First-Day-of-School Shirts
Order first-day-of-school shirts and a staff kickoff tee before your district's start date. No minimums, kids and staff ship together.
Unlike a pep rally or a spirit week announced with two weeks' notice, the first day of school sits on the calendar for months before it happens. That's the advantage: there's no reason to be ordering shirts the week before, because you've known the date since spring. Part of Custom Apparel by Occasion.
First-day outfits for kids
A Youth Tee ($19.99) or Youth Hoodie ($37.99) turns the first-day photo into something worth keeping. On the front, print:
- the grade,
- the homeroom, or
- "First Day of [Grade]!"
Gildan sizing runs true to size and a little roomy through the body, so if a kid is between sizes, sizing up is usually the safer call. Colors run Navy, Red, Royal, Black, White, Sport Gray, Forest Green, Gold, Maroon, Purple, Orange, Carolina Blue and Kelly Green, though not every garment carries every one - match whatever the school already uses, and the color guide says which garment has it.
A kickoff shirt for the staff
Week one is also the only time all year the whole staff is back together before students arrive. A matching Adult Tee ($14.38) for the kickoff meeting, or a Polo ($25.63) for anyone stationed at drop-off, puts the team in one look without a separate order or a separate vendor. This is a single kickoff shirt for the start of the year - for the appreciation-week gift later on, see Teacher Appreciation Gifts and Staff Shirts.
Order sometime in summer, done
Because the start date doesn't move, there's no tight countdown to manage - just don't wait until the last week of summer, since that's when everyone else finally orders too. Any point from early summer through a few weeks out gives plenty of room to try a design, ask for tweaks, and get it approved before drop-off.
There's no minimum order: one shirt for one kid is a full order, and a whole grade or a whole staff ordering together is just as easy, with youth and adult sizes shipping in a single checkout.
How it works
- Describe the design in plain English, or upload the school's logo.
- Ask for changes until it's right - designing is free.
- Pay once at checkout.
Everything is printed to order by US partners and ships with tracking, so nothing sits in a warehouse waiting on a school year that hasn't started yet. Custom prints can't be returned for a size picked wrong, but if a shirt arrives misprinted or defective, send a photo within 30 days and it gets reprinted or refunded.
Design your first-day shirts now →
Need the full rundown on youth and adult size runs for a whole class? See Custom School Shirts and Spirit Wear, or browse the full school spirit wear guide.