Party City supports Los Tweens & Teens with party supplies but as always, our views are our own.
Let’s face it, middle school is not an easy place and the first month back to school can be isolating for many older kids. Even kids returning to the third grade and higher can have anxiety as friendships change so quickly. How about hosting an easy back-to-school party within the first month of school’s opening?
Inviting your kids’ friends will help them connect outside of school.
The idea actually came from my own teen daughters as a way to celebrate their last year in a K-8 school. What I loved about the idea is that by hosting you immediately show your kids that you want to be involved in helping them be social- not an easy thing for so many shy tweens and teens.
Because the start of school brings back a hectic schedule to any household, the key to hosting a successful party is actually keeping it very simple.
Since it is their party, keep the kids involved in every decision from the party theme, to the food, decorations, activities and the invites. My girls actually made the invites on their computer, printed them and handed them out in their classroom.
For the party theme I headed to the Party City website with the girls and we scrolled thru the hundreds of options. Luckily I did involve them because the ideas on themes that I had were not what they were thinking!
The girls chose simple rainbow colors – everything from the plates to the napkins and party décor had bold solid colors. To match that theme we created a fun candy station that also had bright-colored candy including gumballs and lollipops. To keep your back-to-school party planning easy, here are some top tips:
Invite other parents to stay, enjoy your own time together and keep an eye on the kids.
Top Tips to Plan a NO FUSS Back-to-School Party
- KEEP IT SIMPLE– make the party low fuss (it’s not a birthday party!)
- Involve the kids – let them make the decisions on décor and more
- Invite some parents to stay and help – have your own gathering away from the kids but close enough to keep watch
- Have a variety of foods – kids don’t eat that much so having different choices allows you to satisfy everyone
- Plan the activities ahead of time- the idea is for kids to talk and get to know each other
- Music- make sure you have music playing all the time and let the kids choose it so they will enjoy the selections
To follow the no-fuss plan, we did have a variety of food but kept it simple. We ordered pizza, a fruit bowl, brought various chips & dips, cheese slice, cookies and a candy station. Funny enough the kids chose to have high-bounce balls and had a blast being silly throwing the balls and bouncing them everywhere.
Enjoy more photos below and let us know if you would like to try it and any other party-at-home tips you want to share with Los Tweens & Teens. And…#partyon 🙂
Let their creative go wild (and have fun pre-planning it) by letting them take over the party decorations.
Party City has a great assortment of party items in every color that for sure will fit your theme.
Our candy station was a hit! It wasn’t only a great conversation piece but also doubles as a fun decorative touch.
Easy-to-make cheesy bread slice to top with Brushetta for an easy appetizer dish. Create or buy simple finger foods to create a relaxed vibe.
Music should be the highlight of the party…and of course, remember to set space for the dance floor!
As a mother of twin tweens in 2011 and an active Girl Scout Troop leader, Cristy realized there was a need to develop bilingual digital content and foster a community facing the challenges of raising kids after first grade. That year she founded and remains co-Publisher of Los Tweens & Teens, to support multicultural parents and mentors with content related to raising Gen Z- tweens & teens ages 7-18. Through the Los Tweens & Teens LIVE events such as Teens & Me – the growing team aims to provide our community with essential resources from chats with therapists to battle anxiety and bullying, to understanding social media and technology.