Hi Guys!
College season is finally over. I’m thrilled to be attending my dream school, Cornell, this fall!
End of senior year means graduation services and grad parties. We just booked a lodge by the lake for my grad party this summer. Neither of my parents are party people (I’ve only had 2 birthday parties in my whole life) so party planning is pretty much up to me. What do people do at grad parties? We have only been to one. I’d like to get a backdrop and polaroid camera and set up a photo booth, but what other activities are there? Do you have any ideas for decorations, food, etc? There will probably be about 70 people in attendance. Also-do people give party favors at grad parties? I’ve seen a lot of those on Pinterest.
We’ve picked a date, and I’ve created a grad party invite on Shutterfly that we need to order. We are still finalizing the guest list; is there anyone that I have to invite (teachers who wrote my LOR, parents’ friends, coworkers, etc.)?
Thanks!
Congratulations. You sound like a very strong student and I hope that you enjoy your time at Cornell.
You don’t have to invite anybody (except maybe relatives) but you might want to invite a couple of teachers with whom you were close. I haven’t really seen that done in my town, however. If I had thrown a grad party for any of my kids (none of them wanted one even though I offered with each one), I would have invited some of H’s relatives, none of mine, some of my co-workers, some of mycloser friends from town, including parent friends of my children’s, and I would have given most of the guest list to my child for their friends. I have never seen activities at a party, but I suppose since it sounds like you are going to be outdoors, you could maybe have some Frisbees, some softball or baseball equipment, maybe a dodge ball or whatever if there is an area for playing.
I assume the food is covered by the lodge, but you might want to check to see if the lodge can accommodate food allergies and ask people to advise in the RSVP if they have any special food needs. If there is going to be swimming, make sure you inform people to bring swim wear, etc. I would make sure to have plenty of sunscreen on hand, as well as bug repellent if you are in an area that has them, and have them available in baskets.
I haven’t seen party favors here but if you want to do that, have a selection of cute frames that people can choose from at the photo booth and that’s enough.
Thanks @techmom99 this was exactly what I needed!
My parents told me we could invite more people since the party isn’t at our home. While the majority will be my friends and their families, I think my parents will invite some of their friends.
We decided to save money and do food ourselves-I have several severe allergies and know a few guests who do as well. I’m looking for something tasty, easy, and on the cheaper side. I was thinking about doing a Mexican taco bar, but I’m thinking we could just do several Crockpots of barbecue pulled pork and have sliders (maybe some salad/ purchased potato salad as well.)
I love baking and plan on making a lot of the desserts (easier with my allergies anyway), and we will probably get one of those cakes with a photo on it. One idea I had for party favors was to dip pretzel rods in “Cornell colors” (red and white) and hand them out in bags.
We are right near a lake and there is lots of space to take photos and play games. Thanks again for your ideas!