Several years ago, I read a magazine article detailing a German tradition called Schultüte.
Students are given a paper cone filled with little presents for going back to school.
I loved this idea so much I started doing it with our kids.
The first year we only had The Girlio in school, and I actually made a paper cone and everything.
After that first year, I went to wrapping and hiding gifts around the house, and the kids loved searching for them.
It was pretty fun.
They are all older now, but I still wrap presents for them to open-I just don’t hide them anymore. 🙂
For gifts, I always have the kids pick out a “fancy” (some type of fun design) pencil. We used to get ones that had their grade on them from our local school supply store. But the store only had ones for elementary school, so as the kids got older, I just let them pick out any fancy pencil they wanted. Now we always go to our Christian bookstore called Mardels as they have several bins filled with fun pencils.
Then, I usually include small school supplies we need/want for the year-things like oil pastels, markers, etc.-I usually stick to five dollars or under for this.
Finally, I include books and/or educational games. A lot of times I can find books in great shape on Ebay that are perfect for these presents!
This year I decided to get the kids new shirts for school as well-fun ones that fit their personalities.
This year, The Little Guy got:
Shirt (this guy is really into Garfield, and it was on sale 1/2 off for Prime Days!):
Ninja Cat #2 (all the kids love this series, so I got them each a book to add to our collection):
Drawing Book (I found this one brand new at a thrift shop for $1.50!):
Wooden Peg People from Michaels (for the board game he is making):
A fun pencil from Mardels.
The Boy got:
Shirt (video games are definitely his THING, and I can’t believe he is going into high school!):
Erasable Pen Refills (he loves these, and so do I!):
A fun pencil from Mardels.
The Girlio got:
Shirt (I have a SENIOR this year-how did that happen???):
Don’t Sit on the Baby (she will be watching a little girl a couple of days a week. She got this book from the library, and liked it so much I bought it for her):
Fancy Notebook (she likes to have one fancy one for keeping math notes):
A fun pencil from Mardels.
So, that’s their presents.
These presents get opened at our Back-to-School party the day before school starts.
We also usually watch a movie/play a game and have a special meal. This year we are having homemade meatballs and rice, with some CREAMi ice cream for dessert!
I love having this night of family fun before school starts back up again.
It is a wonderful opportunity to spend time together and have a great time. I always look forward to it, and so do the kids.
So, there you have it-our back-to-school traditions for the day before school!
Slow Down, Enjoy, and Create 