50 Hilarious Anything But A Backpack Day Ideas (2024)

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Funny Anything But A Backpack Day Ideas

Are you looking for the best Anything But a Backpack Day ideas?

Anything But a Backpack Day is a fun theme day that occurs at many high schools where students bring something other than a backpack to carry their school supplies.

As the name suggests, almost anything except a backpack works.

Students have gotten extremely clever and creative with this theme, bringing hilarious backpack alternatives like laundry baskets, garbage cans, coolers, and more to school.

If you’re looking for good ideas for Anything But a Backpack Day, keep reading because I have plenty of them!

Origin Of Anything But A Backpack Day

While Anything But a Backpack Day is a fun, lighthearted thing to do, the origins of this trend actually stem from a more serious issue.

It all began in 2021 at a school district in Idaho. Two incidents involving students bringing weapons to school prompted the school district to issue a ban on backpacks.

This solution baffled many students and their parents, wondering how they could go to school and carry their supplies without using a backpack.

However, many students started showing up to school with comical backpack alternatives in response to the backpack ban, which got #anythingbutabackpack trending on TikTok. It was a way to poke fun at the backpack ban in a lighthearted way.

Pretty soon, other schools across the United States began adopting Anything But a Backpack Day as a theme day during spirit week or homecoming week, and videos of the creative backpack alternatives that students came up with started going viral.

Since 2021, many schools have continued to make this into an annual theme day that students look forward to as a fun way to see all the hilarious backpack alternatives they can come up with.

Is Anything But A Backpack Day Real?

Yes, Anything But a Backpack Day is a real thing at many schools.

When is Anything But a Backpack Day? Typically, this is something that occurs during spirit week or homecoming week, times when many schools have a week of fun theme days. It may also occur during the last week of school, at a time when things are winding down before summer vacation.

The hashtag #anythingbutabackpack started trending on TikTok in 2021, with many students sharing videos of their creative backpack alternatives.

This caused more and more schools to start adopting Anything But a Backpack Day as a theme day during homecoming week or spirit week.

What Can You Bring To Bring Anything But A Backpack Day?

The sky is the limit when it comes to what you can bring as your backpack alternative!

However, there are a few things that you can’t get away with bringing on Anything But a Backpack Day.

You can’t bring anything dangerous, obviously, and you can’t bring anything that might be deemed as too disruptive or inappropriate.

In one funny example, a high school student tried to bring his kindergarten-aged little sister as his “backpack” (she was carrying all his school supplies.) Obviously, this was not allowed, although it did make for some funny photos and videos.

How Do You Carry School Supplies Without A Backpack?

Short answer: you’re going to have to get creative!

The purpose of Anything But a Backpack Day is not to necessarily use a practical backpack alternative (like a tote bag or briefcase) that would easily allow you to carry your school supplies.

The whole point of this day is to see how silly and absurd of a “backpack” you can come up with.

Funny Anything But A Backpack Ideas

Ready for the ideas? If you’re looking for funny Anything But a Backpack ideas, I’ve got you covered with plenty of them below.

Here are 40+ best Anything But a Backpack Day ideas you can use:

Pillowcase

If you’re looking for an easy Anything But a Backpack Day idea, grab a pillowcase! This is something everyone has at home and you can toss it over one shoulder to carry around.

Laundry Basket

Another common household item you can use as a “backpack” is a laundry basket. Although if you have lots of heavy textbooks, this one could get tiring to carry all day!

Garbage Can

If you have a garbage can with wheels at home, this is a hilarious idea for Anything But a Backpack Day. Just make sure you wash the garbage can thoroughly before bringing it to school!

Dog Carrier

Do you have a dog at home? If so, borrowing their dog carrier for the day is a funny backpack alternative. Again, just make sure to clean it well before using it.

Stroller

A baby stroller is a hilarious idea for Anything But a Backpack Day. You can push a stroller down the halls but instead of a baby inside, it will just be all your school supplies.

Pizza Box

An empty pizza box can be converted into a makeshift backpack. Although you might not be able to fit as much inside a pizza box, this is still a really funny idea.

Wagon

Do you have a wagon at home? If so, this is another fun idea that you can try. As a bonus, it will be easy to pull it around behind you all day!

Cooler

Coolers are meant to store drinks and keep them cold, but who says they can’t double as storage for your school supplies too? This is a hilarious idea for Anything But a Backpack Day.

Birdcage

This might be harder to come by, but if you can pull it off, it would be really funny. Using a metal birdcage as your “backpack” is sure to get a lot of laughs.

Kayak

A kayak might be one of the largest and most ridiculous items that you could bring to school on Anything But a Backpack Day. Although it will involve a lot of work dragging a kayak filled with your school supplies around, this is sure to get a ton of laughs.

Plastic Drawers

If you have a set of rolling plastic drawers at home, this is a good idea. Many people use these for storage at home, so there’s plenty of space to store your school supplies, and you can easily roll it around all day.

Traffic Cone

A traffic cone is one of the funniest Anything But a Backpack Day ideas I’ve seen. Just simply flip one of these orange plastic cones upside down and you have a makeshift backpack!

Picnic Basket

If you have a wicker picnic basket at home, this is a great idea that is also semi-practical (and you can store snacks in here too.) Just be careful not to load it down too much with heavy textbooks!

Microwave

For a really absurd yet funny “backpack” alternative, use a microwave. Yes, this is going to be a bit heavy carrying around to all of your classes, but there’s nothing funnier than setting your microwave on a desk and popping it open to access your school supplies.

Toy Car

One of the most hilarious ideas for Anything But a Backpack Day is a toy car. Think those plastic kiddie cars that you “drove” around in when you were younger. You can fill it with your school supplies and push it through the halls.

More Anything But A Backpack Day Ideas

  • Fishing Net
  • Carseat
  • Shopping Cart
  • Mop Bucket
  • Laundry Hamper
  • Recycling Bin
  • Skateboard
  • Suitcase
  • Milk Crate
  • Vacuum Cleaner
  • Wheelbarrow
  • Shopping Bag
  • Bucket
  • Office Chair
  • Guitar Case
  • Traffic Cone
  • Sled
  • Umbrella
  • Paint Can
  • Lawnmower
  • Tool Box
  • Christmas Stocking
  • Aquarium
  • Cereal Box
  • Wheelchair
  • Playpen
  • Garden Pot
  • Tent
  • Fishbowl
  • Cardboard Box
  • Grocery Store Bag
  • Walker
  • Blender
  • Dollhouse
  • Inflatable Pool

Anything But A Backpack Day Ideas

These are some of the best funny Anything But a Backpack Day ideas for students.

The whole point of this theme day is to get creative in coming up with an alternative to a backpack. The ideas above range from semi-practical to totally over-the-top and ridiculous, but that is part of the fun of Anything But a Backpack Day!

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