Freebs Community Collective: Favorite Back-To-School Family Traditions

Aug 10, 2023 | Baby and Kids, Family Time, Lifestyle, Parenting

As the backpacks get filled and the pencils sharpened, why not infuse this time with some excitement and create unforgettable family traditions? Here are some creative and fun ideas to kickstart some new back-to-school family traditions of your own!

Welcome back to this week's blog post in our Freebs Community Collective series. This weekly series is where we share life hacks, tips, advice, favorites and recommendations on a topic of your choice. Each Monday, we share the topic of the week over on Instagram (follow here!) for you to submit your answers! As always, we will share your responses as well as Jordan Page's and the entire Page Company team's responses. Come back every week to join the fun!

This week you wanted to know what everyone's favorite Back To School traditions are! You had some amazing and creative answers that we are excited to share!


Jordan Page's Favorite Back-To-School Traditions

  • Graduation Year Shirt: I buy an oversized t-shirt for each kid when they begin kindergarten and I print the year that they will graduate on the shirt. I take a picture of them in it every year on the first day of school so we can watch them grow into it. I envision having each picture hang at a graduation party for them in the future, wearing the same shirt every year from kindergarten to high school senior!
  • Back-to-School Blessings: Each year for back-to-school, my husband Bubba gives each child a Father's Blessing. It's part of our faith, where the father is able to give a special prayer and offer each child some wisdom, encouragement and extra faith to kick off their new school year. We sit together as a family and he blesses each child one by one with a prayer.
  • Farewell reminders: This isn't necessarily specific to the first day of school because I do this all schoolyear long. When I drop my kids off at school, before they leave the car I always say “Be safe, be kind, work hard.”
  • Capable Planners: My kids and I also spend some time updating their Capable Planners, which have been a game changer for keeping up with all of our busy schedules. Check out all of the fun cover options for kids and teens here, and use the code FCFBLOG for 10% off at checkout just because I love you!
  • Water Balloon Fight: My neighborhood has a tradition on the first day of school where the kids have a GIANT squirt gun and water balloon fight with some of the parents! They all gather in the street, and it's a fun kid vs. parent water fight to keep the excitement of the first day of school going.

Page Company Team's Back-To-School Traditions

The team here at The Page Company is made up entirely of fellow moms, though not all of us have school-aged children yet. Here our some of our memorable traditions!

Mom taking a picture of two kids from Fun Cheap or Free.
  • Hype Night: We usually do a back-to-school dinner, and gift them some water bottles and stickers to decorate and get excited! They'll also get a few fun school supplies, like character folders or something small.
  • Theme: We usually have a quote that we talk about as a family, and how it will be our “theme” for the school year.
  • Pre-school Interview: We have kids answer simple questions like: What grade am I going into? What's my favorite color? What do I want to be when I grow up? Then we save it for their scrapbook to look back on.
  • Handmade Keychains: I am making a keychain with my daughter each year to decorate her backpack. While we make them, I use the time to talk to her about all the fun we had over the summer and what she's looking forward to. I am hoping she still thinks this is cool when she is in high school, haha!

FREEBS FAVORITE BACK-TO-SCHOOL TRADITIONS

Here are some of the responses we received from YOU, sharing your annual traditions heading into the new school year. Feel free to take some inspiration from these to start new traditions of your own!

  • A Mommy & Daughter date to go get manicures and/or pedicures before the first week of school
  • A “Fashion Show” for the kids to model their new back-to-school clothing
  • A family end-of-summer slideshow with awards
  • Taking the first-day-of-school photos with their personalized signs
  • Creating dream boards and writing out our goals for the year
  • Fresh new hair cuts
  • We have our kids make a little time capsule for themselves to open on their last day of school, with a letter to themselves about what they hope to learn and what they are most excited for.
  • Write a special little love note to hide in their lunch box and open during their first day back to school when they might be feeling overwhelmed!
group of kids walking into school, from Fun Cheap or Free

FOOD-RELATED BACK-TO-SCHOOL TRADITIONS

There is something so connective and nostalgic about certain foods that are tied to certain moments in life. That's why certain meals or foods are so strongly tied in with family traditions! Many of your back-to-school tradition submission centered around special foods and snacks, so we put them all together in their own category:

  • After-school ice cream after the first day of the new school year
  • Special breakfast for the first day of school, like confetti sprinkle pancakes or donuts
  • Pizza delivery on the night before the first day of school
  • Decorating a back-to-school cake each year, and decorating it with a school theme including a school bus
  • Bake cookies together after their first day and talk about their new teacher and classmates
  • A family-favorites dinner the night before school starts where everyone gets to pick their favorite foods for full-size family buffet!

So, there you have it! Embrace the back-to-school season with these simple family traditions that will have your kids excited to start a new academic year. Who knew that creating memories could be so much fun? Let the tradition-making begin!

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