6 Top BEST Graduation Party Ideas & Tips

Graduation parties are the time that everyone comes together to celebrate that special graduate and all of their accomplishments and hard work. So, of course, a special celebration should be epic and memorable for the graduate and also the parents as well. I want to share some 6 Epic graduation party ideas and tips to kick your celebration off with a bang.

I have a video down below about graduation party tips on last year from my son’s graduation party.

Choose Theme and Colors

Picking a theme is always fun! Ask your graduate if they would prefer a particular theme or colors for their special day. Themes such as a beach vibe, favorite sports team, school’s mascot or favorite hobby are great ideas to start. 90’s theme party is a great idea for fun and lots of laughs. If they are in the band, cheerleading, soccer, football or etc. makes for a memorable theme.

If your graduate prefers not to have a theme, just using the school’s colors within your party’s color scheme would be great. Giving your party a customized look. The traditional colors gold, silver, black, and white is always a graduation staple.

My son chose not to use his school colors. Which would have been really fun to do! But hey, that was his preference and it turned out great with a classic graduation look.

When purchasing party decorations try not to purchase too many items with the year of graduation on them. This way you can use it for another child that may be graduating in the future or someone. Or decorations that have the year but it can easily be camouflaged for another year in the future.

Budget

Figure out what your set budget is for your party. Your budget is the foundation of your celebration. With your budget in place, you will know how many people to invite, how much food to purchase, what type of decorations to have, where to have your party and etc. 

This is the most important step that gets overlooked quite often. So take a few minutes and calculate your budget! You will thank yourself later!

Venue

Choose a venue that is within your budget. Also, take into consideration the number of people that are expected to arrive at the party. Many locations have a room cap of how many people are allowed in the rooms.

Book ahead of time! Many students are graduating around the same time. In order to avoid the headache or the disappointment of waiting until the last minute be sure to plan weeks, months, or even a year in advance (contact the venue when bookings begin to open up).

Calculate the prices of chairs and tables would be if you rented them from your local party rental company vs. renting out a room a local community building.

If your graduation celebration will be at home. Consider if there will be enough parking for everyone. What will the weather be like that day? Do you want to clean up the mess after a party at your home (carpet or possible wall damage)?

Food

Pinterest is full of ideas and inspiration to start!

Also, a great starting point is to simply ask your graduate what they would like at their graduation party.

My son loves everything just about, so he was a little unsure. So I got him to list three things he would like to have at the party and I went with the easiest food to prepare and clean up; which was a taco bar.

Having food catered is an excellent idea if it is within your budget. There are so many options out there it is endless. Some of the options that we considered: Chickfila, Boston Market, Moes or Jersey Mikes. Even a private catering company or friends/family with their own company is a great idea for outstanding food options.

Going to a restaurant is also a wonderful option for easy cleanup and save some money. This way everyone pays for their own meal and/or their messes depending on the type of restaurant.

Games or Activites

Pinterest is another great starting point with game ideas. There are tons of free printable on Pinterest and Etsy.

Some game ideas:

How well do you know the graduate

Name the title of song and artist of songs the year they were born or the era they grow up in

Who traveled the furthers?

Try not to say certain words game: (Such as college, school or graduate)

Prize Ideas: Money, Dollar Tree items (gift bags, baskets, sets)

Photos and Videos

Creating a slideshow of all of the video clips and photos of all of the years from kindergarten to 12th grade that you can have playing throughout the party.

Creating a banner or collage of pictures decorating throughout the party makes great conversational pieces through the graduation party.

Tip: When creating your video and you would like to upload it to YouTube. Set the videos privacy settings to unlisted if you want to keep the video private. Use that link to your unlisted video to replay it on your streaming device whether the TV or laptop. You or anyone else that has the link will be about to view the video without it going live to the entire world to see if you prefer.

Setting your budget, choosing a theme/colors, picking your food, finding a location, adding fun games and incorporating memories such as photos within your party will have your party planning off to a great start. Leaving a lasting impression within the graduates, your heart and all your guests for years to come.

Below is a video of my son’s graduation celebration.