Cost:
$5-10 per guest; paid for through PTA/PTO funds.

Description:
Invite the staff and teachers to a luncheon in the middle of a school day to show you care.
Send printed invitations to the teachers and staff inviting them to come to a luncheon and be sure to give the teachers sufficient time to be able to plan on attending.
When you know how many people will come, purchase simple favors to be left on or near their plates at the luncheon. They can be as simple as pretty soaps, nice candies or a cut flower. You can also enlist the help of an art class to help make fun, creative place cards.

Preparation:
Parent volunteers prepare and donate side dishes to be brought to a central location on the morning of the luncheon. Have a parent volunteer purchase a whole ham or turkey cooked, and possibly sliced, to the luncheon. Reimburse the person for the cost of the ham or turkey.
Request that volunteer parents be at the luncheon to set up, serve, and clean up. Ask those parents who will not otherwise participate in the luncheon itself to volunteer to watch the students.
Offer parents the chance to carpool the teachers to the luncheon if itÆs not within walking distance or held at school. It could be somewhere private at school, in a conference room, at a church hall, or at a private home with adequate space for the guests.

Other comments or suggestions:
Plan to have enough serving utensils.
A luncheon closer to the school means less ôsubstituteö time.
Substitutes should clearly understand the rules of the school both in the classroom and on the playground.