There are all kinds of back to school events, but it is very cozy and special to have a big meal together at home for the start of the school. The seasonal elements I most like to use for early fall are apples, school supplies, and some light sunflower presence (for the appropriate late summer essence.) A really classic menu is great for this back to school occasion.
You could do perhaps lasagna (with homemade noodles), a green salad, garlic bread, milk, apple crisp, and vanilla ice cream.
Below I have a few more ideas to add to the table to make this meal even more distinctive.
PATTERNED APPLE PAPER TABLECLOTH
Roll out a big roll of white paper (available at hobby lobby, and lots of places) across your tablescape. Mark an “x” in pencil where each apple goes. Children paint red circles. Add a small green leaf with paint. Draw on stem with brown colored pencil. This tablecloth turns out so charming. I love small scale patterns.
CRAYON NAME PLACECARDS
You’re seven crayons and a hot glue gun away from these. Glue crayons together in a two by three by two structure. Keep these for next year! Use trimmed notecards to write names.
GRAPH PAPER MENU CARD
(1) Name cards and (2) a printed menu are two, I think, highly underutilized features to include on your home table for slightly special days. They are very simple to put together but add so much. For a back to school menu card, just slice some grid paper, draw on a bright yellow border and write out your dishes. Cute children’s handwritten cursive is as appropriate for this meal’s menu card as ever! (But I love it all the time.)
CENTERPIECES
A perfect low cost centerpiece is a few stacks of some children’s literature – The Hobbit, The Boxcar Children, Anne of Green Gables, Stuart Little, The Magician’s Nephew – and late summer sunflowers in simple vessels.
PLACE SETTINGS
Everyone likes a fresh notebook and I love the pattern of the iconic composition notebook. Place one under each table setting for a little back to school dinner favor, and a layered pattern for the tablescape. I add a folded light blue napkin underneath the menu card because light blue looks good with everything and feels like a part of the back to school color palette the spread needed.
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A lot of building family culture (so important) is simply marking things out to be a little special, more than just going through the motions of life. And then doing the same things again next year! Now it’s a tradition.
There are more posts on motherhood here.
