Fandango Catering and Events Offers 3 Tips for Choosing the Right Graduation Party

With so many graduations now taking place, today we want to offer three tips for helping you choose the right type of graduation party for your grad. 

Not one size fits all
In our view, age group and the grad's likes/dislikes are the two most important factors in choosing a graduation party that your grad will actually LIKE.

The major grad age groups are:

• Graduating from middle school
• Graduating from high school
• Graduating from college (bachelor's degree)
• Graduating from graduate or professional school

If you want your grad to actually like their graduation party, tailor it to their interests, not yours. With any age group it's a good idea to start your graduation party planning by asking what other grads in their class are planning to do--use this to decide if your grad even wants a party at all or would prefer to attend someone else's party or maybe both.

Your next step should be to discuss the general lines of your party ideas with the grad to see if they'd like something like that, using as a gauge what others in the class are doing.  Is your party idea too "out there" and more about what you'd like than what the grad would like? What would be really celebratory for them? Last year a friend who graduated from professional school told his parents that he preferred that they babysit his daughter so that he and his wife could go out on a date night since they hadn't done so in over a year.

Discuss the kind of party you'd like to give for them with your grad; in fact they may actually want something different from their usual social life for their graduation party, or as part of a round of graduation parties.    When I finished my M.A. at NYU and flew down to Texas for a couple of graduation parties (before I moved back here), my aunts hosted a Southern dinner for me and I loved it because at the time my friends and I went out every weekend, so it was a welcome change for me.  But be respecful of the grad's wishes.

Do something
The two schools of thought regarding graduation parties are: 1) socializing only and 2) keep them entertained.

Keep-them-entertained parties are nice for all ages IF the grad likes such things.  By "entertained" we mean things like having live music, lawn games or sports, a backyard carnival or fortune teller, retro activities like limbo, catered ice cream or hot dog trucks, and so forth. 

Such activities are great for middle and high schoolers as they keep them amused and out of trouble--but only if they enjoy the idea, or better yet, see if the grad wants to be involved in planning, including any activities.Younger grads are more influenced by their peers and more into enjoying graduation parties than those graduating from college or graduate or professional school, who are thinking mostly about finding or starting a job and so may find it more difficult to enjoy a graduation party in their honor; but such activities can take their minds off their job obsessions even if only momentarily. Ask them!


Let them eat cake?
Finally, serve foods your grad will enjoy, not just what you enjoy. This is a great time of year for an outdoor party but again, only if the grad likes it, and here too you can ask the grad what food they'd like for their party.  It's their day!

Our best to this year's grads,

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
http://www.fandango-catering.com/