Are you planning a party for your graduate? You’ll want it to be a fun, memorable send-off to the next step of their adult life. Follow these simple steps to creating the perfect 2012 Graduation party:
- Create a slideshow: 2012 is the year of technology. Everyone has camera phones these days, so use it to your advantage! Ask family and friends of the graduates to send you pictures of the guest of honor. (You can easily receive them via email from phones and digital cameras.) Then put all the pictures together in a slideshow. (This is particularly quick in PowerPoint, and you can even scan older photographs so you can include these as well.) Project the slideshow onto a wall or hanging sheet during the party. Guests will laugh and smile throughout the whole thing. You may even wish to put the slideshow on a disc for grandparents, classmates (and their parents), and neighbors to bring home with them.
Finger foods: Guests will want to mingle during your party, so you’ll want them to be able to walk around while they eat. In order to make this happen, offer a variety of finger foods at your party. You can have anything from mini quiches or mini tacos (consider having a taco bar) to fruit skewers and vegetables and dip. Pizza is another popular favorite, and you can order many different toppings. Just be sure to label things properly so that guests with allergies can be aware of what they’re eating. At the end of the meal give them a personalized tin filled with mints, as it is a perfect 2012 graduation favor.
Decorations: When it comes to graduation parties, you can never go wrong by decorating with the school colors of the graduate (whether they are the high school colors or the colors of the college the grad will be attending in the fall). You can even include pictures, piñatas, or little statues of the school mascot. Or, consider decorating in a popular pop culture theme. For instance, if you want everything to sparkle, consider holding a Twilight themed party. Finally, have your decorations also serve as favors with these personalized glasses filled with candy for a sweet treat.
Centerpieces: In addition to traditional flower bouquets or balloons, consider more personalized centerpieces on your party tables. Include college flags or banners on each food table. Paint or attach the name of the graduate and 2012. Or, if your graduate did a photo shoot for senior pictures, include a framed version of each one throughout the room. If you’d like to use pictures, consider showing the graduate in various stages as he or she was growing up, from a newborn to a high school graduate. Another option is an edible centerpiece filled with lollipops, chocolate or cookies.