Back to School is coming and we hope this school year is amazing! Throwing a back to school party is one of the best ways to celebrate a new school year and get students excited! Check out this list of 9 cool party themes for teachers.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
1. Donut Party
Is there anything better than a donut? We “DONUT” think so!! (see what we did there) ok, ok, back to the tips.
- What’s a party without a proper photo booth? This donut photo booth is a show stopper! Try adding cute & unique props to enhance the experience.
- This small decoration idea can turn your party into one your students will never forget. Making a donut garland can be your main decoration for this theme, wrap them up with string lights, hang up on the wall, and voila it's ready to shine. For a simple easy garland try creating your own Custom Printed Tyvek Patterns and using them to create a chain-link garland!
- Pinatas, donuts, and candy are exactly what you need to get the party started. Check out this amazing Pinata donut and do this awesome DIY project to make your own.
- Create a fun spin on an old classic like this unique take on pin the tail on the Donkey. Here, guests pin the sprinkle on the donut. Who doesn’t love sprinkles?? Use the same rules as the pin the tail on the donkey game.
2. Candy Crush Party
Candy parties never go out of style. Bright decorations, loads of sugar and happy smiles make it impossible not to enjoy this party theme.
- Make a charming candy photo wall to take adorable photos of your students to share with their parents.
- With a candy party, the last thing you want to do is skip out on the sugar. Vibrant fun candy necklaces are a fun and creative way to create unique party favors. Kids will have a blast using a create your own necklace station. Added learning bonus, teachers can create fun math games to go along with the station like creating patterns, answering math questions to earn candy, etc. The possibilities are endless!
- How could you not fall in love with these GIANT DIY CANDIES? These candy capsules can be filled with candy, toys, and other fun surprises that will wow students. Imagine walking into class to see these fun decorations hanging around? Ummm can we just say Best Teacher EVER!!
3. Superhero Party
Superheroes are all the rage right now and make awesome theme party ideas. Students will love the idea of their classroom turning into a superheroes lair or dressing up in their favorite costumes for a fun reward day.
- Surprise your students with adorable hero treats like Thor's Hammer and Hulk SMASH cupcakes.
- Check out these awesome superhero-themed craft projects, where students can make their own masks, Captain America shield, fun speech bubbles and more! Add even more excitement by creating your own unique classroom superhero. (Captain Underpants ringing a bell here?) Hold a fun contest where students can vote on the name.
- Create your own superhero classroom campaign to fight bullying, these anti-bullying silicone wristbands and 3/4" Tyvek Hug A Bully wristbands make the perfect giveaway item to students.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
4. Hawaiian Luau Party
It's time to turn a simple geography lesson into an unforgettable theme party! Turn your classroom into a Hawaiian luau-themed adventure!
- Hand out cool 3/4" Tyvek Hawaiian patterned wristbands to each student. Each wristband features a unique number which can be used to draw for fun prizes.
- Forget buying expensive flower leis. Let your students be creative and have fun by colouring and cutting out their own paper flowers and stringing them together to make leis! This Moana inspired craft doubles as a great take-home accessory!
- Another cool way to bring a luau to the classroom is to create a cute backdrop like this one using cocktail umbrellas (you can find them at the dollar store or any party store). String a few umbrellas on a thread and hang them from the ceiling, repeat, and your perfect Hawaiian photo wall is ready to go.
- No Hawaiian party is complete without a limbo! This easy and inexpensive game will keep your students entertained for most of the day! The object of the game is to see how low you can go!
5. Comic Party
If you liked our superhero theme idea but are looking for something a little more mature why not throw a fun comic book inspired party? You still get all the fun of superheroes but a little more “grown-up”
- Start the year off with these MARVELous Superhero inspired classroom decorations. Create a fun and positive learning environment while surrounding your students with their fav superheroes like Wonder Woman, Batman, Hulk, and Spiderman.
- Have students create their own comic book this helps to build creative writing skills and encourages kids to think outside the box! Try tying this theme in with your next red ribbon campaign and take advantage of these Red Ribbon Inspired Silicone Wristbands or “Hug A Bully” Tyvek Wristbands as a cool reminder of your party with an important message!
- Check out these 24 comic book motivational posters as a great way to build up students. Even if you don’t throw a themed party these are a great way to inspire students to live up to their potential. I mean who doesn’t want Captain Marvel cheering them on every day.
6. Spy Night Party
What kid wouldn’t want to be a spy for the day? Generate some excitement as soon as they enter the room with these fun spy-themed games and treat.
