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How to Start a Back-to-School Dinner Tradition with Your Family

Celebrate the first day of school with a special back-to-school dinner tradition! It’s a simple and meaningful way to get everyone excited for the year ahead.

How to Start a Back-to-School Dinner Tradition with Your Family

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It’s August, which means it’s officially time to start thinking about going back to school (much as I hate to admit it). Sooner than I’d like, it will be time to trade out our flip flops for tennis shoes and our pool towels for backpacks.

Ready or not, school is only a few weeks away!

One of my favorite ways to make the day special is by hosting a Back-to-School Dinner for my family.

What is a Back-to-School Dinner Tradition?

The idea is simple: gather together as a family for a celebratory dinner to mark the beginning of a new school year. It doesn’t have to be fancy (ours isn’t). It could be your kids’ favorite dinner, a themed dessert, or even just a fun picnic in the backyard. The details don’t matter as much as setting aside some special time to spend as a family and get excited about the coming school year.

Back-to-School Dinner Tradition for families

When to Have Your Back-to-School Dinner?

There’s no “right” time to have your special back-to-school dinner. Choose a night near the beginning of school that works with your schedule.

Some families like to have theirs the night before school starts, but for us that night is often busy with back-to-school nights at school, or sports, or running to the store to grab one more thing that I didn’t realize we were out of (You too? Let’s be friends!).

For us, it works best to do our special dinner the Sunday before school starts. Sundays are usually a slower-paced day when we focus on family time anyway, so it’s easier to fit it into our schedule.

How To Plan Your Back-to-School Dinner

Honestly, don’t overthink it. Your dinner can be as simple as you want it to be. My boys don’t really care about “fancy” anyway, so I remind myself that my goal is simply this: to spend time together celebrating the new school year. Then I try to focus on low-effort ways to make that happen. Here’s a little peek into what we’ve done in the past:

Decorations:

You don’t have to go over-the-top with balloon arches and banners to make your back-to-school dinner feel festive. A few school-themed decorations go a long way!

Banner: I made a simple “back-to-school” banner years ago (a free printable from Paper Trail Design), and I just pull it back out every year. Easy!

Ruler Table Runner: I also like to make a giant ruler table runner using our favorite IKEA craft paper. One of these days I’m going to make a permanent one so I don’t have to remake it every year, but it’s a super cheap way to make a bold focal point. It doesn’t take very long, and I love the way it looks!

Apple plates: What’s more iconic for back-to- school than apples?! Making your own apple plates is the easiest craft ever and only takes about three minutes. Just cut some leaves and stems out of green paper, glue them to the back of red paper party plates and…voila! You have apple plates! Not feeling crafty? You can also buy these cute apple plates on Amazon. Use what you need for this year, and you’ll have plenty left over to use in future years.

Those are the big three for me, but sometimes I’ll wander around my house and grab other items to add to the table. Consider things like…

Use what you have and get creative!

Menu:

You could make a fancy meal, but we don’t. I choose something that is easy and that everyone loves. Here are some ideas:

We also like to have a fun dessert. You can make something (this chocolate cake is so easy and delicious), or just grab some ice cream from the store and call it good!

What Can You Talk About During your Back-to-School Dinner?

Since this dinner is a special one, let’s aim a little higher in our conversation than discussing the latest Minecraft update, shall we? Here are a few ideas to choose from:

  • Use these fun conversation starters to get to know each other better!
  • Have everyone share three things they are looking forward to about the coming year.
  • Have everyone share a goal for the coming year.
  • Ask kids to be the experts and teach you what they know about how to be successful in school. Have a family discussion about it.
  • Share your own memories from school (the positive, encouraging type…of course).
  • Introduce a family theme for the school year (see below).

Choosing a Family Theme for the School Year

Each school year, my husband and I choose a family theme. It’s a short, memorable phrase that gives us a shared focus for the year. Sometimes it’s based on a famous quote, a scripture, or just an inspirational phrase. Our past themes include things like “Look for the Good” and “I can do hard things.”

During our back-to-school dinner, I like to discuss our theme and get my kids’ thoughts on what they think it means and how living it will help us have a good school year.

Want help choosing a theme for your own family this year? Here are some Back-to-School Family Theme Ideas to consider:

  • Look for the good
  • Be a builder (based on this poem)
  • The stronger wind, the stronger trees (based on this poem)
  • Be brave, be kind
  • Choose joy
  • I can do hard things
  • Work hard, play hard
  • Be a problem solver
  • Be someone’s sunshine
  • Don’t judge a book by its cover
  • Take chances. Make mistakes. Get messy! (That Miss Frizzle really was wise)
  • Baby steps (Any What About Bob fans out there?)
  • Treat others as you wish to be treated (The golden rule)
  • Let your light shine (Matthew 5:16)
  • In every thing give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
  • “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
  • “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” (Dalai Lama) 

More Ways to Celebrate

After dinner, my husband gives each of our kids a special father’s blessing. In our faith, blessings are often given by fathers to their children during important times to offer comfort and guidance and to help them feel God’s love. Starting a new school year can bring with it all kinds of feelings (and fears), and I love sending my kids off into the world with an extra boost of confidence and love.

Other activities you might consider:

Whatever you choose to do, your kids will love heading back to school knowing that you’re cheering for them every step of the way.

What are YOUR back-to-school traditions? Share in the comments!

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