Planning a Graduation Party
School is out! And for the graduating student this happy fact means no more boring teachers, no more weary textbooks and no more tests! It’s time to cut loose for the summer holidays and relax. And if your student is graduating from preschool or elementary school or high school, you should throw a graduation party to help them celebrate this achievement. Don’t worry, planning a graduation party is really not that difficult.
Generally, high schools already host Grad Parties for grade 12 students. This is a public event, but that’s not what we’re talking about: we’re talking about a private party in your home that you, the “cool parent,” host for your teen and his or her closest friends. Now you see why we included parties for grads from preschool and elementary school. These are also monumental milestones in your child’s life, and should not pass uncelebrated.
Teens have very strongly decided likes and dislikes, and with this being the “communication generation,” it’s probably best to avoid trying to spring a surprise party on them. Not only will you be apt to mistakenly invite classmates that they’d rather not see, but with teens armed with phones and Blackberries and chatting on Facebook and Twitter, someone’s just bound to let slip to your teen that they’re all invited to a “surprise party.” So forget trying to surprise your teen. Instead, involve him or her in the planning, in picking the day, the food and the guests. After all, it’s not only your teen who’s graduating. Very likely, every friend who shows up at the door is also graduating that year.
Now, younger children graduating from preschool and grade school are another matter entirely. With them, a surprise party is doable and adds greatly to the fun. You’ll want to talk to their mothers and invite their child well in advance of the date. After all, you don’t want to throw a party only to find out that half of the guests have gone off for vacations with their families already. And since their child is also likely graduating from preschool or grade school that same year, they’ll be delighted that you’re so thoughtful as to host a party to commemorate the event. They’ll very likely to be inclined to help out with the food or party gifts, and, if it’s a theme party, to even help decorate!
Party stores have lots of supplies, so you should have little trouble finding decorations in your child’s school colors. And if you bake a cake, be sure that it’s iced with their school colors as well—even baked in the shape of the grad year!
Your child or teen has accomplished a great deal by making it through another year of school and an entire phase of their life! Be sure to commemorate it. Hosting a party takes a bit of work, true, but it’s a perfect way of building fun memories and of bonding with your child, their friends and their friends’ parents!