A new season is right around the corner. While we are enjoying the last days of summer, I can’t help but get excited for the start of school and all the fun that comes at this time of the year. New classes, new teachers, new things to learn, new friends! There are so many possibilities before us. So, gather your little ones, preteens, or high schoolers, and let’s start the year off right! We want them to be excited and optimistic for the year to come. One of our favorite family traditions is to celebrate with a back-to-school breakfast.
For this setting, I’ve used components that we primarily had around the house already. I believe that the most important thing is to make the everyday moments special. If we think we need to purchase a whole table setting to do that, it would be overwhelming! So, please use this as inspiration for yourself. Then, utilize what you have at home. You can add a new piece here or there when it strikes you.
What better items to decorate for a back-to-school theme than pencils, apples, and a small chalkboard? We use this little chalkboard all the time for things like hot cocoa bars at Christmas parties and flower bars at bridal showers. Any school supplies that you have around would work for a cute addition to your table. They bring the back-to-school theme home! These sunflowers are so bright and cheerful. What a great addition and pop of color to the table. They tie the yellow from the ruler ribbon and the bus in the sign to make everything more cohesive.
I do have a few ideas about entertaining pieces. I still have a set of white dishes from our wedding registry. They are fantastic! I can add colors related to a theme or holiday, and they always serve as a wonderful backdrop.
Often, I buy a serving piece or linen in red. That might seem odd, but hear me out. While I don’t decorate my home in red, it is a color that is used for lots of holidays, such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July, and Memorial Day. These all carry red themes traditionally. So, it comes in handy! Here, I added a red table runner that I often use for the holidays. It went well with the apple and red gingham theme of the back-to-school breakfast.
I found these cute apple plates and crayon napkins at Michaels. I also purchased the gingham, ruler, and crayon ribbons there. These were the only new items that I bought for this table setting, but they really made the whole thing come together nicely!
That personalized, printable first-day-of-school sign can be found here. I love that it captures many great details for your little one’s special day. It’s great for a scrapbook or to hold in a back-to-school picture. I keep several of these little easels around for party signs, pictures, or to prop artwork on bookshelves.
These pennants make cute decorations, fun gift toppers, and photo props. You can find them in my printable shop on Etsy!
We always send the kids off with a small token gift to brighten their day and make it seem special. So, I used a clear favor bag with a little red shred in the bottom, tied it with some gingham ribbon, and added a gift tag to coordinate with the gingham and apple theme. These personalized tags would also work well on gifts for classmates or the teacher.
Don’t worry about what to serve for your back-to-school breakfast! Buy or make some yummy muffins and put out some fruit. That should keep everyone satisfied, and you won’t need to worry about lots of fancy preparation and cooking the first morning you’re getting back into a school routine. If I stay relaxed, I find that it lends to the atmosphere in our home, and everyone around me is more calm. Something we can all use on that first back-to-school morning!
However you choose to do so, gather your family around. Share and mark this moment in time before it flees, and we’re on to another year. Here’s to a new season, a new school year, and all of the possibilities that it brings with it!
Jeanne Marquardt says
Great idea for the start of the new school year!
Avery says
Looks amazing!