How to Decorate a School Locker for a Birthday

How to Decorate a School Locker for a Birthday.

Decorating a friend's locker for their birthday has been a tradition throughout US high schools for years - it's a fun and creative way to share memories with them and show them you care! And once you help decorate someone's locker, you can expect them to do the same for you!



Steps.

1. Ask your school about rules for locker decorating. You wouldn't want to start decorating just to find out that it's forbidden. Are you only allowed to decorate the outside of your friend's locker? Only the inside? Find out about all rules so that you can't get into trouble.

2. Make sure you've got the right locker number and the right day. These would be big mistakes if these were not correct.

3. Discuss the plan with some other friends. You could do this by yourself, but the more the merrier! Plan out when you will decorate the locker,(before school, between classes, etc.) and what supplies you will need.

4. Meet at the allotted time, and start your decorating. This would probably after or before school.

5. Cover the locker with wrapping paper! Add ribbons, pictures and other things you know your friend likes! Be sure to use bright happy wrapping paper because remember, it's their special day! Also don't forget tape.

6. Decide if you want to be at the locker when your friend arrives. Just remember that if you aren't there, it will keep the friend in suspense as to who decorated the locker. If you are at the locker, the surprise might be ruined, because your friend will see the crowd.

7. Make signs on your computer and print them out.

8. Tape candy to their locker (or leave it on the floor next to their locker).

9. Make a lot so that your friends locker is almost completely covered. You might also want to just put colorful sticky notes on it for brightness.

10. When your friend comes by, try to act as natural as you could. When your friend opens their locker, hopefully they will be happy.



Question : What should I get for the candy?

Answer : Whatever your friend likes or whatever you feel like. I like hard candies since they are easier to tape, but even gummy candy (in a packet) would do. I'd stay away from chocolate bars, as the chocolate would melt, and I'd also avoid big packets of candy as they can be too heavy for the tape to hold. Either way, just make sure to put something your friend likes.

Question : If my friend's birthday is over the weekend, should I decorate their locker on Friday or Monday?

Answer : On Friday. If they won't see it until Monday, just make sure you don't put anything inside that will rot.

Question : What if you have very few things to put on her locker and you can't buy them in time?

Answer : Decorate the locker using creativity. Draw or paint a sign. Paint and cut out a grenade and write "You're the bomb!" Look around your house to see if theere are some leftover balloons or crepe paper from a party. If not, use paint, glue, and paper to make a paper-ring garland or fringe. Use sticky notes in different colors with fun sayings on them.

Question : Could I put in a present? If so, what?

Answer : Yes. You can put a present in the locker. You should get something that the person likes and you think they will enjoy.

Question : What do I do if there are punks at my school who will eat the candy off the locker? Should I put the candy inside the locker?

Answer : I would just put the candy inside the locker or give it to your friend in person if you really want to give them candy. Otherwise you'd have to stand guard at the locker to make sure no jerks steal it.

Question : What things should I put on a tomboy's locker?

Answer : A good thing would be boyish stickers, like Xbox controllers or other things they like. You could also put candy they like too. Just make it simple!

Question : Could I use magnets to hang up banners in their locker?

Answer : Yes, of course! You could also use painter's tape or Scotch tape.

Question : I'm decorating my friends locker, but I have absolutely no idea on what to do. What should I decorate with?

Answer : Perhaps you could make origami flowers and stick them to the locker, or use some of the ideas in the article.

Question : How long does it usually take to decorate a friend's locker?

Answer : It depends on how intricate your decorations are, but I would expect that it would take between 15 and 30 minutes.

Question : What if I don't come in early enough to decorate their locker?

Answer : You could try coming earlier, or if that is not possible, just make a card or prepare a gift to give to them, they will appreciate it just as much. You could also get another friend to help you. You could prepare decorations and then give them to the other person to do the actual decorating.



Tips.

If you want, make the decorations sweeter by attaching candy; everyone loves getting candy on their birthday! Just make sure it doesn't get stolen by someone other than the intended recipient.

Hang streamers from the top of the locker, so that they hang down and blow around when people walk by.

If your friend likes candy, tape a couple pieces on the outside (or inside if you think people at your school would help themselves!)

Put a note through the locker vents that says "Happy Birthday from (names here)" or something along those lines.

Only use this if you know the friend VERY well: If his/her locker has a lock, you can wait for them when they come to get their stuff. You can put tape or something so it will stay open, then you can decorate the inside. Make sure they will only be happy, not scared that you stole stuff, and do not try to steal their combination!

You might also be able to get away with tying the ribbon of a balloon around the shackle (upside-down U shaped part) of the lock. That way it can be easily slipped off. Just make sure to have a weight available for the balloon after that, or tie it around the birthday girl/boy's wrist or something.

Try to stick everything onto a single piece of wrapping paper if you are doing a lot of attachments. That way it will be easier to remove without wrecking anything.

Ask your principal if they can announce your friends birthday on the announcements.

Putting up streamers, etc is probably fine, but make sure you know your school's rules about more showy decorations like flowers and balloons. This won't be fun for anyone if you get in trouble for it. Also some schools don't let you have decorations up for a long period of time, so make sure there's nothing that you wouldn't want to be thrown away.

Use masking tape stuck to the door of the locker to spell out HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Or, you could write a message on a blank paper and tape that to the locker.



Warnings.

Be sure to take notice of what your friend says in the few days before their birthday. If they drop hints that they'd rather not have their locker decorated, then back off. But if they let slip that a decorated locker would be a great surprise, go for it!

Double-check that you have the right locker! The worst case scenario is to decorate Molly's locker with Happy Birthday Samantha!! Not good!

Make sure to decorate the locker quickly! You don't want your friend to show up while you are still decorating the locker! That'll pop the fun!

Sometimes people may rip things off of the locker, so don't be surprised to see the locker messed up! Your friend will still love it that someone (you) decorated it.

Make sure you can have things on the outside of the locker because your teachers may get mad (and possibly send you and/or your buddy to the principal). If you can't, do something on the inside like slip a note through the little vent.

Don't write on your friend's locker with markers or tools. School custodians may not appreciate this.

When you tape things to your friend's locker, be sure to not get anything on other people's nearby lockers. They might not be so appreciative of the decorating.

If you decide to decorate the locker during a spare class, do it quietly. There are other classes in session, and you don't want to get in trouble for being noisy.

Some people might get angry if they have summer birthdays, they might feel left out.

Make sure the items aren't blowing or going into somebody else's locker space. If it does they could rip all your hard work down.

Make sure that your school allows this! Some schools have very strict rules, and breaking them could get you into serious trouble. If your not sure, ask a teacher, not an older student, rules can be changed. If your not sure, don't do it, no matter how much you want to. Your friend will understand. Better safe than sorry.

Things You'll Need.

Balloons, Crepe paper streamers, Scotch tape, Masking tape, Paper, markers, candy, ribbons and bows (for girls), Things the person likes, Friends to discuss ideas with.