Back-to-school supply party

August 21, 2009

According to various news reports, more families this year are looking for ways to save money on back-to-school supplies because of the weakened economy.

Though it may not seem obvious at first, this is a great opportunity to have a school supply swap party with some of your close friends and their kids.

First, send out party invitations and tell each family that they are to buy one school supple item, but enough for everyone at the party. For example, if there are seven people that are going to a party, one person would buy seven notebooks, while another would buy seven boxes of pens and pencils.

It may be a good idea to put a cap on the amount of money spent for each item. This way it should be fair to everyone. Also, be sure to be specific with the school supply item the person has to buy to avoid duplicates.

Once everyone arrives, pile up all the supplies and have everyone walk down and take one of each. Consider getting some personalized party bags for everyone to carry everything home.