Fruit kabobs are an easy dessert or snack for a simple graduation party. Image: Pinterest
There are graduation parties, and then, there are graduation parties. Both are about the same thing, but there are worlds of difference in how they are conducted. If your graduation party involves a rented ballroom, then you can afford to hire an event planner, but for those of you who desire a simpler, less elaborate kind of celebration, here are some ideas that won’t break the bank.
One Cullman grad is having a simple barbecue in the backyard the Sunday following her graduation ceremony. “I don’t want anything extravagant, I just want to spend some time with my family,” she said.
Many graduates feel the same need to spend time with their families, perhaps because they have come to realize that they will be going away to college or to a job in another location, and they want to spend as much time with those closest to them while they can. Or perhaps it is because there has been so much flurry and energy around the ending of their senior year and the graduation ceremony itself. Maybe they just want some downtime with family and close friends.
The easiest way to do that would be to reserve a private dining room just large enough for your party. Of course, you can hardly kick your shoes off and let your hair down there, for that, you’ll have to plan a simple get-together at home or maybe at a park where there are tables and places to use a grill.
Pack a picnic basket with the essentials which include the usual condiments, your entrée and bags of chips, some desserts that are easy to handle with your hands, like cookies or fruit kabobs, and something to drink on ice in a cooler. Add folding chairs and a few blankets, some mosquito spray and you are all set!
For either at-home’ or in-the-park gatherings, you might include showing one of your favorite movies. Rent a projector and screen, or just show the film on a white sheet thrown across a clothes line or a fence. There are lots of comedies that tie in with graduation, “The Breakfast Club” and “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” are classics, and “High School Musical” is another age and subject related movie that shouldn’t be too hard to find.
Make some popcorn, put out a cooler filled with summertime drinks and you are all set!
Putting up a bulletin board with candid photos taken over your high school years is another way to get people to talk about things that were special to them and encourage them to tell funny or sentimental stories.
If simplicity is the name of the game, play some easy word games or purchase a Catch Phrase disk, which is one of the most entertaining games around. Anyone can play, and the disk even keeps score for you!
Of course, if you are staying on the simple side, you might not want to decorate, but even then, you’ll want some kind of cake, so look around on Pinterest and find one that fits your mood, or the event, and have a professional make it. If you get a small sheet cake, or a small layer cake, it won’t be too hard on your budget.
Snacks can be as elaborate or as simple as you want, from fancy appetizers to something as simple as ice cream cones put together at the last minute before serving. After all, who doesn’t like ice cream?
Fruit punches can also be complicated or as easy as pouring some ginger ale and a flavored drink over a block of sherbet; try orange, it’s cool and refreshing!
Fruit wedges can be cut and put on ice for a creative display, and you can find some neat, ready-made banners at discount stores in the party sections. Use your banner to announce your intentions by putting your college logo on them, or just use them to say “Welcome” to your guests.
Whatever your preference, have a wonderful time, and congratulations, Class of 2017!
Copyright 2017 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
