Over-the-Top Graduation Celebration Tips

Your graduate has reached a major milestone and now it’s time to celebrate!  It’s easy to design a party that will wow everyone and let that graduate know how proud you are of their accomplishments.  

Let your guests know about the event by sending custom graduation invitations.  Choose the colors and font, insert a picture and have the best invitation around.

As people arrive to your party, personalized yard signs will help direct them where to go and will announce that they have arrived in the right place.  A personalized door decoration will direct people inside to the party.

Be sure to hang a large multi-photo banner near the entrance. This vinyl banner will show pictures of several special moments in your grad’s life and let the guests share in those moments.   Other banners congratulating your graduate can be hung elsewhere.

This will be a busy day for your graduate.  A life-sized standee can help greet the guests!   Fill the party location with graduation balloons, while adding a little shimmer by using liquid metallic fabric to decorate for this special event.  Choose a solid color table cover in a school color, and then choose either a matching table skirt or one in a contrasting school color. Sprinkle black confetti on the table, especially around the graduation centerpiece.

Send your guests home in style with an imprinted favor sack filled with graduation related candies like graduation candy bars and lollipops, and beads in the school colors.

After this amazing day has come and gone, make sure that your grad has a memento of the occasion. A signature graduation cap is a wonderful way to have guests record that they were a part of this day.

Congratulations, Soon-to-Be Graduate!

Step One: Pick Your Party

You’re on your way to having your diploma, so it’s time to play your graduation party!  Now, where do you start?  Definitely get help from your parents.  This could be their last chance to do something fun with their soon-to-be graduate before sending you off into the big, wide world.  The first step is to pick what kind of graduation party you want.  A couple options are a backyard barbecue, a bowling party, a card party (or game night), or just have your friends and family come to your house and hang out.  After you’ve decided on a type of party, you can pick your invitations and start sending them out.  Be the first to get them out so everyone knows when your party will be and you can minimize party overlaps.  You don’t want to have a graduation party the same day as your best friend’s graduation party, do you?

Step Two: Decorate Your Location

There’s always the question of how to go about decorating for a graduation party.  This is where your mom comes in handy—let her go crazy with the decorations!  She’ll have fun with this part.  Don’t hesitate to help her or give your input, because this could be one of those bonding moments that moms love with their kids.  Remember, though, to concede a bit—if she wants to hang a graduation banner, let her.  Have fun with it and help choose one to hang over the entrance of your graduation party.  After you decide on a banner, another good idea (especially if your family is coming to your graduation party) is having a graduation card box.  This way, your friends and family have a secure place to put cards for you and you won’t have to worry about losing the cards.  Whether your party is indoors or outdoors, you can hang dangling swirls from either the ceiling or from trees.  You can also hang graduation cap cut-outs along the wall, fence, or even on trees!  Of course, you’re also going to have balloons decorating your graduation party.  Combine latex balloons in your school colors with various Mylar balloons—such as a graduation cap-shaped Mylar balloon and the classic “Congratulations, Grad!” Mylar balloon. 

Step Three: Food!

It’s a party; you’re going to have food.  Whether you get a party platter from a local sandwich shop or your mom and dad decide to cook, you’ll have to decorate the tables.  Pick table covers in one of your school colors and plates in your other school color.  Finish the table decorations off with personalized napkins, a staple at every graduation party.  It’s a good idea to have a centerpiece, also, to give the tables that final touch.   Every graduation party has a cake, too, and many times moms like to be the one to bake the cake.  She could bake one in the shape of a graduation cap.

Step Four: Favors

Many people take personalized napkins home from graduation parties as favors.   Make your graduation party more memorable by creating personalized favors other than a napkin for them to take home.  For example, not everyone has lemonade mix as a graduation favor.  You could also look into hand lotion, lip balm, mini notepads in addition to more commonplace favors like mint tins and picture frames.  Whatever favors and decorations you end up choosing, the most important factor to any graduation party is fun.  Have fun celebrating the fact that you’re headed toward the next great step in your life, you’re done with high school and moving on.  So congratulations, graduate!

Party Ideas for Graduation 2012

If you have senioritis, graduation might seem ages away, but if you have a party to plan it’s not too early to start making arrangements. Stumps Prom offers a wide selection of event decorations, tableware and supplies to help you host a 2012 graduation party worthy of your achievements.

Invites and Graduation Announcements

Stumps Prom is your first-stop for event printing. We can custom print your  announcements and graduation invitations with your graduation info, accolades, and any other details.

Choose a quotation for your invites or announcements to add a touch of wisdom or humor your friends and family will love. For example, try:

“The tassel’s worth the hassle!”

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” – Mark Twain

Once you’ve ordered your announcements and/or invites, you’re ready to plan your graduation decorations.

Decorate with Color

Decorate the whole party in your high school colors or your new college’s colors. Shop our decorations by color to find all the tableware, streamers, balloons, and big items such as arches and columns that you need. Centering your event theme on a color scheme helps you coordinate your party simply but effectively. Plus, the event will look amazing in pictures for years to come. We also offer plenty of decorating accents such as wall decals, vinyl banners, and graduation yard signs that can be personalized with your school mascot.

To make the most of the beauty of a spring 2012 graduation, incorporate silk flowers and paper lanterns into your décor. Use floral garland to accent your patio or railings. If your party is set for the patio, our paper lanterns make a lovely, festive accent. The lanterns add a soft glow to your event and they can be reused too. Plus, if weather forces you to take the party inside they can come with you easily.

Inflatable Decorations Make a Big Impression

Use inflatable decorations to create stunning focal points or entrances to your graduation party. Our inflatable decorations are reusable and unique. Use inflatable arches to create a gorgeous entrance to your party or use the 2012 inflatable numbers (pictured) as a focal point guests can take their pictures with. Inflatable decorations look awesome on their own or as part of one of our theme decorating kits. You can accent your inflatable decorations with gossamer, garland, or other decorating materials to match your event colors.

Hand out Memorable Favors

Party favors are a great way to thank guests for coming to your party, especially if they are bringing gifts or coming from out of town for the event. Choose from our selection of graduation favors you can personalize with your mascot or cap and gown photo. Mint tins make great, practical keepsakes. Your friends will also love personalized graduation frames to display their favorite photo from high school.

Check out all of our graduation supplies and other ideas at Stumps Prom!