This post contains everything you ever wanted to know about the "Blast Off Breakfast" I planned for my daughter's school.
If you are in the "What did I get myself in to?! I AM FREAKING OUT!" stage and are looking for step-by-step instructions on how to coordinate a breakfast for your school, don't worry. I've got you covered. Our post, "How To Plan a Breakfast for your School," will walk you through the entire process. Be sure to download our free planning guide too!
Stellar Smoothies + Rocket Fuel
I included drink orders with the “Blast Off Breakfast!” invitation, and asked that the teachers and staff return them the Thursday before Appreciation Week. They had the choice of a Stellar Smoothie or Rocket Fuel (a drink from Starbucks).
The drink order forms were printed on letter sized sticker paper and cut apart. It is so much easier than trying to align them on shipping labels. Shipping labels always shift on me during printing and make me nuts. Trust me on this.
MONEY SAVING TIP: Purchasing lattes for the entire staff is a huge portion of the Hospitality Committee budget each year. This year, about a month before Appreciation Week, Starbucks offered a $5 for $10 gift card Groupon. I couldn’t have timed it better if I’d tried! Each person was limited to one Groupon, so I sent an email to the entire Hospitality Committee and asked them to please purchase a Groupon and email me the certificate. (I reimbursed them out of my budget.) I was able to reduce my expenses by about $100 this year using Groupons!
Coffee Logisitics
The day before our breakfast, I took 1/2 the orders to the Starbucks about a mile away, and 1/2 to the other Starbucks a mile the other way. (Remember, I live in Seattle. We’re surrounded.) I pre-paid for all of the drinks to make pick up easy for the 4 parents picking up the 40 lattes the next morning. The baristas loved the sticker labels. They quickly and easily made the pre-ordered drinks and attached the labels. The drinks and breakfast were waiting for the teachers/staff at 7:50am. I wanted them to have time to enjoy their breakfast before school started.
NEW! The pre-ordering/sticker label system works really well as long as you have enough volunteers willing to pick up your drink orders. Have you been to Starbucks at 7:30am? It is CRAZINESS. In later years, instead of picking up coffee, we had the coffee come to us. Be sure to read our post, "How To Plan a Coffee Cart for Your School." Coffee carts are the way to go, and if you structure it correctly, the cost of the cart won't even come out of your budget. You may even make money!
I even created "Rocket Fuel" Coffee Bar printables for those of you just wanting to do a coffee bar instead of an entire breakfast. It works for coffee carts and coffee pick-up alike, although I highly recommend going the coffee cart route.
Breakfast
I sent a survey to the staff after Appreciation Week last year to collect feedback while everything was fresh in their minds. One item consistently mentioned was hot dishes. Done and done! In addition to the normal pastries, fresh fruit, Kind Bars, yogurt and drinks, we added hot dishes. Bless those sweet parents who got up at the crack of dawn to prepare casseroles. I can barely “cook” toaster waffles and get my girls out the door on time for school, let alone at 7:30am.
The parent volunteers brought in a delicious selection of breakfast foods. As for the smoothies, those are expensive to buy pre-made, so I bought frozen smoothie packets from Costco. I simply added milk, blended, and voila… Stellar Smoothies!
REMINDER: Take food allergies into consideration. Breakfast generally consists of pastries, donuts, and more pastries (maybe some fresh fruit if you are feeling healthy). I include an allergy section on the lunch questionnaire each year about food allergies and make sure there is something for all of the staff members. It changes each year, but there are usually a few with gluten and dairy sensitivities.
It's Your Turn!
Our "Blast Off Breakfast" printables are available for purchase here.
Blast Off!
This is just one event from our "Out of This World!" space-themed Appreciation Week. You can read about the other days and activities below.
How to Plan the Ultimate Space-Themed Appreciation Week
Supersonic Snacks
Interstellar Lunch
Galactic Goodies
Supernova Surprise
Space Capsule Lunches
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