Tea parties are becoming very popular, very fast. I like the idea of serving muffins and tea. Entertainment of some sort -something soothing, like a choir or violins, fits in to this little picture I'm building in my head. An information table with flyers (you can get the color flyers for 100 ways for parents to be involved or any other topic of interest) plus any of your membership materials-calendar, handbook etc. Maybe some games.

We have a PTO tent on the first day of school. We serve lemonade (and this year we will be adding muffins) to the parents and kids. We will also have a table to distribute t-shirts for those who preordered, smart cards and answering any questions. We are not charging a PTO membership fee this year so all PTO notebooks will go home through the classroom so we make sure everyone gets one. It is just a way to say welcome without too much work.

Krisann

I don't know if this is exactly what you're looking for but our Parents' Club does a New Parents' Luncheon the day before school starts. At this luncheon, we have lots of speakers who speak very briefly about some aspect of the school. We include everything from introductions of key people to bits of info regarding everything from the school uniform to the lunch program. Of course, this wouldn't apply to anyone but new parents but I think it was very successful last year.
Shelly

I am the new president this year and was looking for new ideas for our welcome tea. Any Suggestions??????