Whether your child is graduating from high school or college, throwing a graduation party is a great way to celebrate their achievement. Graduation parties are interesting events to plan because they usually mix together your child’s friends as well as your family. To plan a memorable graduation party to celebrate your child’s big achievement, keep the following tips in mind.
Plan Around School Colors
Having a central color theme can make decorating for a graduation party a lot easier. Most schools have two to three school colors, so you should try to plan around those. If there are only two colors, you can always add black or white to round it out to an even three. You can use these colors for everything from napkins to table runners to balloons, and by choosing the colors beforehand you can be sure everything will match. You can accent your choices with images of the school logo or mascot alongside the school colors to really show school spirit for the recent grad.
Make Sure to Invite Everyone
When you’re making the guestlist for your child’s graduation party, be sure that you don’t accidentally miss any friends or relatives. If you’re part of the 40% to 50% of married couples in the U.S. that have gotten divorced and you’re throwing the party as coparents, be sure that both sides of the family are invited. Graduation is a really special time for your child, so don’t let any personal grievances against family members stop you from inviting them. As long as they are supportive of your child, they should be invited.
Include a Photo Booth
Photo booths are a great way to encourage people to take pictures and record memories at a graduation party. You don’t need to hire a professional photographer to have a photo booth — most people are more than happy to use self-timer on their phones or ask another party guest to take a picture of them. All you need is a backdrop and some fun, graduation-themed props.
For a really simple photo booth, hang a curtain or table cloth against a wall and use a small table to hold props. There are tons of DIY options that you can find tutorials for online, but if you’re not crafty there are sets of photo booth props that you can buy as well. This is a good time to get your graduate involved since they’ll probably have a good idea of what they would want to take pictures with when they’re using a photo booth.
Use a Hashtag
If you’re throwing a more sizable party and your child loves social media, having a party hashtag for Instagram or Facebook is a great way to see all the photos that people take during the party. You can get creative with the hashtag or go for something simple, like just your child’s name and graduation year. If you’re going for something simpler, make sure that it’s a unique hashtag so there aren’t random stranger’s posts popping up under the tag.
Have Living Decorations
Using flowers and plants as decor can add a great touch to your child’s graduation party. 37% of flowers are bought as gifts, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t be purchased for other reasons. A bouquet of flowers can make a great centerpiece at the tables for your child’s graduation party, especially if they match the color scheme that you’re using for the rest of the decor. You can also use live potted plants if you or your child has a green thumb. That can be a great option since it means that after the party you can either give them away as party favors or have a plant to use as decor in you or your child’s home. When it comes to throwing a graduation party, decor is the key. You want to make sure your graduate feels special on their big day, so personalize the space with photos, balloons, streamers, inflatables and other decorating items. Streamers and balloons will fill up the space with colors while Inflatables can add an extra touch of enthusiasm to your graduation party decoration. You can choose your school colors, or pick a favorite character or mascot of your child’s class. The sky’s the limit when it comes to custom-shaped inflatables that are sure to be a hit with all your guests, young and old alike. With a little bit of planning, you can throw a party that your graduate will remember for years to come.
Opt For Cupcakes Over Sheet Cake
Sheet cakes are a fun choice for birthday parties, but since there’s no ceremony of singing and blowing out the candles for a graduation party, cupcakes may be an easier alternative. There’s no need to cut up the cake and hand out pieces — instead, guests can just grab a cupcake whenever they feel like it. If there are leftovers, they’ll likely be much easier to store than if you had leftover sheet cake, which is often confined to the board that it was placed on at the bakery or grocery store.
If your child still wants a cake, you can have a smaller cake with a congratulatory message written on it and cupcakes nearby for guests to take at their leisure. This is a good option if you or your child is feeling indecisive as well since you get the best of both worlds.
Have a Spot For Advice
Your graduate may not have time to have a real conversation with every single person at their grad party, which is why having a spot for guests to give advice to the graduate is a great plan. You can be as creative or simple as you want for this advice area — if you want to just have a box where guests can drop in notes, you can opt for that. If you want to do something more creative and fun, there are tons of ideas online, like having a Jenga set where guests can write notes on the blocks to then give to the graduate.
Include Pictures of Your Graduate Over the Years
This is a decor staple of graduation parties. Whether your child is graduating from high school or college, you can include pictures of them from the time they were a baby to the current day. Placing their school pictures every year in chronological order is a great way to show how much they’ve grown over the years. You graduate may think it’s cheesy, but graduating isn’t about a single moment, but an amalgamation of all the moments during their entire career as a student.
Graduation parties are a great way to show your child how proud you are of their achievement and celebrate with the people you love. There are many options for graduation parties, and you can throw a party that is as simple or extravagant as you or your graduate wants.
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