To one up your picnic from the Jones’, try these cotton rolls of napkins! Just tear off the desired amount and viola! A bit classy than the typical white paper napkin. This is from MYDrap, and can be ordered in a variety of colors (can be found on Amazon). They are not a replacement to linen napkins, but an alternative to immediate disposable napkins. The napkins can be washed up to six times and comes in all colors and sizes!
Here is a creative way to cap of the ‘Last Class’ teacher retirement party– Report Card thank you notes! The guest of honor fills out the name and the comments section and delivers it in a ‘official’ business envelope. Of course the subject areas correspond to the party and can change depending on what is appropriate for your event. Tips on wording the thank yous can be found here.
One guest (coworker) responded back to the card saying, “B minus?! My wife requests a wife-teacher retiree conference immediately.”
A neat little alternative to a traditional picnic basket and is eco-friendly– the entire thing is compostable! From Boxsal.com, the basket features a carrying box, plates, napkins, silverware and cups!
At some point during that party, your guests will be sitting at the table with some idle time on their hands. So, to keep them busy, why not have the guest book right at their fingertips! Going along with my ‘Last Class’ Retirement party theme, the guests were going to “pass a note” to her during the party. I first caught this idea from blog The Sweetest Occasions, where it had a great 80’s school themed wedding profiled. I used past pictures on the pass a note (I had four different combinations of past pictures on the cards to keep it interesting!). I accompanied the guest book with a pink eraser card holder to tie into my school theme. I had mini golf pencils available for the guests to use.
The cards were 4 x 6 and can be put into a photo album easily. I plan to place the note cards amongst the pictures from the evening. The pink eraser holders were easy to make as well– just cut a deep slit into the eraser and insert the printed card stock. I found there is a difference in pink erasers and some are easier to cut than others. The pink erasers were 3/$1, so it will not kill the budget.
Finding an easy buffet and memorabilia decor was tricky. I started in August and hit up the numerous sales for back-to-school. Combined with a little bit of google searching, I found a cute and easy pencil vase idea! I first saved and washed peanut butter containers. I put some spray adhesive on paper and attached it to the plastic container. I then put the pencils, eraser down, on with a hot glue gun.
I went all the way around, using the table as a level guide. The process went pretty quickly and was not too hard.
I also turned the logos on the pencils so I could use multiple brands of pencils. I then put a rubber band around the pencils and placed two contrasting decorative ribbons to hide the band and glued on a bow.
And viola! Easy decor for the party! Best part is that if you skip the hot glue, all the pencils can be donated/used! More pictures of the vase “in action” can be found here.
Finally finished the personalized water bottle labels for the party! They were incredibly easy! I used the same full sheet labels I bought from the invitation address labels (from Amazon.com, only $26.00/100 sheets!). I got 6 water bottle labels per sheet– purchased water bottles from a warehouse club at $3.64 for 32 bottles. The labels were printed on a laser printer to make sure they do not bleed if the labels get wet.
The dimensions of the labels are 8.25″ x 1.5″ with 0.25″ margins. I cut the labels and then had DH put them on. I made two designs and will alternate them when I put them out. Such an easy (and cheap at 16¢/bottle) decoration! The tutorial for the Pencil Vase in the pictures can be found here.
After that last drop of wine is gone, the last finger foods nibbled, and the last guest happily wanders out, you just want to enjoy the night and clean up in the morning– BUT WAIT– what about all those dripping glasses all over your new wood furniture?! Whose idea was it to serve ice?! Call it ‘Lord of the UN-Rings,’ but no one wants to wake up to three dozen tennis-ball-sized rings all over their coffee table after an awesome soiree.
Man-zan-ita! After securing the manzanita branches in foam, it was time to decorate. The decorations were hand made and extremely cheap and easy to make, but look like a million dollars! The theme of the party was secured in every touch in the centerpiece– from the color scheme to the table card names.
Beat the dread “Tree Stump” virus that hits guests at party where they become glued to their seats! Tantalize them with creative drinks and names that go with the party theme that will make them say “Hmm, I wonder what a Field Trip Gone Wrong tastes like?”
Guest can sometimes be stuck to their chairs all night and not socialize. So what is better than a childhood song and a pop quiz?! These activities are made to get some laughs, get people up, and get people learning more about the retiree.
Whether for teacher appreciation week, end of the year gift, or a teacher’s retirement party, this little pencil vase will be a hit! Just some glue, a plastic container, and some ribbon you can have a unique and great vase!
doodles, dabbles, & dreams 
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