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Between final exams, graduation rehearsals, and the emotional transition of your kids moving on to their next chapter, the last thing a busy mom needs is a high-stress party plan.
For my daughters graduation party last year I decided to focus on a few High impact areas It looked beautiful but took very little time to pull together. Here’s how we threw a sweet, memorable at-home graduation party without losing our minds!
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Quick Tips for Your Graduation Party:
Grad party food
Go with a flexible buffet style
Instead of a table-set dinner, we went buffet style. This was great because our daughters invited friends over and had food available as they came and went.
To simplify the menu we ordered and made some pizzas (for the younger kids), sushi (for the older kids). A variety of salads Which were easy to prepare in advance.
Create a sweet treat station
I have loaded my dining room console with all kinds of sweets like candies, chips, chocolates. Of course this was the most popular party zone with kids!
I used several tiered trays to add height and otherwise kept my decorations the same. As a busy mom I don’t stress about making things perfect: the goal is to be together and spend time with loved ones.
A dessert station is great because it does double duty to serve desserts and is decorative. My place was under us Upcycled chalkboard Which I customized for the celebration.
Order a cake!
Trust me, I’d love to bake a cake for my kids’ graduation parties but I have no qualms about ordering cakes and desserts when I’m in survival mode. (Our kids love their DQ ice cream cake – so that’s ours and they do such a great job with custom decorations!).
As a noteworthy mention I want to share this cute idea from my mother-in-law: she placed a wine goblet on a plate to create a tiered fresh fruit tray!
Party decorations
If you center your party decorations A color scheme Then all the different elements will look naturally combined. I stuck with gold, black and white which were our school colors!
Create seating areas
Choosing a buffet style also means that we don’t need to stress about place settings or creating the perfect tablescape. I just Created “sitting areas” for guests Preset with a graduation themed tablecloth (from the dollar store) and some paper napkins.
If you have some time you can also create some graduation themed centerpieces to add to the seating areas.
Use simple decorations with high impact
Well, I wish I had better pictures of the event, but you can imagine it was a chaotic time!
So I Keep the decorations simple But purposeful:
- I found a package of gold balloons, blew them up and made “balloon clusters” with 4-5 balloons that I placed throughout the party space (my kids helped with this).
- When I would have liked DIY all decorations You really can’t go wrong with this Grade Party Decor Kit On Amazon! Use it as a base and then add your DIY touches as your time and budget allow.
- I went to my local party place and ordered a grade balloon cluster (this was the most expensive decoration!).
Create a gallery with school photos
was one of my favorite elements of the party A gallery wall of school photos for each grade. I lined up all of his class photos from junior kindergarten through the current year. It was such a special touch that the guests around to see it.
If I had more time I would have actually framed the photos but this busy mom stuck them to the wall with double sided tape!
Ultimate tips for a stress-free celebration
- Many of these grad party decorations can be stored away and used for your next graduation celebration!
- Don’t stress about perfection – the point is to celebrate together
- Ask for help: Ask a few guests to bring a favorite dish or dessert to add to the buffet (thanks mom-in-law!).
We’ll be celebrating another high school graduation in a few weeks and I’m looking forward to sharing more low-stress party ideas with you!
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