Grad Party Lessons Learned
Hosting a senior's graduation party at home is an exciting and rewarding experience. It’s a chance to honor the graduate and celebrate a significant milestone with family and friends in a personal and comfortable setting. However, like any event, it comes with its own set of challenges and stresses. After recently hosting my first grad party for my oldest, I reflected on the key lessons I learned and hope that maybe you can benefit from them too.
1. Pick a date early and communicate it on social media.
If you or your child attend school with others, your family will likely be invited to a lot of parties. There are only so many weekends available and you may inevitably pick the same date as other friends. That's okay! Hopefully you can coordinate the staggering of start times to allow people to make the rounds to as many parties as possible. We were fortunate to be able to attend several parties the day of my son’s party since we started his later in the day. My observation is that the first two weeks after the graduation ceremony are the busiest with Saturday’s being the most popular day. If most of your family is nearby, don’t shy away from mid-week parties in the summer. If you don’t want to share your date, look for the end of June or even later in the summer after everyone else has held theirs. There are fewer overlaps mid-week and people can visit a little longer without feeling rushed. I recommend picking a date at least six (6) months in advance and posting this to social media. This gives friends and family the heads up so they can plan for this before the official invitations come out. It also gives you the opportunity to make calls early for any rentals you may need (e.g. tables and chairs or venue rental, etc.)
2. Be ready an hour before your party starts.
I thought that I was fairly prepared for the set-up since we had started things the day before. However, there were last minute things I needed to tend to and some that I didn’t anticipate (e.g. all of the ice melting before the party started – I’ll share more on that later). Ultimately, we had people show up to the party almost an hour early. I’m not talking about the people that were there to help us set up. I felt bad for not being able to properly welcome them and visit as much as I would like since I was still tending to a few set up items. So, just prepare for early guests by planning on having everything ready to go an hour before you communicated the start time. And if you are lucky to not have any early arrivers, take the few moments to relax and breathe before the chaos commences.
3. Give yourself some grace.
With any large event, there are bound to be issues. In our case, I thought it would be a great idea to pre-fill coolers with beverages in the garage so that we could just add ice before the party. It wasn’t a good idea at all. The coolers had locked in the June heat, so when we added ice, it all melted within a few minutes. Needless to say, we needed a lot more ice! If you pre-fill coolers, add ice at the same time so the coolers trap the cold and not the heat! Fortunately, we made some calls to some great friends who brought over extra ice. It’s things like this that will go wrong, but give yourself some grace and go with it. You’ll end up with a great story to tell!
4. Farm out labor.
When people offer to help, accept the offer! It’s not possible to do it all yourself and when guests start arriving, you should be visiting with them and thanking them for coming. I hope that everyone has a few family and friends like I do that asked “How can I help?” when they first heard about the party. Here are some ideas to farm out to others:
a. Bringing food. Whether its baking bars/cookies for dessert, bringing a side dish or just offering to pick something up for you. Figure out what you need and how they can best help you out.
b. Prepping food. If you opted to provide food instead of having it catered, prepping food ahead of time is key to being able to enjoy the party. Some of this can be done the day before and some of it occurs the day of. Either way, you could benefit from some extra hands in the kitchen. I had extra items prepped and ready to be pulled out of the fridge to be replenished and that worked really well.
c. Refilling/stocking food, beverages, cutlery, napkins, etc. This may very well be the MOST important duty during the party!! Ask at least two people to keep an eye on the food and refreshments and be in charge of replenishing anything that is running low. You will be amazed at how quickly things need to be restocked. This will also ensure that you are able to spend more time with your guests and enjoying the experience. This is also a great opportunity for friends of the graduate to earn a few extra bucks to if you make it a paid gig!
d. Set-up. Some of this can start the day before, depending on the space that you are using. It also helps to see everything in its place to know if you need to make any adjustments. Tables, chairs, table covers, and canopies all can be set up in advance. Just make sure that you secure canopies into the ground and mark the lead lines so people can see them. Tying balloons or ribbons to the lines help call attention to them to keep others safe from tripping over them.
e. Decorating. Personalizing the space to celebrate the graduate is a lot of fun! Setting out photos, books, posters, awards and accomplishments are a great way to focus attention on all the work the graduate has accomplished. Get the graduate involved in this step with their friends so that it truly represents their style. Be careful not to put out everything! Focus on some key areas that they are especially proud of and highlight those.
f. Cleaning. I don’t advocate doing a deep cleaning of your house before the party. This should wait until after. A simple pick up and organization is good enough. However, it can be extremely helpful to have someone keeping the kitchen area clean and organized as you prep and set things up. There are a lot of dirty dishes that get created throughout the prep process and there always seems to be something else that needs to be put away.
g. Bringing ice :-) . If you have taken my advice from above and have extra time before the party starts, think about any last minute items you may need. Extra ice, more forks, hand sanitizer or wipes, putting signs on the corners, whatever it is! There is bound to be some last minute detail that you may need someone’s help with.
h. Tear down and clean up. Whew! Once the party is done, you can use some help with reclaiming your space. Tearing down decorations, tables and chairs and putting away any leftovers all take time. If you rented anything, having someone return them can be extremely helpful if your rental doesn’t include pick up.
5. Set a Budget and Stick to It.
Graduation parties can become expensive quickly. Setting a realistic budget helps in managing expenses and prioritizing what’s important. Make a list of essentials like food, decorations, and entertainment, and allocate funds accordingly. If you can start planning a year ahead of time, you may save some money. The best time to buy graduation décor is late June/early July when most of the graduation parties for that year have been completed. Check out the clearance section of your local stores and pick up any graduation items that don’t have the specific year on it. The best time to buy grad year décor is after the New Year. There are similar decorations for New Years, like balloons, that can be found after New Years eve. The local dollar tree can assist with party decorations and serving bowls and platters too. They start coming out with décor in early April. Talk with other parents and share supplies! It seems like a waste to buy decorations and serve ware that will only be used once. If you can coordinate with other parties that are happening on a different day, you can all work together to buy stuff and share the cost.
6. Anticipate waste.
One of the best investments were cardboard boxes! You read that right. We picked up disposable garbage stands which are basically tall cardboard boxes that you line with a garbage bag. Setting these out around the celebrations saves people from leaving their garbage out or wondering where to put it. Best $20 (for 4) spent not having to worry about emptying garbage cans!
7. Plan for Varied Seating Arrangements.
There will likely be people attending with various mobility concerns. It’s best to provide space for people of all ages to stand, sit and lounge. Mix and match seating options, such as lounge areas for casual conversations and tables and chairs for dining. Spread out if you can to take full advantage of a yard or driveway in addition to a garage. Check with neighbors and friends for additional seating that you can borrow and get creative! I’ve seen people throw an outdoor rug and some pillows on the ground and it was one of the favorite lounge places for kids and teens.
8. Print photos sooner rather than later.
While you can get prints quickly from your local Walgreens or CVS, it’s helpful to plan out which pictures you want to display. Most people show a photo from each year of school highlighting the changes throughout the senior’s life. Most people want to look at a variety of images, but not be overwhelmed by them. Friends and family often times look to see if they are represented somewhere with the graduate. I recommend about 10-15 images for each of the following categories:
a. Infant/baby
b. Growing up stages
c. Sports
d. Immediate family
e. Extended family
f. Lifelong friends
g. Recently acquired friends
h. Senior Year
9. Involve the Graduate.
Both guys and gals like to be involved in the in planning process, especially picking out the photos. This way, their personality and preferences can be reflected in the party. It also makes them feel valued and excited about their celebration.
Lastly, enjoy it!
Take time to socialize with guests, take pictures, and savor the moment. After all, it’s a significant milestone worth celebrating! While this may be the final hurrah for their senior year, it is the doorway to their new path.
