20 Ways to Celebrate the End of a School Year

There’s nothing that feels quite like the last day of school.  The sense of accomplishment for a job well done paired with the sense of excitement for summer means students, teachers, and parents alike all feel a lot of emotions on the last day of school.  Some may feel sadness, because they are parting from friends over the summer or moving on to another school. Some may feel overwhelmed by all of the festivities at school and all of the change and unknown that a new school year will soon bring. Some may feel relief and ready to relax and recharge…I’m looking at you, teachers…And some may feel thankful for the time to slow down and focus on their families without all of the hectic rush of the school year.

Why Should You Celebrate?

No matter what your feelings are about the end of the year, it’s a milestone and something to be celebrated in whatever way your family feels best.  It can be a small gesture or family celebration, a big reveal of summer plans, a gift or token to reward your kids for their hard work….anything that makes your child feel loved and seen and celebrated. Because in a world that can say so many harsh and negative things to our kids, any chance we get to speak life and love in to them should be taken, and the last day of school (no matter what the style of schooling!) is a wonderful opportunity to do so.

I can almost hear some of you thinking, “Great.  Because all of the end of the year parties, and awards nights, and banquets, and performances, and teacher conferences, etc., etc. aren’t enough.  Now this writer wants me to add more to my already overly-full, overly-caffeinated, exhausted plate?!” But I can’t emphasize enough that you need to do what is best for you and your family.  I have a Facebook friend who puts together elaborate gift baskets with a multi-step scavenger hunt revealing their summer vacation destination and posts all of the Pinterest-worthy photos to prove it. And she loves every minute of it.  If that’s you, feel free to go crazy on Etsy and buy every last day of school treasure you can find and afford.  If that is absolutely not you and the thought of going online for ideas makes you want to take deep breaths into a paper bag…I have good news!  I have asked some of the wisest moms I know, my fellow Parenting Pathway team members, and they have absolutely delivered with some easy, practical ideas that cover all ages and stages of students.

Twenty Ways to Celebrate!

So without further ado, here’s a list of ideas for you to read and find inspiration for your own family to celebrate the last day of school!

1. Take last day of school photos. There are free printable signs (for the first day of school too!) or ones to purchase online. Or if you’re feeling fancy, you can decorate a chalkboard sign for the kids to hold in the picture.  But document the day. It’s so fun to look back as the years go on and see how much our kids grow and change each year.
2. Give an “exit interview”. This is especially fun with younger kids! There are online examples of last day of school questionnaires.  If your kids love to write, they can fill in their own.  If not, (ahem…my sons….ahem) then you can ask them and write in their replies.  It’s just another fun (and inexpensive!) way to record their thoughts and interests at this stage.  Those may very well change by tomorrow, so it’s always good to write them down to reminisce about later.
3. Fast food run for lunch and everybody gets to pick their own place! (It may mean a while in the drive thrus, but you can talk about all of the exciting things from the last day of school!) If your school releases early the last day like a lot do, this is a fun way to grab lunch.
4. If your kids are more the “relax and chill” type after a full morning of fun at school, you can order pizza, pop some popcorn and just have a chill and unwind family movie on the couch.
5. A gift with lots of fun summer items like beach balls, bubbles, goggles, beach towels, sand toys, a new swimsuit, popsicles, sidewalk chalk and anything else you can think of that your kids would enjoy! If you’d like to include a ticket or two to fun places you plan to visit during the summer, you can throw those in too! Or if you are planning to travel, you can add some things they will need for the trip. (Road trip toys, books, fidget toys, etc.)
6. If your kids are older and would rather shop for their own items you can go buy things together or just give the kids gift cards/money and plan a shopping day later.
7. Make a best memories book (like your own version of a yearbook for your family) and look through it on the last day of school and talk about all the fun things you did and learned!
8. If your kids are older and have plans with friends, plan a meal afterwards. (And maybe pack a goodie bag of snacks for them to take with them and share with their friends at the pool!)
9. Get a group of friends to go celebrate together at the neighborhood pool! (Don’t forget to take the obligatory photo of them all jumping in at the same time!)
10. Go have a fun lunch and see a movie together.
11. Go shopping together for fun crocs and jibbets or sandals/swimshoes for the summer.
12. Meet up with friends at the school or neighborhood park to play. (And be sure to bring popsicles to share in your cooler!)
13. Hit up Barnes and Noble, Half Priced Books, or your local library to start a summer reading collection of books. (And check to see if they have a summer reading incentive program while you’re there!)
14. Skype/Zoom/Facetime cousins or other family members to wish them a happy last day of school and to plan a cousin sleep over to celebrate the end of school together.
15. Plan a summer bucket list (or in our case, a bucket list jar!) Each kid gets to request a few places they absolutely want to go during the summer and writes those places each on a slip of paper and puts it in the jar. (I typically preview what they write to make sure they are feasible!) Our list usually includes things like the science museum, Nerdvana, Snowy Fun, Dave and Buster’s, Strikz, an escape room, VR game room, waterpark, Bahama Bucks, the videogame museum, the movies, etc. Then we figure out when is a good time to work each one in between camps and vacation days and make sure we include everyone’s choices. (Insider tip for those local to Frisco….Strikz participates in the Kids Bowl Free program AND has half priced games on Tuesdays.  Dave and Buster’s has half-priced games on Wednesdays. Chuck E Cheese had a summer membership last summer that saved a lot of money on games and food!  Gathering those bucket list ideas early allows you the time to look online to find those special days with discounts!)
16. Decorate with streamers/balloons for when they come home from school. (If you’re feeling especially brave and have young kids, you can get some noisemakers and let Alexa blast some party music to dance along to.)
17. If you have a child who is a reluctant learner, make sure to find time to let them know one-on-one how proud you are of them for persevering. Remind them of all they have accomplished and let them know how hard you know they have worked. (Writing a letter for them to find in their room would be great too if you think they would be more comfortable with that!)
18. Cook their favorite snacks, favorite dinner, favorite dessert, etc. and just enjoy getting to be at home together with no where you have to be! (But take that picture first!)
19. Literally anything that lets your kids know how proud you are of them for finishing the school year and how loved they are. It can be as big or as small as you like.  And it can look different for different kids.  (I can almost guarantee my sons will want to unwind playing some video games online with their friends at some point while my daughters and I give each other pedicures. And that’s ok too!  (Plus, my toes will look extra fancy when we meet friends at the pool later!)
20. Don’t forget to congratulate yourself for a job well done too! School prep can be so stressful and it’s nice to acknowledge and celebrate all you accomplished as a parent to support your children throughout the year!

There are tons of online resources and websites with ideas.  If that would be helpful, go for it!  If that would add stress, try out some of the practical ideas above! But whatever you decide to do, don’t forget to buy and pack the sunscreen if it’s an activity outside!  Sunburn is no way to start the summer! But whatever you do, take time to honor the wonderful, quirky, funny, silly, clever children God chose to be yours. Your words matter so much as they grow and learn to navigate life on their own, and finishing another school year is worth congratulating.  Happy celebrating!