The transition of going back to school can be a difficult one, for both kids and adults. If you are looking for ways to ease out of summer and into a new season, you may want to consider throwing a back to school party. A back to school party can be a great way to reconnect with friends, have some fun, and most importantly get excited for a new school year. While any school themed party can be fun, there are lots of ways to literally celebrate the season. The only limits will be on your creativity. Here are some back to school party ideas-
Rise and shine breakfast parties-A certain Florida neighborhood has created a new tradition, to help their kids begin to make the transition to rising earlier and getting off to school. While this neighborhood throws an entire week of summer’s end breakfast parties, you can do this only once or as many times as you want! The early morning invite time (usually between 7am-7:30am) helps to get those hard to rise kids (and their parents) up and going. Every morning on the last week before school, the kids of the neighborhood (along with the adults) gather in a neighbor’s driveway to catch up and eat up. While its lots of fun, the kids are the first to admit the donuts are a motivator. Daytime clothes can be optional-pajamas are acceptable. The party is simple, as the kids and adults polish off juice and coffee, everyone goes their own way-at least until the next morning.
Invitations-The easiest way is to send invitations electronically. If you plan on doing several of these, a quick sign up is all that is needed, to determine who hosts on what morning.
Decorations-This is the time to keep it simple. You just need something to mark which house is hosting. A balloon bouquet tied to the mailbox or a banner hung on the garage, can be enough to let everyone know. To keep it simple, you’ll need paper plates, cups, and napkins, and make sure that you have several large garbage cans standing by.
Food-Remember that this kind of party doesn’t have to be a gourmet event. Everyone loves donuts, muffins, bagels etc. You want to provide grab and go food, so people don’t feel they have to linger, if they must get on to work. While adults may want to bring their own mugs, providing cups and hot beverages (hot cocoa, tea, coffee), is a great way to top things off.
Set up-This is the kind of party you can set up the night before. The host family will need to arrange everything on the table, make sure that a trash can is handy and you’re ready to go. If you want, you can gather some folding or lawn chairs, or ask everyone to bring them when they come.
Do it by the numbers-If you want to host a back to school party, just for your child, then it can be fun to do it by the numbers. For example: if your child is a 3rd grader, then he or she can invite 3 friends, have 3 games, 3 treats to eat etc. As your child gets older, then the party can become more complex. Seniors (12th grade), can invite 12 friends over, to watch 12 movies (plan an entire weekend for this), and have 12 different snacks to eat. Whatever your child wants to do can work for the theme of the party. This way they can become excited to get to the new grade in school, knowing that next year, it will be a whole lot more of number fun