MAKE IT CUTE

High school graduation! Can you believe it's finally here? There's never been a better time to celebrate. If you're thinking about throwing a party in honor of this amazing milestone, we've got the tips you need to make sure it's the bash of a lifetime.

Nail down the deets ASAP

Do you want to throw a chill kickback at home, or host a fancy dressed-up party at a venue? What time will the party start? What time will it end? Will it end up coinciding with someone else's grad party or another senior event? Will you cook food? Cater it? How many people will you invite?

These are all things you have to consider (and get some input from your parents on), especially if they'll be paying for everything. The sooner you figure out the tiny little details, the sooner you can send out invites and make your dream grad bash into a reality.

Don't procrastinate your planning—being a senior is already super busy, and you shouldn't make it even more stressful for yourself by having to figure all these things out at the last minute.

Know your guests

@sabrinacarpenter

When it comes to what food to serve, what music to play and what activities to do at your party, you should keep in mind who you're inviting. For example, if your friends all love Mexican food, cater tacos from the neighborhood joint. If your guest list is mostly your crew from the soccer team, they'd probably love to do a competitive activity like an obstacle course or table tennis. 

Throwing a successful party is all about making sure that everyone feels at home. Keeping your guests' preferences in mind will help your soiree go down as the most memorable of the year!

Lock down the decor in advance

Confession: I stressed myself out about grad party decor *way* more than I needed to. I was overthinking everything (What color scheme should I go with? How many balloons do I put in my backyard? Should my paper plates have grad caps on them?) and ended up procrastinating my actual set-up until the day of.

Here's my advice: Don't overthink your decorations. They'll add some aesthetic vibes to your party, but no one will be thinking about them as intensely as you are. Tbh, no one really cares if your balloons match your school colors exactly or if your party banner is perfectly symmetrical. So don't sweat it too much—the most important part is having a killer time with the people you love.

Make it a celebration of *everyone*

One of my favorite things about my own grad party? Instead of making it just about me, I shifted the focus to *all* the seniors in attendance. It was a celebration of our entire class's achievement, not just mine. Not only did it make people more likely to show up when they were also being celebrated, but there also wasn't any awkwardness about me being the center of attention.

And to be a gracious host, consider adding people to the guest list who aren't just your classmates, like some family members or friends from different grades.

For more party inspo, follow us on Instagram @girlslifemag!

Top image: @dior.n.goodjohn
Slider image: @rehana_alsultan

by Hana Tilksew | 5/17/2024