When it comes to raising children, there are many milestones that parents look forward to, among them is high school graduation. This is a moment in a child’s life where they get to evolve as a person and decide what their future will be—what better way to celebrate the occasion than with a party?
Hosting a graduation party for your child will require you to follow certain steps to make it a memorable experience. The majority of planning will need to be done weeks in advance, maybe even a month or so beforehand, to make sure everything goes right. Here are some tips for ensuring an enjoyable graduation party.
Pick the right setting
The probability that your guests will experience a fun time will depend on the environment that you have the party in. If you plan to host the graduation party at your house, then you will need to make sure that you can afford the setup, which will include tables, sources of entertainment, music and food. It’s a viable option, but a lot of work is required on your end.
If you can afford to do so, we recommend finding a venue in town that can hold a long list of guests, as well as provide the space needed for a fun time that wouldn’t be available inside a house or in a backyard. Your choice shouldn’t be too far for guests to travel too, either.
Create a guest list
Whether or not your budget will be able to fit your needs for a graduation party will also depend on how many people you invite over for the occasion, as well as who. Inviting certain relatives will mean the presence of extra people, depending on who is in their immediate family. Your list should also be a good balance between friends and family, based on who your child has the most fun with.
As with the first tip, you’ll need to create your guest list weeks to a month or so in advance so that everyone can clear their schedules and attend the celebration. It’s smart to talk to potential guests about which days work for them so that you can find a date that works for everyone.
Provide the right food
A long guest list means a large amounts of food trays in order to satisfy everyone. You should make sure that no one has any allergies to certain food so that the occasion doesn’t end with someone getting sick. This may be a challenge if you’re inviting a great amount of people over and some of them are people you don’t know.
Having a variety of food works to satisfy everyone, including hamburgers, pizza, steak and other heavy dishes. Providing fruits and vegetables will make guests feel better about having bigger plates later on, especially when they’re chowing down on cake, cookies, brownies, ice cream, and other desserts. If the party is being hosted outside, it wouldn’t hurt to put a barbeque together so that everyone can eat under the sun.
Have the right music
One of the most important elements to any party is the music. Picking the right music for a graduation party may be a bigger challenge than for other occasions, as this one will have people from a greater variety of ages attending. High school and college graduates may be into music that isn’t the most appropriate for some of the guests, especially the children and seniors.
However, you don’t want to be playing older music that most of the guests have never heard before and are hard to dance to. There is a balance that can put everyone in the right mood, so go over the songs with your son/daughter that you could compromise on so that everyone feels comfortable listening to the music and are in the right mood to show off some dance moves.
Focus on entertainment
How memorable the graduation party is will depend on the sources of entertainment you have for everyone. If the guests want to take a break from the dance-offs, you can help them relax with some trivia quizzes to give them a fun way to test their knowledge. Games you can have in the backyard or grassy area outside a venue, such as softball or Running Bases, will help your child and their friends work off the calories from the meals.
It could also help to have an inflatable setup from places such as inflatable rentals long island to add to the excitement. You could have a simple bounce house for the younger guests, as well as an inflatable obstacle course for the graduate and his/her friends.
Keep these tips in mind so that your child has an awesome graduation party.
