Let’s Celebrate With a Back To School Book Exchange!

July is coming to an end.  Summer reading logs will soon be due.  And it’s been awhile since the kids have seen their classmates.  

So why not host a book exchange?  

The concept makes a great party – no birthday required – that will let them connect with their friends and keep them reading.

Ask each of your young guests to bring five used books. This is a great way to clean out your shelves and bring in something new to read. Make sure you tell attendees to bring grade/age appropriate books to match the reading level of your guests.

Preparing for this party should be fairly easily. Think primary school and primary colors. Balloons, streamers and a bag of red delicious apples will make for great inexpensive decorations.  

Fill a large bowl with apples to create a tabletop centerpiece.  Single apples can be turned into adorable table cards by opening a large paperclip and pushing it in at the center of the apple.  Cut a blank index card in half (or recycled business cards) and insert it into the other end of the paper clip and voila, you’ve got a simple, functional decoration. Create signs for “Fiction”, "Non-Fiction,” “Literature” etc. to keep with the school theme.

You’ll need to set up a large table to accommodate the incoming books. Break out the leaves for your dining room table for extra length and cover it with a solid-colored sheet.  Have TV trays ready for overflow.  As your guests come in, have them display their books.

Tell the kids don’t touch those books just yet.  First, it’s time for the bookmark-making station.

Before the party, cut 8½x11 sheets of decorative scrapbook or construction paper into 2” strips. You’ll get about 5 bookmarks per sheet of paper. Figure five bookmarks for each child – one for each book.  You’ll want to make a little bit extra in case of mistakes. Using a round hole punch, punch a hole in the bottom of each strip about 1/3 of an inch from the end. Supply the kids with glitter, rubber stamps, markers, stickers and other embellishments to decorate the bookmarks. Let them have fun with it.

For tassels, pre-cut 6-inch lengths of yard, braided embroidery floss or ribbon. Let the kids select their own colors or materials to match their design. Help them attach the tassel by creating a slip-not through the bookmark. Fold the ribbon in half and slip the loop through the hole in the bookmark. Insert the opposite ends through the loop and pull until snug.  No tying, gluing or mess required. The kids can further personalize their bookmarks by stringing the tassel ribbons with a few decorative beads. Just make sure to tie a knot in the end of the ribbon.

For the party menu itself, again keep it simple. Use the traditional lunchbox menu with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apple slices, goldfish crackers, string cheese etc. For those with peanut butter allergies, substitute the sandwiches for a cheese or pepperoni pizza. Serve with juice boxes or pints of milk. Instead of a cake for dessert, use decorated cookies or cupcakes.

Now it’s time to go “shopping.”  Each kid picks out five books and sticks his or her new bookmarks in them to claim them.

For party activities, you might just want to declare recess. Let the kids burn off some energy with a game of dodge ball, a relay race or even a backyard game of hide and seek. Keep a movie on hand in case of rain. You might want to show Sky High, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone or even Ferris Bueller’s Day off to keep in with the school theme.

Party favors shouldn’t be required, but if you feel like you must, make them functional. At this time of year, all the school supplies are going on sale. Send your guests home with a “brown bag lunch” decorated with the child’s name and filled with whatever “loss leader” or “buy one get ones” you can find - crayons, pencils, markers, fun erasers, note pads, glue sticks, stickers etc.

At the party’s end, everyone will have a set of “new” books and a bookmark to match. You’ll be sending them home with some new adventures to read and a head-start on their back to school supplies! Their parents will thank you for it.