Back To School
Party Ideas

A back to school party is a great way to reconnect with friends and to overcome September school jitters. Here are some of our favorite ideas for an amazing September kick off celebration!

Back To School Party Ideas for Invitations

Back to school invitations from Amazon.com
Set the tone for your back to school theme party right from the start with great invitations. Here are some ideas for fun invitations you can make at home:

Apple Invitations: -- Attach a decorative tag with your party information to the stem of a shiny red apple. Hand deliver your invitations or leave them by your guests' front doors.
Blackboard Invitations -- Hand draw or download a picture of a blackboard for the front of your card. Write, "U+R=Invited!" as your headline. Fill in the rest with your party information.
Report Card Invitations -- Create a pretend report card for the background of your invitation and write, "You Are an A+ Friend and You're Invited to My Back to School Party!"

You might consider asking yor party guests to bring a donation of school supplies or even an outgrown outfit since there are many children who are in need and could really benefit from some help at the start of a new school year.

**General Invitation Tips** -- If you choose to make your own back to school party invitations, don't forget to include the date, location, and time of your party. It is also helpful to put the host's name, RSVP by date, and either your phone number or email.

School Themed Decorations

The primary colors of red, blue, and yellow make a great back to school party decoration color scheme. You can incorporate these colors by mixing them up in your tableware, balloons and streamers. Another option is to use your school colors when decorating. This can be a great way to pump up everybody's school spirit!

Here are some other ideas for back to school party decorations:

Line your front walk with welcome messages written in sidewalk chalk.
Fill glass vases with apples and pencils for a colorful table centerpiece.
Use construction paper to cut large shapes of school-related items and cover these with collages made of images from back to school coupon circulars.
If your school has a fun mascot, include it in your decor.
Hang a large blackboard and put out some chalk for your guests to write messages.

Here are some fun party supplies that would work well at a back to school theme party:

Red, Yellow and Green Deluxe Pack for 24

Back To School Party Ideas for Crafts and Activities

Break the Ice with a Fun Survey -- A back to school party is great for reconnecting with friends and also for meeting new people. Get to know your schoolmates with an ice breaker survey. Have everyone fill in their forms and turn in their sheets, then read aloud some answers and see how many people can guess who gave each answer. Some sample questions might include:

What is your least favorite vegetable?
What is your dream destination?
If you were to live in any movie, what would it be?
When is the last time you did something for the first time?
What is your favorite sport to play? to watch?
If you could have any super power, what would it be?

A Few of My Favorite Things Pencil Box Craft -- Purchase a plastic pencil box for each guest. Cut a piece of cardstock to fit snugly inside the cover. Set out an assortment of stickers, markers and other decorating items. Take a digital photo of each child, and have them decorate their cardstock with the photo, stickers, quotes, or anything else that is special to them. Cover the finished piece with clear contact paper and glue it into the inside of the pencil box lid. This becomes a great souvenir sure to bring smiles every time the box is opened.

Personal Time Capsules -- Gather a paper towel roll for each guest. Snap a digital picture of them and print it out during the party. Put out a piece of paper and some decorating items and have the children write down their best summer memory, what they are most looking forward to for the school year, facts about themselves, some of their favorite things, and some things they are good at. Roll the paper and the picture into the paper towel tube. Cover the tube with crepe paper and tie the ends with ribbon (so the time capsule looks like a piece of candy.) Save the time capsules to open next year!

School Yard Games -- Set up some traditional school games in different areas around your party. Here are some suggestions:

Sidewalk Chalk
Four Square (Draw the boxes with chalk on your driveway)
Jump Rope
Paper Airplane Contest (Whose design can go the farthest?)
Bobbing for Apples
Water Balloons
Dodge Ball
Leap and Duck -- To play this game, line up the players in a single file. Have the person at the back of the line alternately leapfrog over the person in front of him, then go through the legs of the child in front of that person, until he reaches the front and becomes the first person in line. All the people in line will have to alternately squat and stand. Then the new person at the back of the line repeats the process. When this gets going faster and faster, things can get pretty silly. You could either time each player's performance, or divide the group into two teams and play this game as a relay race.

Back To School Party Ideas for Food

Make a Sack Lunch Buffet -- Set up an assembly line of school style menu options and let your guests fill their own lunch sack. At the front of the table, put out paper lunch bags decorated with each guest's name. Place a napkin inside of each. Then, have a sandwich starting area with basic options such as PB+J, ham, turkey, or roast beef. Next, offer a choice of cut fruit or baby carrots, and a choice of snack such as pretzels or Goldfish crackers. Finally, let your guests choose between milk or juice boxes.

Have a "Sundae School" Sundae Bar -- For the grand finale, set up a table with ice cream and a variety of toppings and let everyone create their own sundae masterpiece. What could be better on a summer day?

Back To School Party Favors

Send everyone off with some great mementos that they can take with them to school. Here are a few back to school theme favors:

Make cute favor bags with tags painted to look like mini chalkboards
Ice Breakers candies
Pencil Boxes - Decorate at party
Time Capsules -- Make at party
Notepads or binders
Pencils with fun decorations
Sidewalk Chalk
Charms for Backpacks
Silly Bands

Hope you found some helpful back to school party ideas on this page. Have fun!

If you enjoyed these back to school party ideas, you might also enjoy these parties:

Pool Party

Outdoor Movie Party

Camping Party

Share Your Party With Us!

Have you hosted or attended a great party recently? We would love to hear about it! Tell us about your party and what made it special. We'll post it here to share with all our readers. Plus, your party will automatically be entered in our next party submission contest!

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