Mortar boards and tassels are the natural decoration themes for your graduation bash, as are glasses of champagne for the over-21 crowd. Look for congratulatory banners and balloons, and decorate flowers and tablecloths in your school colors to add to the school spirit.
Honor your graduate by personalizing the decorations. Enlarge their annual school photographs and hang them in order to show how much they’ve changed—and how goofy they looked during their more awkward years.
For graduates from high school or college who were involved in school activities like sports and afterschool clubs, you can make those interests part of your decorations. If you have photos of your grad engaging in those activities, frame them and use them in your decorations and centerpieces to remind the graduate of everything they’ve accomplished.
Autograph boards are great for commemorating both the graduation and your graduation party. Buy a large piece of poster board, glue a photo of your grad in the center and attach glitter pens and markers to it with string. Hang your poster on the wall or an easel and let guests sign it with good wishes. After the party, attach a matching frame on the poster and it becomes a great gift to your grad.
A combination photo album and memory book also makes a special gift. At the party, ask your guests to write a personal message on the right side of a page. After the event, paste party photos on the left side of the page.
A massage gift certificate is a relaxing treat after a hard school year -- or months of hard partying. For a theme-appropriate touch, roll the gift certificate into a scroll and tie with ribbon so it looks like a diploma.
Plan a casual, fun open house for your grad, complete with dining and dancing, so guests can drop in and wish them well.
A grad-centric trivia contest keeps that person the center of attention and lets friend and family get to know them better. Before the party, come up with a bunch of questions about the graduate and their school. Questions can range from general (what was the grad’s toughest class, who was their favorite teacher) to personal (biggest crush, most embarrassing moment).
To play, say a question out loud and let everybody guess. Give prizes for correct answers—or, to spice things up, give an additional prize to the most inventive answers to the questions.
If you’re spending the day preparing for the graduation, you won’t want to devote too much time to a fancy party. Keep the party (and the cleanup) simple and fun with a big buffet of mini-size food.
Think mini pizzas, mini burgers, mini hot dogs, stuffed mushroom caps, even shrimp cocktails (just fill small cups with cocktail sauce and place three or four cold shrimp around the edge of the cup).
For appetizers, put out crudités with assorted dips (hummus, onion dip, ranch dressing), and offer trays of assorted cupcakes for dessert. If you’re feeling especially creative, tie a licorice lace around a cannoli to create your own edible diploma.
Featured Graduation Party Recipes from Epicurious.com
The Graduate
• juice of 1/2 lime, freshly squeezed
• 1/2 oz amaretto almond liqueur
• 1 1/2 oz Southern Comfort® peach liqueur
• 1 oz pineapple juice
Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Add ice. Shake, then strain into a shot glass. |  |
Non-Alcoholic - Sparkling cider, fruit-flavored sparkling water
| 1. | Mrs. Robinson / Simon and Garfunkel |
| 2. | Graduation Day / Kanye West |
| 3. | Congratulations / The Rolling Stones |
| 4. | School’s Out / Alice Cooper
|
| 5. | Old Friends / Willie Nelson
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| 6. | Forever Young / Alphaville
|
| 7. | Goodbye / The Corrs |
| 8. | Graduation (Friends Forever) / Vitamin C |
| 9. | We Go Together / Grease Soundtrack
|
| 10. | Shout / The Isley Brothers
|
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