Planning A Family Friendly Graduation Party

The graduation season will be upon us before we know it. When people think of graduation, they most likely think of a school graduate, such as Kindergarten, high school, college, and medical school. But there are other graduates of religious affiliations, military branches, and groups such as Girl and Boy Scouts. Here are some great tips for planning your next family-friendly graduation party:

• Choose a date. While you can plan to have the graduation party immediately following the ceremony, you may also choose to plan it for a later date to accommodate travel plans and schedules of friends and family members who may need to travel from far distances to attend the party.
• Choose a theme. Consider the age of the graduate, his likes and dislikes, his network of friends, the age of guests, and then choose a theme that all may enjoy.
• Make a list. Determine how many guests you will invite and take into consideration that they may bring guests. If you stipulate on the invitations that they may bring one guest, that may not stop Uncle Frank from bringing his girlfriend and her five children. Since you'll want to supply ample food for all guests—invited or not—allow for extra when you make your guest list.
• Choose a venue. In accordance with your theme, choose a venue for the party seasonally appropriate, with adequate space and ample restroom and parking facilities. While it is appropriate to host a backyard cookout for a handful of friends and family, your home and yard will hardly prove spacious enough to host a party for fifty people.
• Send invitations. After you've chosen a date, allow plenty of time to notify attendees of the party by sending invitations in the mail at least five weeks in advance. Request a regrets only RSVP, and that way you can better plan on how many people to feed and entertain. Make sure that you outline the date, location, theme, and dress code for the party within the text of the invitation.

Once you've a firm list of attendees, plan your food and entertainment. If your guest list includes the majority of people under the age of 19, you'll need to have plenty of entertainment so that they won't easily become bored. Yet, if you have older family members and friends you'll also need to keep them entertained. A great idea for family-friendly graduation party entertainment is to set up stations throughout your venue that your guests can choose to use at their leisure. Some of the stations might include a dark room for a theater to play DVD movies and furnish popcorn, soda, and candy. Set up a separate area for active games such as corn-hole toss, horse shoes, bean-bag toss, darts, or dodge ball. Another area for older guests could include games such as bingo, card games like pinochle or poker, and board games for younger children like Chutes and Ladders or Life.