This post brought to you by HotRef Party Favors. The content and opinions expressed below are that of Two Classy Chics.
My nephew Caleb will be graduating from High School next month. As the person in our family who enjoys planning and hosting parties, I was elected the “party planner” for his upcoming graduation party.
Since the weather is finally getting nice here in the northeast, we’ll be holding his party outdoors and decided to go with a simple barbecue and pool party. We have over a dozen backyard games and will be setting those up for the guys to enjoy too.
When it comes to planning a High School graduation party…you can keep things on the simple side (like what we are doing) or you can go way out and rent a venue and hire entertainment. Here are some additional things you need to do as the party host.
1. Set the time and date for the party. Over the years, I’ve learned that Saturday’s make good party days and more people will attend. A lot of families like to keep Sunday’s open as their “family day” and weeknight parties get low attendance due to people’s work & school schedules.
2. Decide on the venue? Will you be renting a space somewhere or will you be holding the party at someone’s home? If you plan on renting a venue, please realize that reservations usually need to be made weeks and months in advance.
3. Helpers! If your planning a medium to large sized party, you’ll need a few people to help you. Make a list of who can help and what they can specifically do. In my opinion, the more helpers, the better.
4. Decide on the menu! Will you be having it catered? Will you be providing all of the food and beverages? Will you be doing a potluck where everyone brings a dish? Please realize, people like different things when it comes to food and some of your guests may have special dietary restrictions. It’s always best to have a variety of different foods & beverages available.
5. Time to decorate! Even though it’s a graduation party, you need to set the theme & mood for it. I like to do this by picking up some simple table centerpieces, numerous table party favors (I love the little graduation hat trinket boxes, candy boxes, decks of playing cards, etc.) and one thing that I really like doing is buying those graduation theme’d candy bar wrappers and water bottle labels and making those up for the guests. Super cute! Oh yeah, don’t forget the hanging banners, balloons and paper goods that you’ll need too! When shopping for these types of supplies, I recommend you check out HotRef Party Favors. They are your one-stop source for party supplies!
6. I always give what I call “take home gifts” to the guest of honor and for a graduate I think sending them home with a few party souvenirs like a nice picture frame, key fob, writing pen, etc. are nice too! HotRef gives customers the option of personalizing their party favors & take-home gifts.
7. Party Clean-up! Once it’s over and all of your guests are gone…you’ll need some help cleaning up. Some venues require you to do all of the cleaning & others will charge you a separate fee for that service. If your holding it in someone’s home…please find a few volunteers to help the host clean things up.
Planning a simple High School graduation party doesn’t have to break the bank if you know where to shop. Furthermore, don’t be afraid to ask others for help if you need it. The most important thing to remember is that your all getting together to celebrate & have a good time. You can check out HotRef for Graduation Party Favors.
Great suggestions that work for other parties as well. it is daunting at first to plan a party but this helps to break down the decisions and I find that helpful when planning. I also have found that Saturdays tend to work well for people to be able to attend.
These are good tips and you are right about preparing in advance. I agree that the more helpers you have the easier the setting up and cleaning up afterwards will become.