How to Decorate for a Soldier's Homecoming
Returning home after a deployment is a joyous occasion for a solider and his family. In preparation for the return of a loved one, many families organize a homecoming celebration with close friends and family in the form of a reunion party. Even if you keep your homecoming more intimate, decorations are a festive way to set the stage for a celebration that welcomes home your soldier after months away from the comforts of home.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Washable window markers
- White butcher paper
- Tape
- Washable markers
- Yellow ribbons
- American flags
- Cotton string
- Thin rope
- Polaroid or digital camera with printer
- Cardboard alphabet letters
- Clothespins
- Red, white and blue balloons and streamers
Instructions
-
-
1
Request permission from your town mayor or city council to hang a welcome banner from a public overpass or on the side of a public roadway. Choose a road that your soldier will travel on to reach home so that you ensure she will see the banner.
-
2
Coordinate with the local elementary school to create the town welcome banner. If you have children, ask their teachers if their class could leave messages on the banner or help create the banner as a class project.
-
-
3
Construct the public welcome banner from a sheet of white butcher paper. Provide the banner makers with washable markers, the soldier's name and class and ideas for a welcome message. Messages might include, "Welcome Home" or "We Missed You." Hang the banner from the approved roadway with string or rope threaded through holes punches and reinforced on the banner's corners.
-
4
Line your front lawn and walkway with small American flags. Distribute flags to your neighbors and invite them to decorate their lawns as well.
-
5
Provide each of your neighbors with a large yellow ribbon. Ask them to secure it to a tree in their lawn or their mailbox on the day of the homecoming.
-
6
Write a welcome message on your front windows with washable window markers. If you have children, ask them to draw pictures with the markers that reflect how they feel about their returning family member.
-
7
Create a personalized pictorial welcome sign with photographs. Take pictures with a Polaroid or digital camera with printing capabilities of family members holding individual alphabet letters that spell out a welcome message like, "We Missed Our Daddy" or "Welcome Back, John." Suspend a piece of string from one corner of the room to the other and clip the pictures onto the string with clothespins so that they spell out the welcome message.
-
8
Cover one wall of the soldier's room with white butcher paper. Invite guests to leave a welcome home message on the paper in red or blue marker.
-
9
Secure clusters of red, white and blue helium balloons to chairs, stair banisters, fireplace mantels and outdoor deck railings.
-
10
Decorate a special "Hero's Chair" with red, white and blue streamers. Wrap the chair so it's completely covered and invite the soldier to use the chair throughout the event.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you don't want to use butcher paper for a public banner, call a local sign company and ask them if they'd be interested in donating a banner for the homecoming.
Wait to hang the banner until the day of the homecoming to reduce the risk that it may be damaged from weather.
If you can't find window markers, create your own washable window paints by mixing a teaspoon of dish soap into regular, washable tempera paints.
Though returning home can be exciting, some soldiers may be overwhelmed by a large, formal welcome party. Consider your soldier's preferences when deciding between a larger or more intimate gathering. One option is to keep the initial welcome small and host a larger event when the soldier has become more acclimated to civilian life.
References
- Photo Credit Thinkstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
