Pencil vase makes a great gift for a teacher! - Stefanie Gabrych Fraser
Are your kids ready for back to school? Are you ready? Why not make the start of a new school year fun with a super cool back-to-school party?
Here are more than a dozen school-themed ideas to get the party started.
- Welcome Guests with a Sidewalk Message. Just before the party starts, write messages with sidewalk chalk on the driveway and path to your house, such as "Recess is over." or "School Daze."
- Set the Decor! Create a centrepiece using small blackboards and old books tied with string piled down the middle of the party table. Add a suitable message in white or coloured chalk on each board. TIP: Instead of real blackboards that may be hard to find, cut up a large sheet of black foam-core poster paper.
- Light Up the Night. Hang strings of Christmas lights outside where you’re going to be entertaining. Attach to patio umbrellas, twist around porch banisters, or hang up in trees and around shrubbery.
- Notebook Table Setting! Use school notebook paper to accessorize your party table creating cutlery holders and place cards.
- Pencil Vases. This super easy idea is so easy to do and makes a great gift for a favourite teacher. To make, slip a wide elastic around a straight-sided container and then add enough pencils to cover the container. Add water and flowers. Use an old tape measure to cover the elastic.
- Pretty Up a Party Hat. Set up an activities table for the kids and have them decorate ordinary store-bought party hats with pinwheel toppers made from old maps.
- Float Those Boats! Get the kids to construct paper boats from construction paper, and let them float in the pool.
- Airplane Mobile. Another idea for the kids, have them create paper airplanes that can be turned into an easy breezy hanging mobile. TIP: Hire a responsible sitter (or two) to supervise the kids and to organize activities so you can party without worrying about what the little ones are up to.
- Summer Toy Table Centrepiece. Make a fun table centrepiece with summertime toys, such as toy pails and shovels, squirt guns, sunglasses, and mini beach balls.
- Creative Beverage Cooler. Fill a kid's inflatable pool with ice and use it as a nifty beverage cooler. Be sure to place it in a shady spot to keep the ice from melting too soon.
- Bucket Brigade. Use colourful sand buckets as snack bowls and to hold utensils, plates, and napkins.
- Keep It Simple. Cook up hot dogs, hamburgers and roasted corn on the grill. Make up some self-serve big salads. Have a make-it-yourself strawberry shortcake setup. Serve plenty of easy snacks and nibbles such as veggie crudités and antipasto fixings.
- Prevent Double Dipping: To cut down on double dipping, fill clear drinking glasses with an inch or two of dip and add an assortment of cut-up vegetables to make individual servings so guests can enjoy eating without feeling guilty.
- Have a Back-up Plan! Whenever you're planning a backyard bash, it's a good idea to have a plan B in case the weather doesn't go your way. That could mean renting a tent or canopy, or planning the party near a covered porch or usable indoor space.
- Most Important. Don't forget to sit back and enjoy the party.
With the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year, it's a great idea to meet up with old friends and relatives to reminisce about the summer and make plans for the coming holidays.
Copyright Stefanie Gabrych Fraser. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
