Now that January and February are behind us, March brings spring break. Once spring break passes, the spring semester that started slow turns into a downhill slide like an out-of-control roller coaster ride. Weeks are full of activities, ceremonies, final papers, and exams, and before one blinks an eye, it’s graduation time.
At Royal Affairs Ballroom, we love to celebrate. It’s true. We look for every reason to celebrate. Graduation is a great reason to celebrate! Whether you are graduating high school or college, recognizing hard work and accomplishments is important. We are honored when a client chooses to celebrate with us whatever the special occasion.
Let’s look at 10 steps to plan a knockout graduation celebration!
Printed invitations
Theme: new city, major, career, “Oh the Places You’ll Go,” school colors, college theme,
Photobooth
Creative guestbooks like a framed photo mat with images and signatures, a photo book that can be signed, a high school yearbook
Food
Create a great song list.
Activities
Gifts or no gifts
Decorations
Favors
BONUS: Make sure to write Thank You notes
If you’re planning a graduation party, it’s time to pick a date. Once you have decided on the venue, call the venue immediately to secure your preferred date. The Royal Affairs Rooftop is a great location for a graduation celebration. It’s beautiful, it’s modest in size, and it offers incredible views of Old Town Lewisville which makes it a fantastic location for a smaller party. Once you have secured your date, it’s time for invitations.
Invitations
There are a few times you can get away with digital invites. We feel like graduation is not one of them. Why? It’s a milestone celebration. It’s a big deal to graduate from high school or college. It’s a life-changing event because it signals the beginning of a new chapter in life. When graduating from high school, a person heads off to college or trade school to embark on their adult life. That’s a big deal. Printed invitations provide a keepsake in themselves to add to a photo album later on and reflect on throughout life. With a graduation party, the list of guests is likely smaller than a wedding or birthday celebration, so printed invitations won’t be as expensive.
Here are some fun options from Shutterfly, Minted, and Canva. It’s easy to design your invitation on Canva. Download the file and send it to your favorite printing service or print at home.
Theme
It’s time to pick a theme. Let the plans of the future dictate the theme. Are you off to college? Plan the theme around your destination. Choose the colors of the new school, the mascot, or anything else that reflects what lies ahead as the theme. If the college or trade school is in a beautiful city, use the city as the theme to plan the decorations. One popular theme is to use the Dr. Seuss favorite “Oh the Places You’ll Go” as the theme. It provides a whimsical and fun way to launch into the next chapter of life. There are many great themes to choose from when planning a graduation party.
If a suitable theme is not coming to mind, pick some favorite colors and use balloons and other decorations to set the mood at the venue. A theme is not entirely necessary, but a direction for the decorations is required.
Photobooth
We always recommend a space for a photo backdrop. We love rented photo booths. It doesn’t have to be fancy, though. We often have weddings, birthdays, and quinceañera guests create a simple backdrop with props for pictures to be taken using a phone. Pictures will be taken regardless, so find a way to incorporate that photo magic that works for the budget.
Creative Guestbook
A creative guestbook is a must. It can be simple or extravagant. A season of life is changing. A guestbook with memories and thoughts from close friends will be a treasured keepsake for years to come.
Create a photo album that includes photos from the last 4 years and invite guests to sign the photo album. This is a treasure you can take with you to reflect on when you need a happy memory to cheer you up.
Grab a nice, large photo frame with a mat. Add your favorite photos in the shape of a heart or an initial. Allow guests to sign the mat and use it to decorate a new dorm room, apartment, or office.
Finally, we love the idea of dusting off your old yearbook and having guests sign the yearbook with messages of encouragement and joy.
Food
Food can be simple or extravagant. A shorter celebration - 2 hours - will not require a full meal. Heavy appetizers are a great way to fill people up without spending much and with little waste left over. Incorporate your favorite snacks and foods and fill the food table with those items.
Be sure to include something sweet. A second table with a candy bar where guests can select their favorites is a fun way to share things you love. Desserts don’t have to be overdone, but most guests will want to have something sweet.
Create a great song list
Grab friends and pick the song list. If you’ve decided to use a DJ, create a song list of the types of music and specific songs you want to have played at your party. Be sure to include music that will entertain a wide range of people. If you aren’t using a DJ, create a playlist on a reliable service you use to listen to music and add people to contribute songs.
Activities
Decide whether you want to have any activities or if this is just an easy-going celebration. Karaoke is always a big hit with guests but may involve rentals or equipment you’re not interested in dealing with. Games with the right group of people can be a blast. Figure out the plan for the allotted time you have and make it fun for everyone.
Gifts of No Gifts
Be sure to include any information about gifts on your invitation. If you don’t want guests to bring gifts, add a line that says “no gifts please” or some other directive to make it clear. If gifts are welcome, a gift table near the entrance is important so that guests are not awkwardly carrying around a present all evening.
Decorations
Refer back to the theme selected at the beginning of the event planning. One tip we have observed from graduation parties is to include decorations that can be used in the future in a college dorm room or new apartment. We love this idea of mindful purchasing and decorating so that it can be used again.
Favors
Favors are a nice touch, but not required. An easy party favor solution is to fill up a table with jars of candy and offer treat bags for guests to take a bag of candy home. This is a fun way to say thank you for coming.
BONUS TIP: Handwritten thank yous
We love a handwritten thank you note when gifts are received from generous givers. It is not required to thank every guest for attending. Handwritten thank you cards are for guests who brought a gift. Keep the message short and sweet. “Thank you for the gift of ____________. I plan to use it to _______.” People love receiving handwritten thank-you notes. Don’t forget to write them.
Royal Affairs Ballroom is big on celebrations. Graduation from high school, college, trade school, or other programs is a great way to recognize the end of a life season and to embark on the future. We would love to be part of your next big celebration. Call Royal Affairs Ballroom at 972-221-6565 today to plan your next celebration.
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