Let’s talk graduation party decor. I’m sure we’ve all been to those graduation parties where it looks like a complete shrine to the graduate. There is nothing wrong with this, but is it necessary? I have talked to some parents who said they spent at least a month getting their garage set up for their child’s graduation party. But before you start pulling out every last piece of memorabilia from your child’s past 18 years, do one thing:
Ask your child what they want.
Do they really want you to display every award, certificate, sports medal, and dance photo since the time they were born? Or would they rather just have you keep it really low-key and put out a few items that they’re most proud of? This is their party. Honor and respect their choices for what they would like friends and family to see.
Once you’ve established exactly how much they want you to display or celebrate at their party, include them in the process. I know what you’re thinking, “There’s no way my child wants anything to do with this!” I get it. Every child is different. You’re going to have some that say, “Yes, I want to pick out every last piece that gets displayed.” And then you’re going to have some that say, “I really don’t care!” But at least give them the chance to voice their opinion. Again, this is their party. Their time to shine. Or their time to just celebrate with their friends and family without putting a ton of spotlight on themselves.
Now that you know exactly what they want to display, I have a couple of tips that you can use to help in keeping things simple.
One tip that I have used several times, in fact with all of my children’s parties, is to create photo tables. First, print out a bunch of snapshots. You can go from all the way back to their childhood or just their high school years. Whatever they desire. Then, put down a tablecloth on each table and scatter the snapshots across the tables. Each table is going to have something different. I mix it up between family, sports, school, younger years, etc. You might want to sprinkle some confetti amongst the pictures. Then, pick up some clear plastic. This is sold in rolls and can be found pretty much anywhere. Put it over the photos. Guests can walk around and look at the tables. You don’t have to set up a poster board and arrange the photos in chronological order or by sport. It’s just scattered across all of the tables. It’s really fun for people to walk around and look at all the different tables.
One of my kids is an artist, so I also took some of their work and displayed it in more of a formal fashion. It was really just a rack made out of pallets. I let them pick out which pieces they wanted to display.
Unpopular opinion: you don’t need to use the school colors! If your child doesn’t like the school colors, there is nothing that says you can’t use their favorite color instead!
Just remember, at the end of the day it’s all about your child. It’s not a contest about who can make the grandest display for their child. While you might like to do that kind of thing, just be prepared that your child might not want all of that attention.
Remember, less is more
~ Melissa
