Throw a back-to-school party!

Not sure how to help your child get excited to go back to school? 

I remember getting so excited about the last day of school.  I was a rebel, I actually taped a can of shaving cream to each calf and wore them all day under my pants.  Yes, this was in the day of bell bottoms, so hiding my upcoming “confetti” was easy. We had about two and a half months of summer break. By the time that summer was over, I was ready to go back to the excitement of friends, sports, happenings and drama. What if you have the child who is experiencing anxiety about going back to school?   Throwing a back to school party can help your child’s transition into school life a little easier.

Everyone loves a great party.

Create a party that is designed to not only generate enthusiasm, but also to be a spring board for a great year and help alleviate any jitters and anxiety.

1. Who to invite 

Can you get a list for next year’s class room? 

Often the schools publish at least a week early saying who is going to be in which room.  Invite your child’s friends from previous years and the new class. This helps them get over any jitters they make about who will be in their class room. Bonus: They may also work out who they will sit with on the first day at lunch.
Are you looking for lunch ideas? Check out Packed Lunch Ideas Your Children will Love!

2.   Theme

It is really fun to have a theme for a back to school party. What fun themes can your child come up with that are friendly for everyone? I live in Arizona, so I would love a beach theme. You can do superhero, LOOK FOR A BUNCH OF THEMES.  A super easy one would be a game theme. Everyone bring their favorite game.  It can be indoor or outdoor. This will take care of a lot of the entertainment and help you meet a low budget for many people.  The kiddos can just separate into different groups and play a game. You can organize it like speed dating. Each group gets 30 minutes at each game. Each child gets to choose 3 games. If you throw in unstructured “getting to know you” for 45 minutes and eating for 40 minutes, you have over 3 hours right there!

3.   Budget

If you are inviting the class, you could have a lot of children there and assume their parents will stay. The budget will dictate the time of the event.  You don’t want to have to feed a bunch of people and if you want to stay on a smaller budget plan for hosting the party between 1-4, after lunch but before dinner. The budget also helps you with decorations.  It is easy to get swept up in fabulous decorations, but if you have a specific budget you will quickly be able to determine where you want to spend your money.  If I were doing this, I would chose a game theme; I like easy. I would only decorate one door that has great photo light.  This door would serve as a “photo booth.” This way all of the party goers can remember the great time with a photo.

4.  Food

Everyone loves snacks and goodies. Plan the food and beverages to be part of your theme. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest. If you google kids themes and food, Pinterest will come up with lots of ideas to help you.

5.  Invitations 

Email is so much easier! It may not be easily available for school class lists. See if you can find any of the parents on Facebook and send a message.  You may also be able to get help from the teacher. Make a fun invitation using one of the card services like smile box or Eventbrite. Your child may like to design the invitations; get them involved, it is their party.

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Ideas to make your back to school party a success

1. Games

Kids like to play games. Find party games for the age group you will have. I found a great book, a long time ago, that is collaborative games for all ages. These give a different way to play musical chairs so you do not have an odd man out and many others.

2. Photo shoot area

I had one of these at a gaming event I did. Included were mustaches on a stick, funny masks, words on a stick like “wow” or “fun times ahead”. The parents and children were taking goofy pictures of themselves with the props and having a great time. This is an easy way to use your decorations budget, while maintaining a theme and giving party goers a fun diversion.

3. Activities and crafts

Depending on your age group, you may want to have activities or crafts. I had two boys.  Neither were very “crafty” as they were action based. I found a popular birthday cake for both of them and party goers was a “train” cake. I baked tiny loaves. These made up the cars on the train. Then I had a bunch of frostings, sprinkles and edible decorations for each child to make their own train car.  We lined them up behind the engine, which I had made previously, and took a picture of our train. Then they all ate their own cars.  This was one activity my boys were enthusiastic to participate in.

*Craft idea

Decorate their own tissue boxes. Most teacher lists come with “donate 2 tissue boxes for the classroom” – at least on our kids supplies list this was always there. Put a bunch of different decorations out: glitter, glue, markers, etc and supply one tissue box for each child. If you want other craft ideas, check out “The Dollar Tree: Crafts on a Budget.”

4. Snacks

The train idea leads into snacks. You can have snacks that are made by the children. This will allow them to talk about likes and dislikes and get to know each other while focusing on something specific.  Cut up fruit so the children can make kabobs, wraps with items to go in them or custom designed trail mix (the kiddos make their own trail mix from a variety of choices available) are great options.

5. Back to school goodie bag

Send everyone home with a special back to school goodie bag. This can include some of the “necessaries” like pencils, crayons, glue stick, etc. It can also have something that the children will need, but is really fun and can be individualized like character or fun erasers.  

6. Spotify music list

Have your child create a back to school music list. Play it during the party and give your partygoers a list of the songs (in case they have a different music service or want to get the songs) and a link to your Spotify playlist. Music can be a way for your child to show their individuality and will create a fun conversation. In “Music Allows Children to Individually Express Themselves” I list all of the songs I used for my events with kids.

7. Remember the parents

Parents will be there. This is a great opportunity for parents to get to know each other. One of the things my children hated hearing was “not before I meet the parents.”  At an event like this, parents can learn about each other, swap emails/numbers to help with car pooling and planning get-togethers and find new friends.

Adults are not always better at mingling and getting to know each other than the kids.  Plan a “break the ice” activity for the adults.

8. Themes are fun

Need help coming up with some themes? I like the idea of having the theme be back to school.

If you want others here is a list I came up with to get you started.

• Beach
• Disco
• Space
• Detective
• Pirate
• Car
• Superhero
• Rainbow or color
• Jungle
• Scavenger Hunt (this would be more of an activity with the detective)
• Water 
• Sports

It is time to get ready for your back to school party!

Here is a checklist for you to follow to make sure your party is a smashing success.

• Choose the day, time and location.
• Determine how you will invite people.
• What is your budget?
• Decide on the food.
• Plan the activities and or crafts.
• How will you include adults?
• How will you create good memories and a keepsake? (Photo shoot area is perfect)
• What will you give as a “goodie” for all participants?
• Send out those invitations with RSVP.

A back to school party can alleviate anxieties and create excitement about the upcoming school year. Allowing your child to be involved in the ideas and planning for the party helps them take ownership of the party. The planning of the party also “distracts” any possible worrisome thoughts for the year to becoming enthusiastic ones for the upcoming “big event.”

“I was hiding under your porch because I love you.” 

~Dug, UP