most male clothing is worn by women anyway, making a simple gender change more difficult for them.
Hair
Changing hair colour, length and style makes a big difference. No need to dye it or cut it, just buy a cheap party wig.
Clothes
As well as changing gender there are lots of other things you can do with clothes and accessories. Wear them inside out or back to front, wear colours that don’t match, sunglasses on a rainy day or an umbrella when it’s hot and sunny, wear pyjamas during the day, etc. Wear different colours – if you normally dress like a goth, wear something pretty and sparkly.
Games
Any game can be made opposite by changing the rules. Making the winner the one with least points is simple, but can lead to the game going on forever! You could play snap but say “pans” instead, or you could play a game like Monopoly and move your pieces backwards round the board. Party games work well, for example musical chairs where you sit down when the music starts!
