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Graduation is a milestone moment in our lives, and deserves to be celebrated. These graduation party ideas can be used for high school or college, and can give you (or your kids, if you’re planning for them) a day or night to remember with your best friends and classmates.
Mega Fun Parties
Retro House Party
Live up your graduation party with a retro college party. Stock up on those classic red cups, play some beer pong, and shut down the WiFi. Put on some of your favorite nostalgic classics and spend your graduation celebrating with an indulgent nostalgia-fest.
College Oscars Ceremony
The dress code will be formal, the tables will be organized just like the real ceremony, and you’ll hand out fun awards to your classmates. Make sure to throw in an “Oscar for the Best Graduation Party” because you’ll be a shoo-in to take it home.
TV Crossover Party
The rule is simple: Classmates dress up as their favorite character from their favorite TV show and bring along a dish from the show (or inspired by the show.) Result? A 30+ TV series crossover party and endless fun.
World Cuisine Party
Whether you host in your own home or in a hired venue, you’ll organize various world cuisines at various tables. Your classmates can sample tastes of Europe, the Americas, and the rest of the world.
Nostalgic Disco
Hire a DJ, clear the dancefloor, organize a simple buffet and decorate the venue with fun photos and memories from your time at college. Don’t forget to add a little goody bag for your guests for an authentic experience.
Outdoor Ideas
Beach Party
Fire up the BBQ, buy or rent a volleyball net, and bring some speakers for music and party into the night. You might even be able to take a dip in the ocean if it’s warm enough.
Read more: 30+ Best Beach Party Ideas and Games for Adults
Firework Display Party
Put up some food, bring some music, and sit back and watch the spectacle! If your budget isn’t an issue, you could even order some customized fireworks in the colors of your college.
Picnic Party
A picnic party in the local park is a great low-key way to celebrate the end of your studies. Whether you provide the blankets and food for everyone or encourage a fun “potluck” picnic, you’ll have fun sitting in the warm outdoors with some great food and even greater company.
Get some ideas from my picnic food ideas list if you’re in charge of the food!
Bonfire Party
Provide the marshmallows to toast and keep blankets on hand for when it gets a bit chilly – it’ll certainly be a unique end-of-college party.
Fiesta Party
Have fun filling the piñatas with token souvenirs from your college. Organize a taco-and-tequila bar so that your guests can serve themselves food and drink all night. Pop some themed music on the speakers for the most authentic fiesta experience.
For Hosting in the Backyard
Backyard BBQ Party
Organize a finger buffet, put someone in charge of the grill, and install a temporary mini bar in the garden, so your guests don’t get bored waiting on their hot dogs.
Classic Garden Party
If you’re looking to throw a more formal or classy event, you can’t go wrong with a classic garden party. We’re talking formal dress code, finger food, a champagne fountain, and a little mini dancefloor amongst the white chairs and tables. Decorate the garden with flowers, fairy lights, and your college colors.
Related: Fun Tea Party Ideas
Finger Food Buffet
A finger food buffet party is a great way to get the food section of your party taken care of so you can focus on giving speeches, taking photographs, and having a great time reminiscing with your former classmates.
Ice Cream Parlor Party
Fill freezers at home with all your favorite flavors – Nutella, strawberry, key lime pie, you name it! Don’t forget that all-important toppings bar filled with candy, nuts, and sauces.
Campfire
You can toast marshmallows, dance to your favorite music, and raise your glasses to the end of your college years and the debut of your adult lives.
Related: 40 Camping Activities and Games for a Super Fun Weekend
Themed Parties
Casino Night
A casino night-themed party is a great way to celebrate while having fun doing some faux gambling and dressing up in fancy outfits. For an authentic experience, you’ll need an open bar and the right deco – we’re talking Bond-style martini glasses and some Vegas-style decorations.
Hollywood Stars
Guests dress up as classic Hollywood movie stars, while the deco includes a red carpet and faux paparazzi ready to snap photographs. With a champagne fountain and some retro 50s music to boot, you’ll feel the magic of that Golden Hollywood era!
Tropical Theme
Decorate your venue with bright pinks, greens, and yellows, make a signature pineapple-flavored cocktail, and make sure you’re serving flamingo-print everything. Don’t forget some fun music and a fruity buffet.
Gatsby Graduation Party
To throw the perfect Gatsby fete, you’ll need to enforce a strict gold and black dress code, feather headpieces for all your female guests, and bow ties or top hats for the males. Pair your dress code with art-deco decorations and 1920s jazz music, and you’ll throw an unforgettable graduation party for you and your classmates!
Literary Theme
For a fun literary-themed party, encourage your guests to come dressed as their favorite book characters. Serve book-shaped cakes, candy, and culinary creations inspired by your favorite stories.
Unique Ideas
Fantasy Dinner Guest Party
We all have that “fantasy dinner guest” party list, right? For this fun graduation party idea, each guest turns up as the top person from their own fantasy dinner party. You’ll see how many people want to have dinner with the same person, and hilarity will no doubt ensue.
Fondue Party
You’ll have a chocolate fountain complete with candy, fruit, and biscuits, while each table will also have its own cheese fondue kit where they’ll dip bread, meat, and other goodies.
“We Just Met” Party
If you want to have a truly unique graduation party, why not throw a “We Just Met” party? This party might seem a little complicated, but it’s simple. The concept is as follows: everyone shows up but pretends to meet one another in the adult world for the first time.
College Colors Party
Whether you’re red and white, green and yellow, or black and white, the deco, food, activities, and dress code will all be subject to the college’s colors. Might be time to bring out the green food dye!
Food Truck Party
Rent a venue for dancing and drinking, and rent a food truck for every taste and dietary requirement. Spend your graduation party going between grilled cheeses and candy floss, and loving every minute of it.
Classic Ball
Rent a hotel ballroom, put the champagne on tap, and enforce a strict dress and behavioral code – you’re going to party like it’s 1898, and you’re going to have a blast!
On a Budget
Park Sports Party
You don’t need to invest in a fancy venue or hire a hotel ballroom, all you need to do is head down to the local park on a hot day. Encourage guests to wear college colors for a more authentic experience.
Potluck Party
For a graduation party, throw a potluck party and encourage guests to bring one dish for the party buffet. You can still provide the mini bar, where guests can pay for their own drinks.
Pizza Party
You can rent a venue or throw the pizza party from the comfort of your own kitchen if your home is large enough. Bulk-buy pizza dough, stock up on all the toppings you can imagine, and see what crazy creations your classmates come up with.
Virtual Ideas or Events
Zoom Karaoke
If your graduation plans have simply gone virtual, you can still have a blast online by throwing an online karaoke party.
Virtual Cocktail or Mocktail Bar
Bring the cocktail bar to your own living room with an online Zoom cocktail or mocktail session.
In our lives, there are several ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ achievements and milestones that deserve special attention, and graduating is definitely one of them.
Use these graduation party ideas to inspire you and your classmates to plan a memorable day, evening, or night that this important milestone deserves. That way, you can look back in one, ten, and even fifty years, and let those wonderful memories come flooding back.
Oh, and here’s some more graduation or college articles that might interest you:
- 34 Best Graduation Party Games to Spice up Your Graduation Bash
- 100+ Best College Bucket List Ideas
- The Best 21st Birthday Party Ideas
- Summer Bucket List: 100+ Fun Things to do this Summer
Tasked with planning a memorable graduation party for your class? Keep these ideas for future inspiration by pinning this article to one of your boards.
