A Back to School Dinner

I've been inspired over the years from Nie Nie's Back to School Feasts.
I've always thought it was a great idea, but it always felt like too much work,
1 more thing to-do, and a tradition for her family, but not for ours.

To explain: before her kids start a new school year, Nie Nie's family has a nice meal, they give the school year a theme from the scriptures, give each each child a small gift (often something that has the school year theme on it), their father gives each child a father's blessing, and sometimes they'll do a fashion show with some of their new school clothes.

This school year, I was feeling impressed that this might be a good tradition to try for our family.

The Menu:
-Salmon (Bake for about 15-20 min at 350, season each piece of salmon w/ olive oil, dab of lemon juice, sprinkled w/ brown sugar, and a dash of salt & pepper. Easy and delicious every time.)
-Corn on the Cob
-Rice
-Crescent Rolls (My kids love them!)
-Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Juice
-Homemade apple pie with Homemade Ice Cream (Supper Yummy, the best part)

The Theme:
Lead from -2 Ne 21:16 ". . . a little child shall lead them"
(I'll keep this theme on our fridge to remind our family of it throughout the school year.)

I noticed there are some cute ideas about Leading from the September, Friend Magazine, p.24-25

The Back to School Gift:
A mini clipboard for each child.

The dinner went great, it was a huge hit. I was surprised.
The kids had so much nervous energy and excitement
that it was fun to do this dinner to give us a good activity to lead up to the first day of school.
We shared the family theme with them, before we ate at the dinner table.
Chris shared a couple quick thoughts of how he wants our kids to be good leaders this year.
We spent just a couple minutes on it, not too long.

It was a fun night together, and I would love to try it again, and make it a tradition.
I think you could do this anytime for your family in the month of September, or even as a FHE lesson.