Back to School Dinner

Hard to believe - school starts for my children this week . . . like tomorrow for my middle schooler! (My younger children start Thursday.) Honestly, what happened to summer?! Oh, well. Time to move on. Sunday we held our traditional back to school dinner and goal setting interviews. You might be wondering what I mean by goal setting interviews. My husband and I sit down with each of our children individually and discuss the coming school year - what they're excited for, what they're nervous for, what after-school activities they want to participate in, what academic goals they can set. It is a good time to listen to each one of them and helps my husband and I better understand their needs. (My husband also gives our children their annual back to school blessings.) For dinner, we had a yummy BBQ. I have to get in as much BBQ before the weather turns on us. Here's what I did to decorate for the occasion. Hopefully, it will give you a few ideas.

I used a lot of black, white, and red in my decorating. I found these great black, white, and red paper products at Target in their party supply aisle. These paper goods are meant for a pirate party, but were perfect for our dinner. For place cards, I wrote each family member name on a strip of dotted writing paper. I was able to buy a stack of these cards in Target's dollar section. The extra writing cards will prove helpful for years to come. I also placed a red apple on each plate.

For the centerpiece, I found a bunch of great items again in Target's dollar section. They had these fun wooden black ABCs. I propped the letters up with books or with my ruler crate (again from the dollar section). I used our household globe along with a ceramic pencil to finish the decorating. The pencil - you guessed it - is from Target. I decided to invest in some back to school decorations this year to use for years to come. The most expensive item I bought was $5. So, go and check out Target's dollar section. You'll be surprised at all the goods you'll find!

For a table runner, I pulled out all our math flashcards. My daughter helped me place them in a haphazard row. We also used some of our LED candles for the occasion.

I placed two small vases in our ruler crate. With my soon-to-be kindergartener, we picked wildflowers along the side of the road near our home. I loved the cheeriness the flowers brought to the table and how the yellow flowers popped alongside the black letter C.

I hope you enjoy your last days of summer and have time to celebrate with your family the beginning of a new school year!