This idea may already be posted, but I searched this site and found an idea for a "Red Carpet" theme. It was GREAT! The teachers LOVED it!! They loved the movie trivia and we did "future stars" with their baby pictures, which was also a contest. We got movie/award night decorations from Party 1 and we were able to reuse them for our Talent Show.

They really seemed to appreciate the fun and excitement. At the end of the year they deserve that.

A great idea that our school used was "The Mad Hatter Tea Party" We used all sorts of crazy hats as decortations. The food that was put together were various salads and finger sandwiches. For dessert we did a chocolat fountain. That went over like gangbusters. The teachers thought it was amazing.

Luncheon ideas. Each year we offer a different theme. Decorations in the teacher's lounge to coordinate with theme. Ideas: mexican (tacos, nachos/salsa) hawaiian, All American (hot dogs/hamburgs/apple pie) pot luck (little bit of everything). We send out to all students (not just pto members) a notice asking for assistance with cooking, set-up and clean-up. Let them know what the theme is. I don't know how big a school you are dealing with but you shouldn't try to do it all yourself. Good luck.

We held our Staff Appreciation luncheon yesterday and it turned out quite nicely. We provided a buffet for a staff of roughly 150 at our high school. Lunch was 3 "waves" of 45 minutes each. Theme: "Around the World ... in 45 minutes". I made up invitations that looked like a Passport -- down to some fake passport stamps inside indicating prior travels abroad. The invitations were a great deal of work for me but the staff really loved the cute idea so I guess it was worth the time invested (not according to my husband however.... ). As for the food part -- we e-mailed/called our volunteers (collected from an general interest list via PTC applications last fall)and asked them to provide some type of food that would showcase their cultural heritage or regional background. We live in the Northeast where there are diverse ethnic groups plus folks in transition due to work/school assignments. Truly a melting pot. I asked for Appetizer/Salads, Entrees and Desserts. We would take whatever they wished to offer in those categories. We would provide the paper products, disposable silverware and tablecloths, beverages (bottles water, iced tea, lemonade, punch) and decorations which included small colorful potted flower on each table (given away later via drawing of names out of a hat). I requested that foods be donated in disposable containers along with disposable serving utensils -- if at all possible. This would cut down on hassles (for me) of returning numerous trays and containers/utensils after the luncheon. I also asked contributors to let me know in advance what they were providing plus what country/region it was from so that I could provide crockpots, rice cookers and party chafing dishes with sterno to keep foods hot -- if need be. I also made up small placecards to be position near the foods to indicate where the item was from (i.e. Cuisine from Greece, Cuisine from The South). People really got into this theme! We received foods from Scotland, Ireland, China, India, USA (The South, The Midwest, New England), Italy, Armenia, Lebanon, Greece, Poland, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Armenia, Germany and France!!!! Some hot, some cold -- preferably cold. I requested that each volunteer make enough for at least 24 people. That way we would have a reasonable amount to serve and could subdivide whatever came "in" into 3 groups to cover all lunch waves.

We had several volunteers who came in to help plus some who stayed to help after dropping off their food that morning. Sufficient help -- which is usually lacking in a public high school! The volunteers kept things "freshened" and flowing plus did a great job helping with storage of leftovers and with cleanup. I was able to access the hugh cooler in the cafeteria to chill items that we received plus we utilized the cafeteria's warming unit to keep foods warm before placement in the chafing containers on the serving tables.

The staff got their food from the buffet and then enjoyed each others company at the numerous tables in the Staff Dining Room/Lounge. They raved about the variety of delicious foods and desserts and lingered pretty much the entire lunch wave.

This was a good idea. Initially I was a little concerned about having enough for such a large crowd plus adequate "meat and potatoes" items to feed the male staff members. I augmented the buffet with orders of a large tray of chicken and stirfry vegetables w/rice from a local Chinese restaurant and a large tray of Chicken Tikka Masala and Basmati Rice from a local Indian restaurant. Ordering was a little pricey but I felt more confident about having enough substantial food for the crowd. Things worked out well and I came under the budget of $800 dollars.

I would recommend doing this theme if you can "tap" into the ethnic or regional pride of your contributors. If they indicate that they have "no background" to speak of then I would make some suggestions for simple foods to contribute or even dishes that are family favorites. Good old Macaroni and Cheese is a comfort food and will go a long way, too!

Hi, I have chaired a simular event for 4 years and the following were my themes.

What would we do without EWE and we gave each teacher a sheep served chicken salad sandwhich, broc. salad and fruit with strawberry short cake for desert.

The next year was you are the heart and soul. We served heart shaped ravioli and sautee'd shrimp on a bed of wilted spinach. Strawberry short cake has become our tradition. We gave them tapistry heart shaped boxes with homemade cookies (heart shaped of coarse)

You are our stars was a evening event we made a DVD of the girls and staff and put voice overs on the DVD so the girls were talking and the Chior was singing. We rented a red carpet and took their pictures as they came in like in hollywood. Served Rosemarry crusted pork tenderlion red skinned potoes and greenbeans with olive oil and garlic.
Strawberry short cake

Last year was Tanks a million and we served Crab cakes over a bed of baby greens with par cooked asparigus. Strawberry short cake;

we also collect gifts to raffle off and and this year we had fish on the table so we had a sticker on one chair and the lucky person took home the fish.

If you have any other Ideas I'm stumped for this year.

Hi, I have chaired a simular event for 4 years and the following were my themes.

What would we do without EWE and we gave each teacher a sheep served chicken salad sandwhich, broc. salad and fruit with strawberry short cake for desert.

The next year was you are the heart and soul. We served heart shaped ravioli and sautee'd shrimp on a bed of wilted spinach. Strawberry short cake has become our tradition. We gave them tapistry heart shaped boxes with homemade cookies (heart shaped of coarse)

You are our stars was a evening event we made a DVD of the girls and staff and put voice overs on the DVD so the girls were talking and the Chior was singing. We rented a red carpet and took their pictures as they came in like in hollywood. Served Rosemarry crusted pork tenderlion red skinned potoes and greenbeans with olive oil and garlic.
Strawberry short cake

Last year was Tanks a million and we served Crab cakes over a bed of baby greens with par cooked asparigus. Strawberry short cake;

we also collect gifts to raffle off and and this year we had fish on the table so we had a sticker on one chair and the lucky person took home the fish.

If you have any other Ideas I'm stumped for this year.