Graduation Party Checklist

March is here, which means spring is coming, and so is the last day of school. The very last day of high school for my middle child! Yikes!

And that means, I better get hustling on that graduation party! I’ve been preparing for it all year–In order to stretch the costs over months, whenever I go to Sam’s Club, I pick up something for the party. So far I’ve got big plates, cake plates, napkins, silverware, tablecloths, and water. Plus Doritos for the walking tacos we’re no longer having. And there’s so much more to buy.

The menu’s planned:

• pulled beef and buns
• hot dogs
• veggie & fruit tray
• potato salad
• popcorn bar
• bars (for non-Minnesotans, that means yummy desserts usually made in a cake pan or on a cookie sheet).
• cake – My niece is making a cake decorated with the school colors, red and black. (We learned from my daughter’s grad party that you don’t serve a cake with black frosting. It has numerous side effects including, but not limited to, black lips, teeth, and tongue.)

He had his grad pictures taken at Portraits from the Heart (the same studio that took my business shots). The photographer, Gay Hartfiel, is a miracle worker who was able to bring out my son’s dimples. Can’t wait to see what she can do with my youngest who graduates next year!

Though I like to keep it simple, there’s so much yet to do:

• scan pictures
• create his graduation announcement and send it out
• create a memory book (he’s making the slide show)
• order tables and chairs
• purchase his graduation gift
• ask my friends to host again. (For those of you planning grad parties, asking friends to host is the best thing ever. For my daughter’s party, my friends arrived, took over food prep, shooed me out of the kitchen, and only let me return to fill my plate. I was able to talk with all the guests. Talk about making the afternoon stress-free!)

And then there’s other preparations such as

• fixing windows
• painting the house
• cleaning the windows and house! Oy! That’s the worst.
• go to the Petra concert (well, it’s the night before the grad party, so it’s automatically included in the planning.)

I’m sure there’s more to do, but that’s all my brain can process at the moment.

I’d love to hear about your graduation parties!