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Tips and Ideas for
Graduation Parties
Graduations are always exciting events. It is a time to reflect on the
past and wonder about the future. Your child has accomplished an
important goal in their life and it should be a time to celebrate.
Graduation parties can be as simple or as extravagant as you wish. Many
people host their graduation party in their home using their backyard,
deck or porch for outdoor entertaining while others opt to have the
party outside of the home. Whatever you choose below you will find some
helpful tips for planning a wonderful and memorable party.
Fun Graduation Items
Photo Confetti and Word Confetti features photos
and sayings on confetti. These one inches pieces of confetti are great
for invitations, thank you cards and decorating. Website:
Photofetti.com
Customized candy bars:
Simple as selecting a design, typing your
personalized message and adding your photo or logo. It is
the
perfect graduation favor that everyone will enjoy. Stick the wrapper in
your Year Book for everlasting memories. Website:
Personalized Candy Bars
PhotStamps: Create real US postage stamps with
your graduate's picture to use on your graduation party invitations and
thank you cards. Website:
PhotoStamps
Personalized Fruit Roll-Ups®: You can have your
graduate's name, and words of congratulation on the Fruit Roll-Ups®!
Make your own design or select one from several options available.
Website:
FruitRollUps.com.
Personalized party mint tins with a graduation cap design.
Website:
Party Mints
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Graduation/Party Supplies
The site that I have used in the past and find to
offer a great deal of wonderful supplies is
Shindigz Main Graduation Section.
Check it out I think that you will love it.
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Party
Invitations
Interested in
making free printable invitations with easy directions to help guide you
through the process check out
this site:
Graduation Invitations
Graduation Clipart
Need some
cool clipart for your graduation party or invitations check here:
Graduation Clip Art
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Quotations for the Graduate
Great quotes for the graduate for more check out
this site:
Quotes
Graduation is only a concept.
In
real life every day you graduate.
Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life.
If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference.
Arie Pencovici
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Party Themes
Food and Party Planning Ideas
Don't Make Hosting a Graduation Party Like a Final
Exam
Compliments
of razzledazzlerecipes.com
An easy graduation buffet is the
perfect way for the parents to enjoy the celebration
along with the guests. It's a time of new beginnings
for the graduates but also an opportunity to honor
all the people who have shared in their
accomplishments. And what better way to gather them
together than an open house?
Work Ahead. Preparing the food a couple of days
ahead helps reduce a last-minute rush and confusion.
Serve simple, but inviting foods. Foods don’t have
to require a lot of time to look like a work of art
or be tasty and inviting.
A buffet set-up is easiest if the
graduation party is in an open-house format. Serve a
menu to match the theme of the party if you are
using a specific theme, or serve traditional teen
favorites such as a taco bar or built-to-order
nachos, mini pizzas or burgers and hot dogs. Great
staples for a buffet style finger food meal include
chicken wings, meatballs, salads, veggies and dip,
and an assortment of fresh fruits with dip.
Remember that you will much
rather have leftovers than a sparse spread at your
buffet line, but here is a guide for you when you
are estimating your food quantities for your buffet.
For individual meats, fish, poultry:
• 5 - 6 ounces per person
• If the cuts of meat have bones in them, consider
adding more weight per person.
For multiple meat meals and buffets:
• 4 - 6 ounces per person
For pasta dishes:
• A pound will serve 4 - 6 people.
For vegetables:
• With a premixed salad, estimate one handful per
person.
• One head of lettuce will feed approximately 5
people, 4 medium heads will serve 15-20.
For appetizers:
• Estimate about 8 items total per person.
• Make 3-4 of each item per person, keeping in mind
that everyone may not take all of the items.
For desserts:
• Calculate one full portion of dessert per person.
• For multiple desserts, people will taste smaller
portions of each item.
Use disposable tableware, a good
quality paper plate and disposable plastic glasses.
For a touch of "diplomacy," roll white buffet
napkins (paper or cloth) around flatware and hold
them together with small tassels or ribbons.
To keep salads cold you can use
either small ";kiddie" pools filled with ice or buy
several "bus tubs" from your local restaurant store.
You'll find they will take less ice to keep salads
cold and can easily be stored and used again.
You can get inexpensive chafing
dishes now to keep hot food hot that can be thrown
out after the party with aluminum inserts. The
holders can be reused multiple times and can be
found for under $10.00. Don't forget to buy the sterno!
Make small trays of cold meats,
appetizers and keep a backup ready. It looks better
to replace the whole tray than to keep adding to the
one on the table. The same goes for salads. Don't
leave any food setting out for over 2 hours. If it
does, toss it, no one wants sick guests!
Make everything ahead of time,
and store hot items in a warming tray, or in an oven
set at 200 degrees.
Desserts can be a graduation cake
that you make or order from the bakery. You can also
do a dessert table which is always fabulous and
people love them. Set up the table away from the
buffet line and place desserts out after people have
gone thru the buffet.
If you are setting tables up and
decorating them, don't forget to buy a few
disposable cameras to set on the tables. Encourage
people to use them with a small handwritten note
attached to or under the camera. It is also fun to
set up a spot for picture taking with the graduate.
Decorate an area in school colors or to match your
party theme if you have one. Have some scrapbooking
paper available for everyone to leave a special
memory or best wishes to the graduate with. You can
make a scrapbook for the graduate later.
Here's the hardest tip of all,
relax and enjoy the day, after all you've earned it
also.....
Bar Tips
For drinks, you will
need to do a price check to determine what is cheaper to buy liter
bottles or canned soda. Be sure to have plenty of plastic cups and
ice available. Your assortment should include a cola
product like Coke, Pepsi, RC; a clear soda such as 7-Up or Sprite;
a selection of diet soda; caffeine free soda; bottled water;
non-carbonated products like ice tea, green tea, lemonade or Minute Maid
punch. Juice boxes are a great option for young children.
If you serve alcohol, be sure to place ALL the beer, wine coolers and
other alcoholic beverages in a separate cooler that is labeled ADULTS
ONLY. If you have a bar you MUST have a responsible bartender who
will watch who is being served.
1.
Place a miniature peanut butter cup, bottom up, on a plate. Top with a
small dollop of frosting or peanut butter, then press on a
chocolate-covered graham cracker.
2.
For a tassel, tightly roll up a small square of fruit leather. Cut
fringe on one end and attach the other end to the center of the graham
cracker with another dab of frosting or peanut butter.
Note: can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated.
Unroll crescent rolls and place the
sections on a cookie sheet. Press the perforations and seams together to
form a crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until
golden brown.
Cream together cream cheese and
dressing mix until smooth.
Spread the mixture over the baked and
cooled crust.
Sprinkle veggies over creamy mixture.
Chill, cut into squares and serve.
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