I like to dress up my goose. One day, I found an outfit that is just like The Magic School Bus featuring Lily Tomlin as the red-headed, wild-haired school teacher. Haha, it is so cute and creates so much interest! And then I find you can even dress up your goose like a favorite character design and show it off to your classmates.
For me, that simple spark of creative inspiration completely transformed how I welcome the back to school season. If you have been following my decorating journey, you know I absolutely love turning my home and desk into a living storybook. This year, with the back2school energy in the air, I decided to go all out. I wanted to design a cheerful trail of decorations that would welcome both our returning educators and students with a massive smile, taking everyone on a little visual journey from my front porch straight into the study.
How a Wild-Haired Goose Started It All
My styling adventure started right on my front porch with my trusted 23-inch standard porch goose. To bring that nostalgic, magic school bus vision to life, I gave her a complete dress up teacher makeover. I styled her with:
- 1 vibrant orange wig (perfectly mimicking that wild, iconic Lily Tomlin hair)
- 1 space-themed skirt covered in tiny planets
- 1 miniature yellow school bus ornament dangling playfully from her beak
Keeping my porch goose dressed for different seasons has really made her a neighborhood favorite. Around this time of year, she gets even more attention, especially from the kids walking by. Kids on their way to school point at her and get excited, and it adds a playful, cheerful touch that people genuinely enjoy. Some parents even snap photos during their morning walks to text to their friends as a funny welcome back teacher greeting!
Bringing the Magic Inside: The Miniature Desk Mascot
Seeing how much joy she brought to our street, I knew I had to scale down some of that magic for indoor spaces. If you are looking to support a teacher new trying to break the ice with a room full of quiet, nervous kids on the first day, or if you simply want to bring a bit of joy to your own workspace, introducing a desk companion is a brilliant move. That is how I ended up setting up a 7-inch desk goose.
This adorable desk companion sits on a workspace daily, donning different desk goose outfits. For the busy student back rush, I styled her in a classic pencil goose outfit. Her look came with:
- Matching pencil-shaped and apple-shaped hats
- A tiny wooden pencil tucked under her wing
- A schoolhouse-patterned dress
I actually gifted this setup to a local educator, and she told me: “This desk goose is adorable! I’m a teacher and it sits on my desk daily, donning different outfits. The kids love it and so do I!” It instantly became the perfect conversation starter and one of the best back to school gifts in her classroom. Before I knew it, other colleagues were dropping by her desk to search for a teacher outfit theme for their own workspaces, hoping to bring that same warmth to school.
The Giant Scholar on the Front Lawn
Of course, every great “teacher” goose needs a star student. Back on my front lawn, right next to our Ms. Frizzle porch goose, I decided to give her the ultimate classmate: a towering 12 ft Skeleton Outfits display.
I wanted to turn this giant back to school skeleton into the world’s most dramatic dress up student. We dressed him in a hilarious student outfit pack:
- A custom-sewn, oversized Back-to-School T-Shirt
- A bright Red Hat stretched over his bony skull
- A vibrant Red Backpack strapped securely to his ribcage
- An inflatable, 4-foot Pencil Balloon clutched in his giant hand
He looked exactly like a giant, goofy student new who was running slightly late for homeroom! When educators drove past our yard during their busy teacher back preparation week, they couldn’t stop laughing and honking. On the actual first day of school, parents and their excited welcome back kid queued up on our sidewalk just to grab a photo next to our giant scholar. It truly became a local landmark, prompting other families to search for a student style setup or look for funny props to decorate their own lawns.
Recreating the Look-by-Look Setups
Decoration Type | Character Role & Setup | What’s Included in the Outfit |
7-Inch Desk Goose | The Classroom Mascot (An amazing back to school gifts idea) | desk goose outfits: matching pencil-shaped and apple-shaped hats, miniature pencils, and tiny outfits |
23-Inch Standard Porch Goose | The Neighborhood “Ms. Frizzle” Teacher Goose | 1 orange wig, 1 space skirt, and 1 school bus ornament |
12 Ft Giant Skeleton | The Comical, Giant student new | back to school Costume: Red Hat, Red Backpack, Back-to-School T-Shirt, and 1 inflatable Pencil Balloon |
Start Your Own Back-to-School Decor
Whether you are dressing up a tiny back-to-school goose for your home office or standing a colossal skeleton on your front lawn, adding these creative touches proves that starting a new school year is always better when shared with a smile.
And if you don’t own your own goose yet, why not start with a very cute 7-inch desk goose? You can find it on Amazon.
“Life is too short for ugly objects.”
With an eye for aesthetics and atmosphere, Joy ensures that our finds aren’t just useful—they look good, too. A lover of interior design, she hunts for items that elevate your space and mood.
More about Porch Goose
