Monday, August 20, 2012

Cousin's Back to School Party 2012

I have been celebrating back to school with my grandchildren for quite a few years now.





My back-to-schoolers this year are in grades 
7th, 6th, 4th, 4th, 4th, 3rd, 1st, kindergarten, and pre-school.
That is nine out of ten of my little pearls!


So, what makes a back to school party with 
Grandma, Papa and the cousins?

The party plans can be as simple or as extravagant as you like but
regardless of how much money or time I put into them 
our time together and the lasting memories we share
are a priceless treasure to us all.

It is a tradition that my grands DO NOT allow
me to forget!




For me the party always begins with pre-arranging a date 
that works with all of the parents.

Party invitations are hand delivered a few days ahead of time.

This year's theme was Party Bus!

The invites had a bus schedule on them for the time
of pick up and the afternoon drop off time for each child.



Papa and I decorated our "bus" to add to the fun.
(Special thanks to my daughter and son-in-law for loaning us their eight passenger car.)
We decorated the windows and we tied long strands of brightly 
colored curling ribbon to the side mirrors
to add a festive touch as we whipped and fluttered through the streets.

Once everyone was picked up and buckled up it was party time.

The "bus" was filled with chatter between the very  
excited back-to-school cousins.


First stop included personalized lunch orders
and icy sweet  Eegee's slushes!



There was sampling bites shared, laughter, conversations,
and lots of attention from the other customers.

One set of grandparents who's only grandchild
lives several hours away couldn't believe that this
party group of five only represented half of my grandchildren.

They also commented on how well behaved they were.
Grandma was proud!




They were all wearing matching name tags
around their necks with their new grade.

I made the name tags
to help create a little extra special cousin unity.



Once everyone was done eating and washed up
it was time to load back into our party bus and head to our next stop.



Instead of putting together party gifts bags as usual
we treated the kids to a shopping spree at one of
their favorite stores!

They all LOVE going to Dollar Tree.


Every single row was checked out and a whole
lotta' very selective and time consuming decisions were made.


The rule for the kids was that we all had to stay together.
They did a great job following the rule.

Papa and I had the rule to not rush their decisions.
We succeeded too!




After over an hour of very active shopping it was time to check out.


Everyone was thrilled with their
gadgets, goodies, and toys.

Our party bus then headed to Wendy's
for a round of chocolate Frosty's and seven cups of water
for the ride home.

We had a really cool bus driver!
(Thanks Papa)


Without rushing any part of our time together
we were able to keep the party bus on schedule
for our afternoon drop offs.

I use the word lucky a lot about being a grandma
but the truth is that I am just 
very blessed and very, very grateful.

I can't wait until next time....




4 comments:

  1. What a great looking group! All boys this year?

    I've been taking my granddaughters to the dollar store for a treat if they don't fight when they spend the night with me. Most effective incentive ever!

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  2. Hi grandma this is Kendra Patterson
    just want to let you know that I have been looking at all your post on your blog I love them and want to let you know that I have a blog go to pinkypurplepink.blogspot.com

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  3. Great idea to get ready for school. Love that the cousins have this annual ritual, thanks to Grandma and Grampy!

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  4. This is so delightful! I am glad that there is new interest in celebrating back-to-school with family rituals such as yours. Encouragement like this has got to relieve some of the anxiety all children must feel on their first day. Seeing how far back your celebrations go, I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was YOU who planted the seed to acknowledge this important day with tokens of affection and a shower of positive family attention! Love the "school bus!" Beautifully done!

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