Back2School Party

I just hosted a Back2School Play-in Party with 8 kids in the house.  I had this idea a year ago but was never able to do it.  This year, the time seemed to fit as I had no cake orders.  And the more I thought about it the more I wanted to do it - to celebrate the ending of a great summer but to also celebrate going back to school.

What is a Back2School Party?  I had not clue.  I went from a simple play in to an elaborate party and in the end, I ended up somewhere in between.

There is a lot of great ideas online - the trick is to find what you can do with the budget and time you have.  I love to do desktop designs so I don't mind that at all.  I have a colour printer too so that helps.  I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg on this so I just recycled materials I already had at home.  The only thing I had to buy was 2 bags of naan, ingredients for the pizza, and 8 rulers (part of the scavenger hunt) at $0.50 each.  All the other stuff I already had at home :D

I simply let the kids play for the morning as different kids were being dropped off at different times.  This gave me a chance to prepare for lunch and in the process mingle a bit with a couple of moms that dropped by.

Then it was time for FUN.  I just got the kids to make their own pizzas.  I placed a plastic disposable tablecloth and set up all the toppings on the table:  Soy Cheese (my son is sensitive to dairy), regular cheese, pizza sauce, mushrooms, tomatoes, pineapple, ham and cucumbers.  I placed a piece of napkin and on top of it a piece of Naan for them to work on their pizzas and a spoon to spread the sauce.  That's it.  After that it was up to them to decorate.  It was a little chaotic, as expected, but I have to say I enjoyed it (and hope they did too!) - don't expect this to take long, though....in and out in maybe 15 minutes at most?

Then I placed all 8 pizzas in the oven (3 racks) at 450 for 10 min or until it came out a bit toasted.  Add some hummus to cucumber slices, carrot sticks, and blueberries and there was lunch available to all - and no utensils needed!

After lunch and my clean up (thanks to the mom who stayed! she helped with a lot of the washing!) I ran to hide the stuff for the back to school scavenger hunt.  I got the idea online.  And placed all the items in Ziploc bags.  They were given brown bags I already had at home to put their items.  I originally had planned to make the brown bags a bag pack but ran out of time so left the pieces of the craft in the kids' bags in case they wanted to do them at home.  Of course, before starting I gave them simple rules and wrote their names on the bags (despite it all though, some kids 'lost' their bags or cried over mixed up bags...and I did have to step in later to make sure they were playing together as a team).  There were a total of 7 clues.

We ended in the basement and I got them all to sit down afterwards and chat with them a little about school, about their feelings going back to school and things they were taking to school.  I also explained briefly what my kids were doing later today raising funds for Niger by selling lemonade and cupcakes.  5 minute tops. Then I just asked if it would be ok for us to pray to Jesus and to bless them as they go back to school.  They seemed fine with the thought.

To end the party, we had cupcakes shaped as apples.

It was a jam packed day - 10:30 to 2:00 flew by so quickly, but it was fun. ... and next time someone asks me what a back2school party is, I might have a bit more insight into it than before :D

One of the moms told me today that when she told her daughter she was invited to Auntie Sandy's home for a back to school party, she asked "Is auntie Sandy going to teach us something again?".  We laughed out loud but later I thought about it - is it good or bad that I have earned a reputation of always doing some 'teaching' during parties?  Was I pushing it too much?  Should they just have fun (not that they don't)?

And then I realized this is exactly what happens when we try to be purposeful in our living day to day.  I would hope that little 7 year old girl meant that our family does things different that it gets noticed...in a good way.  I don't feel I force the kids or myself into doing these things - I truly enjoy them...despite the work it requires; and I truly believe it makes a difference in their lives.

The lesson today was very subtle - I prayed for them and for their new teachers in the new school year. But perhaps that subtle yet significant pause touched someone there at a deeper level...and in simple ways, perhaps they, and even their parents, felt Loved and Cared for...

Not everyone is into doing parties - so I wouldn't say this is something every parent needs or should do.  Not at all.  Like I said, I really enjoy doing this....but I do think that in the process of learning what to plan in parties (and what not to do) I am learning that to be INTENTIONAL in every day-to-day life task we are faced with makes a world of a difference...for me personally, and hopefully for those around us.

As I have been reminded all this summer....God blesses us so that we may be a blessing to those around us.