Graduation is probably going to be one of the most significant events in your child’s life, at least up to this point. They will have many more years to continue striving and achieving new milestones, but for the majority of teens, high school graduation is their biggest milestone yet.
Parenthood is tough at times, and getting one child, let alone multiple children, from birth to graduation is a monumental feat. You deserve more than just a pat on the back for your effort, but when graduation day comes, it should be all about your little dynamo. Whether your teen is considering nursing school or a year off to discover themself, there is no way you can show them just how proud and honored you are to watch them grow to this point, and when it’s time to commence and celebrate, the last thing you want is to be scrambling around last minute trying to prepare a bash fit for your graduate. Yes, there needs to be a bash. Even if your adult child is graduating from college, this is an event worthy of celebration.
Some are natural party planners, and others, not so much. The latter shows up to the former’s events and is always in awe of how much they pulled off. If you belong to the latter, which is the majority, let me tell you the former’s secret: planning and preparing well in advance.
At this point, the school has probably already contacted you about robes, rings, tassels, and diplomas. You know it’s looming, but it still seems so far away. Don’t be fooled! Now is the time to hop on board the event planning wagon. If you do a little planning and paying each month, you’ll be snug as a bug when graduation comes, and you’ll feel less like you offloaded a bunch of money.
February To-Dos
You’ll want to have everything in order with your child’s school: any paperwork, any orders and payments for graduation necessities should be safely sent off before the end of the month. You’ll also want to make a list of everyone you want to send an announcement/invitation to. You may have family that lives out of town and won’t make it to the actual event, but you’ll want to inform them of the achievement anyway. However you want to go, get the list together and start requesting any addresses you don’t currently have. And that’s it for February!
March To-Dos
You’ll want to have your announcements designed, ordered, and shipped out early in the month. An online service can make designing, printing, and even mailing your graduation announcements very stress-free, and they usually have a better selection than a local vendor.
Now’s the time to discuss with your graduate what kind of party they want to have and begin implementing plans. Generally only family, social, and church friends end up getting invited to the celebration because the majority of your child’s friends are graduating at the same time and having their own bashes. It may be beneficial to go in on one big bash for your child and their friends. It can save time and money as the party planning and costs will be split between parents, but if your child wants their own party, let them have it. They deserve it.
If your party will require a venue, entertainment, or any other service that is difficult to book, start researching options early in the month and have a booking set and deposit placed down by the end of the month. If you’re hosting and taking care of everything yourself, you’re set for the month with nothing more than a loose idea of what the bash will be.
April To-Dos
First thing you want to complete in April is solidifying the plans. Elaborate on your graduate’s original ideas and then figure out what is realistic and not, and set up a solid plan and a thorough list of everything you’ll need.
You’ll want to start researching party suppliers and pick one that has the options you want at the cost you want. You can buy the supplies now if you’d like, but as long as you know exactly what you need, you’re set for April on that front. Same goes for food: if you’re serving food or drink, even if it’s just snacks, have a menu planned out and a tentative shopping list set up. If you’re using a caterer or specialty cake baker, April is the month to book those.
Last thing you’ll want to do is have your graduation invitations ordered by the end of April, and plan to ship them off three and a half weeks before the actual date. Four weeks is too early, people may forget, and two weeks is a little too short of notice for some people, so ideally invitations will arrive three weeks before the event.
May… It’s So Close!
Depending on where you live, your child will probably graduate in late May or early June. Either way, it’s go time! Make sure those invites are out, and have all your party supplies purchased very early in the month, especially if you are DIYing any of your own decorations.
A couple of weeks before the party, go over your plans and list again and make sure everything is in order. If you’re preparing food and drink, make a tentative shopping list two weeks before the event and then tweak it five to seven days before the party to fit with your RSVPs. You’ll want to get all of the food and drink purchased no later than three days before the party, sans any specialty ingredients that expire quickly. Prep anything you can in advance. For example: cupcakes can be made four days in advance and frozen, dips can be made three days in advance, appetizers/dishes can be prepped out the day before, and then everything is ready to be popped in the oven or plattered up the day of.
The day of, enlist the help of whoever you can (little ones are great for this) to decorate, and have yourself a nice hot cup of tea or a glass of wine. You pulled it off! Not just the party, the child-rearing as well. This is a day to celebrate your kid, but don’t forget to celebrate yourself for getting them this far. Congratulations to you both!
