College Graduation Party Ideas for a Memorable Event

It is an excellent idea to hold a graduation party for a college graduate as a reminder and a celebration of their accomplishments. College graduation parties can be a fun and memorable way to end their college career and to have fun with friends and family before moving on to the next phase of their life.

A college graduation party does not have to be a vast and extravagant occasion, as long as it serves its purpose of celebrating the success of the young adult. There are many college graduation party ideas, all depending on the preference and financial budget for the occasion.

Food and drinks ideas

As far as the food for the graduation party, just about anything goes. You can have a theme or a particular type of food or traditional graduation party food. For example, If the graduate studied abroad during their time at college, you can prepare meals that are common foods in that specific country such as tapas for Spain and chips for England. This creates a fun and related theme for the party. Or, you can have iconic meals from the city the graduate is planning to settle in after graduation.

Another great idea to celebrate the graduate is to name a signature cocktail after them and serve it at the graduation party.

For desserts, having treats that are graduation themed is a fun idea. This could include sweets such as gown, diploma or graduation cap shaped cookies, and cupcakes. Water bottles with custom graduation labels are also a unique idea for such a party.

Wrapping Twinkies in cute ribbons, so they look like diplomas, is also an easy idea for a graduation themed dessert. Cookies served for desert can be personalized with signs to let the guest know that the graduate is “one smart cookie.” The ideas are endless, but you get the idea!

Decor ideas

When decorating for a college graduation party, you can have the friends and family of the graduate send you photos they took with the graduate over the years. Then use these photos to create short videos about their college life to be shown at the graduation party. Alternatively, create a memory board with the pictures for the guest to view. This can also serve as a keepsake for the graduate of the occasion after the party is over.

You can also make a timeline using the class photos of the graduate at the reception to add to the décor. The images can be those taken over the years to show the journey of the graduate to graduation, or they can be fun photos taken with friends. You can have the guests play a guessing game of the age and year of the graduate from the pictures.

You can use the graduate’s school colors for the decorations such as balloons, paper plates, napkins, streamers, etc.

The graduate will probably want a remembrance of who attended their party. A unique way to create this memory is to have a life-size cut out of the graduate that all of the guests can sign. This can also act as a conversation starter, especially if the guests are not very familiar with each other. It will then serve as a fun keepsake for the graduate after the party is over.

Entertainment ideas

Entertainment is a very crucial part of any party, and a college graduation party is no exception. For a college graduation party, you can have one of the friends of the graduate put together an enjoyable playlist with the graduate’s favorite songs.

Graduation games are also a fun idea to create a unique and memorable day. You can have graduation mad libs for the guests to play and pass the time. Another fun game to play is the “who am I” guessing game where you have the guests write down some fun memories they shared with the graduate and read them out aloud for graduate to guess who wrote the memory down. This is a unique way for the graduate to relive fun memories with friends from college.

During a graduation party, it is definite that almost everyone will have something they would like to say to the graduate. This ranges from words of encouragement to congratulatory messages. Your guests can write all of these words down to assure the graduate remembers all of these well wishes.

You can make an advice jar before the party to hold these messages to ensure that all of these individual messages reach the graduate. You can make the experience fun by using colorful pens, and handing out small pieces of paper to the guests, and ask them to write something they would like to tell the graduate. The messages serve as long term reminders of the advice, and congratulations that are being extended to the graduate rather than having the words spoken where they could be forgotten.

In a world where social media is vastly used, a college graduation party can have a social media page for the party to allow the guests to connect before the big day and to access photos and videos that were taken during the party. You can also create an Instagram hashtag for the party for the same purpose. The photos taken during the party can even be taped into a blank book to act as an instant souvenir. Having an instant print camera available, you can guarantee your guests an enjoyable photo session at the party.

Another fun game idea is to create a grad trivia game by creating a paper quiz about the graduate and letting the guest answer the questions. Then score them like you would any other quiz, and the guest with the highest score proves to know the graduate best, ultimately winning the game.

The best way to end a party is with a great photo, to sum up, the day. At the end of the party, play the pop the balloon game by filling balloons with confetti, and let the guests pop the balloons around the graduate. This will make for an impressive and memorable photo and is a fun experience for the guests, especially after spending a long time seated down during the party. This is also a great time to have a slide show of the graduate’s photos play at the end of the party as a sign of the journey the graduate has been on, and the start of a new adventure after college.

Party favor ideas

After graduation, some people may lose touch with each other. A way to help prevent this is by having business cards with personal information about the graduate. The cards don’t have to be expensive, as long as they can accommodate the email address, phone number, the new address, and the photo of the graduate is a nice touch too. The information is helpful, especially for guests who don’t get a chance to talk to the graduate during the party, they can always reach out later.

Another great idea for a party favor is to give each guest a graduation candy bar. Let’s face it, everyone loves chocolate, and your guests will enjoy receiving this special treat as a memento of the occasion. You can even customize them with a photo of the graduate if you would like. This day is all about them, and this is an excellent way to commemorate this extraordinary occasion.  You can also find some great graduation party favor ideas here.