Moving Away Ideas

You are about to move away and your kids want to say goodbye (one last time!) to their friends! How to organize? Here are some ideas to help plan the big party….one thing to note, the tone of the party will depend on the age of the child. Older kids may be excited, but also nervous about the move…if you have a teenager, they probably have a lot of angst about the move. When planning your kids’ moving away party, be prepared for the range of emotions that may occur!

Some good themes may be:

Arts & Crafts Party: Have the kids do some scrapbooking to put together memories of their times together. Or, if your kid is moving states or countries, crafts can revolve around things that make your current area special and memorable. Using these items/places to make crafts would also be fun at a moving away party.

Destination Party: Where is the party kid moving to? It may be fun to put a destination party together to let your kids’ friends learn a bit about the place you ar moving to and also to further excite your own child as to her new home!

Have the guests bring send-off gifts for the party kid. These can all be related to a trip/travel theme, i.e. a map, compass, books, blank journals, etc.

Provide fun, cool postcards for the kids to be able to write their contact information on for the party kid to be able to keep in touch. Given the current media age we live in, they probably have all of their techy contact information, and so the novelty of a writing a snail mail address on an actual postcard will be fun.

Have disposable and/or a digital camera on hand so that the kids can capture all of the party memories together. It will be meaningful for the party kid when he is in his new spot and the digital will allow er to share them with all of her friends when she misses them. Also, if you have a video camera, you can go around the party asking all of the guests to give well wishes to the party kid who is moving away.

Given this is a moving away party, balloons and streamers most likely won’t be necessary. Instead decorate with destination pictures of where you are moving to, with “Goodbye and Good Luck” signs, blown up pictures of past good times with friends, etc.

Any type of food will do! Ask your party kid what their favorite foods are, and enjoy them at the party. Teens most likely will appreciate pizza or a taco bar or a traditional grill out if weather permits. Another little fun idea is to have a “Desserting Us” buffet of desserts. Have ice cream sundaes, cake, cupcakes, fruit, etc.

Betty Crocker’s Website has a great Bon Voyage Get Together Party Plan with cute party and menu ideas. Have a look! The featured Sail Boat Cake, will truly send your kid off in style: