Who is tired of the high school graduation party standby of diploma die cuts and black and white decorations? I sure am. One of my camp buddies has a beautiful daughter that is graduating from high school this coming June. She asked me to give her a few ideas of how to prepare and plan a homemade, inexpensive graduation party with that WOW that I love to inspire. I worked for 15 minutes with a pad of paper and discovered that many of my ideas were brand new ones that I had never seen before. I decided right then and there that I had to share my ideas with everyone who wanted to WOW their soon to be graduates!
If you have ever read my party planning articles before, you know that I enjoy creating parties that are unique, inexpensive, homemade and very personal. I pride myself on spending the least amount possible and buying and using things that I already have or could use again. The best way to wow the guest of honor and the guests is to use different and creative ideas at your high school graduation party. That is where I come in.
This graduation party idea article will focus on the college bound high school graduate. I will write other high school graduation party articles for those graduates that may or may not be college bound. If you already know the college that your graduate will attend, you would use their school colors for the decor. As examples throughout this article, I will use the colors orange and green since they are Brandi, my friend’s daughter’s, favorite colors.
The theme for this graduation party is Dorm Life. The party space, decorations, cake and food will all center around the life of a college student.
High School Graduation Party Decoration Ideas:
Decorate your space with all things DORM. The examples below can be placed anywhere, taped to the wall, used to hold down balloons, or hung from the ceiling. If you have 2 colors that you are using, I suggest that you use these colors wherever you can. You can decorate with colored streamers, balloons, posters, anything you can find in those colors.
Pendants: These triangular shaped posters are perfect to hang with the graduates’ name or the college name written across with markers in your theme colors. If you are not aware of what college your graduate will attend, you can create a fictional college called Brandi U, only using the name of your graduate.
Pizza Boxes: While brainstorming for graduation party ideas, my mind kept coming back to pizza and what a large part it played in my college dorm life. Pizza represents dorm life like no other symbol. College students order pizza because they usually can’t cook, it is cheaper than eating out and it can be eaten easily the next day. I can’t remember a week in college that we were not ordering, thinking about or scrounging up change to order pizza. I have come up with many ideas on incorporating pizza boxes into this high school graduation party. As for decorating, they are perfect to hang or stick anywhere. They can hold down balloons, sit in a corner stacked up, or they can serve as “frames” for pictures of your graduate.
The Pizza Box Memory Wall: Okay, this idea may seem a little out there but the more I think about it, the more I love it! Stay with me here. Whatever venue or party space you choose for your high school graduation party, you should include a special section of pictures of the high school years of your graduate. I love the idea of having one wall covered in pizza boxes with their lids still intact. You would tape the back of the boxes to the wall and leave the lids flapping, if you will, creating the urge for guests to lift the lids. Inside, each box, you will have pictures of your high school graduate. You can decide how you will organize the photos based on the amount of photos you have to use. You could sort them by grade and indicate the grade on the outside of the box, or you could sort by sets of people, like friends and family. I can just picture people walking along the wall lifting the lids and checking out Brandi’s life.
Homemade Posters: I am crazy about homemade party posters because they are the cheapest, most creative and most personal way to display “signage” at a party. There are many ways to make homemade high school graduation party signs but the easiest is to computer generate them with a picture of your graduate! You can also have your guests hand write them ahead of time and write something like “this sign brought to you by your friend Tracy” at the bottom of the sign. This turns an ordinary sign into a keepsake. If you give your high school graduation party guests the supplies ahead of time, you might end up with beautiful, personal, touching posters to hang in your graduation party space. You just saved money by not buying the pricey pre-made signs and your graduate and guests will enjoy the homemade signs more!
Themed Homemade Posters: Along with your basic homemade signs, you could create themed signs like magazine covers that read “World Famous Author” or whatever pertains to the interest of your high school graduate. You could also create mock exam papers or report cards to hang praising your graduate for his/her accomplishments. Loose leaf paper is the perfect material for making a homemade sign due to it’s instant reference to the classroom.
School Supplies: You can decorate your high school graduation party space with any school supplies since it fits so well with your “life in college” theme. You can hang them, set them anywhere, or create games with them. If you can get your hands on any college text books, you can use them to hold down balloons or as centerpieces on tables. Remember to borrow anything you can or buy them from thrift stores or yard sales. Backpacks, loose leaf paper, pencils, black essay books and spiral notebooks are all good choices to use at your party and to reuse afterward with no waste. Post it notes are perfect to stick everywhere to label food items, or as a way to communicate something at your high school graduation party.
Dorm Life Furnishings: So that you can set your high school graduation party space to look like a dorm, you can have bean bags chairs, large comfy pillows and blow up chairs strewn about to look like a dorm.
Play Money: I like the idea of using play money to decorate your high school graduation party space since it is so hard to come by for college students.
High School Graduation Party Game Ideas
For any games with teams, you can have one of each of your theme colors represented with each team by providing pom poms or mega phones in their team color. Most dollar stores sell a 2 pack of pom poms for a buck.
Graduate Trivia:There is nothing more fun than to learn about your guest of honor, your graduate. You can customize a trivia game about her life and ask the guests to write down their answers in black essay books or spiral notebooks with number 2 pencils. Be sure and mention anything that goes along with your theme like the spiral notebook or number 2 pencils to add to the creativity of the party. You could also call this game “pop quiz” at your high school graduation party.
Pizza and Root Beer Relay:This high school graduation party game can be played by separating your guests into 2 or more teams. You will simply have the guests try and run to their awaiting teammate while balancing a root beer mug on the top of a pizza box with one hand. You can make it more challenging by adding more mugs or more pizza boxes. Relays are an excellent game at any party because of the low cost of using household items in the relay rather than anything store bought.
Sculpture/ College Student Contest: This high school graduation party game/contest can be done hundreds of ways but the premise is to fill 2 trash bags with identical items and ask the 2 teams, which have several members each, to create a sculpture, using the contents of the bag only, to impress the graduate. You can change this game by instructing the teams to use the items ON a teammate to make the perfect college student. You will need to place the teams in separate rooms so that the reveal is more fun. Have the teams present their sculpture or person to your graduate for judging. You can fill the bag with anything that can be used to decorate a person or sculpture. Try and use as many items as you can to make the game more fun and the picture opportunities better. I will list a few ideas that you can pick and choose from depending on what you have on hand or can get easily. Trash bag content ideas include masking tape, pizza boxes, a whole roll of toilet paper, white and colored paper, markers, streamers, kitchen utensils like spatulas, school supplies for your theme, scissors, straws, and sticks. There is no limit to what or how much you put in the bag. Your high school graduation party guests of all ages will love this game, it is always a hit.
Memory Game: Have all your high school graduation party guests sit with their spiral notebooks, getting ready to write their answers but keeping their number 2 pencils down. Walk in the room with a large pizza box with the lid closed and explain the rules to your guests. Explain that you will open the lid and they will have 2 minutes to observe all the items that are sitting inside your pizza box and then you will close the box. After you close the pizza box, the high school graduation party guests will need to write down, with as much detail as possible, all the items that were in the pizza box. The person who remembers the most items wins. You can fill the box with anything related to your graduate or to your high school graduation party theme. A few ideas are a number 2 pencil, a postcard from home, a notebook, a chocolate candy bar, a stamp, a paper clip, a pen, an I-pod, anything that will fit.
High School Graduation Party Keepsake Ideas
As you are planning the perfect high school graduation party, keep in mind that your graduate will want to remember this moment forever. Below is a list of keepsakes that you can have available so that your graduate never forgets this milestone.
A Signed Ball: If your graduate loves a particular sport, buy a ball and provide permanent markers for the guests to sign for your graduate.
A Memory Keepsake: Have your high school graduation party guests write their favorite memories of your graduate in a scrapbook, on a poster, a firm stuffed animal, anything that can be written on with permanent markers. Be sure and have it out the entire high school graduation party so that guests have plenty of time to write on the keepsake.
T-shirts: You could have t-shirts set out with the name Brandi U ironed on them, only your graduate’s name, and allow the high school graduation party guests to decorate and wear them for the party. You can also allow the guests to sign each other’s shirts throughout the party.
High School Graduation Party Food Ideas
Believe it or not, I usually keep the food at my parties very simple. Guest rarely remember what they ate at a party so I usually do not splurge on the food. You can serve anything at a high school graduation party but below are a few ideas that go along with our theme.
Pizza (of course). You can order pizza, use frozen pizza or make a pizza bar with toppings that they get to choose from to add to their pizza.
Chips, Pretzels and Dips.
Drinks. Buy themed colored drinks like the Hawaiian Punch that is green and an orange punch.
White Chocolate Dipped Food. Make a large batch of melted white chocolate and separate it into 2 bowls. Dye one batch green and the other orange (or your 2 colors) and then dip strawberries, pretzels, raisins, bananas, peanuts or any food into the mixture. Place each kind of food on individual plates and serve.
Your high school graduation party will be a success as long as you try and think about what you would like to see at a party when you are a guest. Try to avoid pre-made signs, patterned plates and the overused party games that leave guests feeling like they have been there before. Instead, create a true celebration of your graduate’s accomplishment with her interests in mind and you will leave your guests saying WOW!