- A good spy knows how to make their way through red lasers! Imagine the looks on their faces when they enter the classroom and have to get past this obstacle by crawling and carefully stepping over these “red lasers”. Use red yarn or streamers by taping the ends to parallel walls using different heights and crisscrosses to make it more complicated to go through. Here’s a great example!
- Spys also need the right credentials. Surprise your students by ordering a custom-made spy credential pass paired with a lanyard for a more authentic spy look and keepsake! Check out this idea where you can leave a blank space for them to add their fingerprint and image, too cool, right?!
- Another talent of a spy is code-breaking. Draw up symbols on the chalk/whiteboard with a matching letter of the alphabet below it and have students decode a message you’ve come up with that’s related to the theme. Another fun and learning way to do this is to use math equations and have the alphabet paired with a number. Check out the example here.
- Every good spy deserves a delicious treat! Use Twizzlers to make a stick of dynamite! These fun treats are sure to be “DA BOMB” for your students.
HIGH SCHOOL
7. Taco Party
“TACO” bout a great idea! Who doesn't love a fiesta when there’s Tacos involved!
- For your yummy taco party, assign each student in advance with a food item to bring for a make-your-own Taco Bar Pot-Luck! You can have 2 students bring a tub of sour cream, 2 bring a jar of salsa, and other ingredients like chopped lettuce, chopped tomatoes, hard taco shells, soft tortillas, and so on! As for the meat, it's probably best for you to be in charge of that and bring your own crockpot, or speak with the head of the cafeteria for storing and heating up when it’s time for the party.
- We’ve found some amazing DIYs like this taco garland which is pretty darn cute. Have each student make one and then hang them up altogether before the party! Instead of a string, order some neon-colored wristbands to make a chain link garland to add the finished tacos too.
- What else makes a great fiesta? Cactuses! Ask your students in advance to bring empty toilet paper rolls to create their own mini cactus pinatas!
- This Fringe Backdrop will make an epic photo wall for your students to take stunning pictures to share on their social media account. Setting the whole thing up doesn't take much time, but it will be the zest of your party.
- Who would think that a taco party wouldn't be as fun without some DIY balloon cactuses? However, after seeing these cute balloons it’s almost a necessity. All you need is some green helium-filled balloons, smaller lime-colored balloons you can blow up yourself, glue dots, some cute pink and orange pom-poms, and a sharpie!
8. Royal Casino Game Party
This is the kind of party where you need to dress up appropriately to add to the theme. Ask your students to wear (or bring a change of clothes) some white, black, and red dress outfits or their best James Bond suite. We don’t want to encourage gambling but you can still have fun with this theme in other ways, here are some fun ideas:
- This flavourful twist on Russian roulette will be a hit with your students! Buy some Bean Boozled Jelly Bellys and have them try to guess what flavour they just ate! They could get lucky with a Toasted Marshmellow or Cherry flavoured one or grossed out by the dirt or earwax flavoured ones. Yuck!
- Pair your students into groups and have them try their luck with this fun Dice Game! Download the free template with the rules and print one out for each group. Want to make it more fun? Offer a sweet candy prize for the winners of each group.
- DIY Platonic Solids out of playing cards can be a fun project and keepsake that keeps your students busy. Ask each student to bring in a pack of cards from the dollar store and follow the template and instructions to make their own.
- Last but not least, what you need to throw a lit casino party is the right photo wall. This casino-themed door curtain doesn’t need much effort, just some cut out construction paper and jumbo-sized cards on a fishing wire will look stunning on the wall paired with a couple of balloon bouquets.
9. Murder Mystery Party
This party theme is perfect for drama-loving students!
- The first step to organize a spooky mystery is finding a script. A good place to start would be this website that features different themed teen murder mystery games and can accommodate anywhere from 6-50 players. These scripts will have all the information you need to carry the game to the end.
- Your next step would be to hand out character scripts and invitations well in advance and ask your students to keep their information confidential so they don’t spoil the game. These invitations are the beginning of the mystery, it will carry all necessary information about their character and role in the game and how they should dress up.
- Now we need to prepare our place of murder to make it more spooky and mysterious. Use less light than you usually use and add some caution tape and a taped body outline on the floor to create an eerie scene!
- Make a crime board with images of your students and their characters names and clues, use red yard and pins to make connections related to the game.
- To make this party more dramatic, put on some spooky music in the background to make the atmosphere crazier and your murder mystery more spectacular.
There you have it, 9 cool themes for teachers to use to throw a nice party to start off a new school year! If it wasn’t enough for you, we have some more ideas below in case you wanted to add something extra to your party:
Donut party:
Comics party:
Decorating Ideas For A Superhero Party
Hawaii party:
Casino Royal party: