Here are 20+ of the Best Graduation Party Ideas. They range from elegant flower table center pieces, to practical popcorn stands, to fabulous party lighting. They are not in order of greatness, but grouped by party aspect.
Updated 2020
Note: now that social distancing should be in place, you can still use these ideas to hold a small house party, with just a few house guests, or family only.
We recommend setting up a Zoom party channel at a central location for overseas or interstate family members – think grandma and grandpa – who still want to be part of the party. A safe place in the kitchen could be a good spot. You want lots of people walking by and being able to stop for a chat.
Graduation Party Ideas for Decorations
Graduation Party Centerpiece with Flowers
Color scheme: Silver with Mauve / Pink Color Pops
Graduation Party Ideas for Decoration: Tissue Paper Splendor
Use colored tissue paper to set up the color scheme for your graduation party and add instant dazzle. Here are some ideas for tissue paper tassels on balloons, on banners and a fab piñata-inspired graduation year sign.
Color Scheme: Blues & Greens
Graduation Hat Box – Greeting & Gift Card Collector
Graduation Party Ideas: Jeans Photo Banner and table cloths
One of my readers held a graduation party with a cowboy denim theme. These are her pictures. It was held in a barn, and all the decorations featured denim. I love her denim and bandana strip photo banner, with photos from every school year. It is simple to create once you have the photos selected0. To make the denim table cloths is more involved. You have to cut up old jeans into squares and sew them together into long rectangles. It takes a lot of jeans to cover a table top. Let alone several tables. So, most likely, that project will require visit to a charity shop to pick up a couple of old jeans.
Color Scheme: White, Black & Gold
B/W Graduation Photo Wreath
Graduation Party Ideas – Advice Tree as Centerpiece
This advice tree as well as a thoughtfully written greeting cards can make invaluable gifts for graduates that become lifetime keepsakes, and sow the seeds of a successful life and career.
Graduation Party Ideas – Food & Drinks
Graduation Napkins Wrapped as Diplomas
Utensils rolled in napkins and tied with ribbon to look like diplomas.
Popcorn Bar
Make your own popcorn! This will always be a hit.
College Graduation Party Cap Drinks
When you see these, I’m sure you go: ‘Why didn’t I think of this?!’ So simple DIY party craft. Very quick to do.
Tip: make the graduations hats in the color of your party theme.
Make Your Own Banana Pops Station
Diploma Cookies
Milk & Cookie Shooters
Mason Jars with Tags – priceless journey to paradise.
No garbage nor landfill with these! Whoohoo. The jars wash easily in the dishwasher. No thousands paper or plastic cups to throw out after the party.
Write a cute saying on one side and get guests to take their tags home.
Lemonade Stand Graduation Party Idea
By Eeuphoriaa
Festive Healthy Party Food
I love green and red pepper containers as that’s two less bowls to wash and makes for a great display. Grown-upy as it should be, it’s what kids should eat.
How Much to Serve at Your Graduation Party – Chart
Party Ideas for Centerpieces
An elegant book stack! This can be a fun way to package your gift (card), or this stack of embellished books can be a Graduation Party centerpiece.
Festive Graduation Party Outdoor Lighting
Lighting for the backdrop…
Lighting on the tables
I love this silver stack of sprinkling lights! Easy and inexpensive way to have ‘fireworks’, with only a fraction of the pollution and all the fun.
That’s it for the BEST graduation party ideas – in 3 color schemes: black & gold, silver with peach, blues & greens. I bet many of these ideas you’ll want to steal immediately.
Have fun and congrats with your son/daughter’s graduation! Such a milestone to achieve.
I am intersted in the graduation hat box card collector. Do you sell those or have directions for me to make my own?
Hi Cindy, such a graduation hat box card collector is an easy DIY! See the ink below it for details. It’s really a piece of cardboard with a slit, covered in packing paper, fabric or similar. Cover a slightly smaller box with these same fabric. Add a tassel in 2 tones, and voila. You’re done. A very easy, quick DIY idea for a graduation party, if you ask me. And yes, one fo the 20 BEST Graduation Party Ideas as these cards always go ‘everywhere’. But if grandma visits, that card may contain some cash, this is really a jewel of an idea. I hope you managed to make one. Pro-tip: be sure to secure the top cardboard lid on one side to the box, so that it cannot slide off it.