You only get the chance to graduate a few chances to graduate in life whether that’s from school or university. Once the official ceremony is said and done, it’s time to celebrate with friends and family. If you’re in charge of the planning, we’re here to help with putting it all together by sharing all of our graduation party ideas.
What’s even better is that although graduating is a pretty big deal, a lot of our ideas are relatively budget-friendly and can be DIY’d meaning you won’t have to spend too much. Just make sure to put aside a bit of money for a graduation gift.
Graduation decoration ideas
Decorations are really the things that bring together a party and get the vibes going. So, naturally, you’ll want to make sure you have appropriate decorations to fit the theme of a graduation party.
To get the vibes going, these are some of our graduation decoration ideas:
- Number balloons – Is it really a party to begin with if you don’t have balloons? Get number balloons to represent their graduation year, and some others to fill the space. This could actually make for a great space for guests to take photos too!
- Pictures of the graduate – Okay, so we appreciate some might seem cringey to some, and if so, we understand. However, a graduation party is a prime opportunity to show off how proud you are of them. Put some on a banner or just find a few spots that need that added touch.
- Novelty graduation caps – Some novelty graduation caps could work amazingly as table centrepieces. What’s even better is that you could let everyone get involved and put out some bits that people can use to decorate the caps.
- Advice box – Adulthood can be hard; this is something we can all relate to. To offer some assistance and help them along the way, you can have an advice box where people can just write out a sweet note of things they wish they’d known.
Depending on what degree they’ve graduated with, or just their favourite high school subject, you could even get more creative and come up with themed decorations. Think safety goggles and a white lab coat for anyone who used to do a lot of laboratory work or create a scene much like a classroom for those with a degree in Education.
Party food ideas for graduation party
Of course, you’ll have some hungry mouths to feed which is why you’ll need to lay out a good spread for everyone to dig into. Other than the classic nibbles, we’ve got some more party food ideas for your graduation party.
Pasta bake
An absolute classic student-y meal is a pasta bake. We’re talking any type too whether that’s a tuna pasta bake all the way to mac and cheese. As long as there’s a big spoon or ladle on the side, people will be able to dish out their own portion. Plus, you can whip up a couple of different large portions of various pasta bakes and there’ll be more than enough to go round.
Chicken wings
A crowd-pleasing option for finger food that guests can go and pick at whenever they like are chicken wings. Alongside your platter of chicken wings, you can also have an array of dips. BBC Good Food have a great, and simple, recipe for preparing your own baked buffalo chicken wings. For any veggies or vegans attending, The Edgy Veg has a delicious vegan buffalo wings recipe.
Grad cap brownies
On the sweeter side of things, a large tray full of grad cap brownies not only sounds super yummy but is extremely on-theme. To make these yourself, Taste at Home have a full ingredient list and a step-by-step recipe.
Again, there’s always room for more inventive ideas such as cookies decorated as books if they did a degree in English Literature or History and drinks served in test tubes for those who did Chemistry or loved science at school.
Party game graduation celebration ideas
Now we’ve gone over party food and decorations for your graduation party, it’s on figuring out how to keep all the guests entertained. Here are our party graduation celebration ideas:
Graduate pub quiz
We’re sure the graduate has done their fair share of assessments so give them a rest and have a graduate pub quiz for everyone else. Questions will all be related to the graduate such as, and it will reveal who really knows them best!
Pin the cap on the grad
Yep, you guessed it, this is just another version of the classic ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ children’s party game! Pick the cutest or most embarrassing picture of the grad in question and get it printed rather large. Then all the party guests have to do is be blindfolded, spin around a few times, and attempt to pin the cap as closely to their head as possible.
Beer pong
An absolute classic university drinking game (which is also a quick and easy way to get everyone in the spirit) is, of course, the classic beer pong! Lay out some famous red solo cups, get into teams, and start a game – what a great way to mark the end of their studying life.
Graduation garden party ideas
If the weather is looking particularly lovely – which we all know is a rarity in the UK – then you might prefer to throw a graduation garden party instead. Get out all the chairs you own, a few tables to put some food and drinks on, potentially some hanging lights if you’ll be partying into the night, and you’re sorted!
It’s also a great option if you’ve got a big spacious garden to take advantage of and would rather that than having loads of people inside the house. For even more inspiration, we’ve got another blog entirely on how to organise the perfect garden party.
Hopefully, you feel prepared and filled with all the graduation party ideas and inspiration to throw a truly wonderful celebration. Over on the thortful blog, you can find all sorts including articles on every special occasion. Whether you’re throwing a graduation party or just attending, don’t forget to get the graduate in question one of our graduation cards to congratulate them on their achievements!
