Parents of graduating seniors: Graduation season is around the corner! If you have a graduate in the class of 2022 or 2023, you know it’s time to get creative. Here are 5 great outside-the-box graduation party ideas to celebrate the class of 2022-23. Affiliate links are included in this post.
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Congrats, Grads! You Made It
First of all, let’s just give the classes of 2020 and 2021 the respect they deserve for getting to this point.
No one- and I mean, no one– had “Senior Year During a Pandemic” on their high school bingo cards.
It had challenges, to say the least, and in most cases, things looked very different.
But graduation for the class of 2022 and 2023 is looking more normal, finally.
What can we do to make the class of 2022’s graduation experience extraordinary?
We’ve got a list of 5 ideas for graduation parties that can help your family celebrate in a big way.
1. Graduation Yard Cards
This one is a no-brainer around here and was super popular for the classes of 2020 & 2021.
We expect it to be another grand way to celebrate the classes of 2022 and 2023 as well.
Group gatherings are back on the table and making sure your guests don’t miss the party is simple when you have this kind of sign saying the Grad lives here!
Here’s our favorite graduation party idea: order a yard card.
Say it BIG on your front lawn for everyone to see with a graduation yard card.
And if you are in Northern Virginia, graduation yard cards can be ordered through No-Guilt Yard Cards. I’ll also point you over to Celebration Yard Cards in Windermere Florida and Karen’s Yard Cards in the East Bay of northern California.
But if you need more options, check out this national yard card directory for a few other locations.
2. Graduation Car Parades
Since you’ve decked out the yard, don’t let it go to waste!
Send an Evite to your local contact list and plan a car parade for this social distant graduation party idea.
Have everyone queue up in their cars around the corner at the specified time and then let the parade roll past your grad.
The graduate will get a chance to wave, smile, and celebrate their hard work with friends, family, and neighbors alike.
And you won’t have a messy house to clean up afterward.
Look, I’m just saying this isn’t a bad thing to keep around even after this whole mess is over!
3. Parade Your Senior Around Town
Similar in idea to number 2, but with a twist.
Instead of folks coming to you, take your kiddo in cap and gown to them. Drive up to school for some grad photos, then hit the neighborhoods for friends and family.
This works especially well if you can pop open the sunroof or drive a convertible.
(obviously, only get out of the car when in park- safety first!)
This is particularly helpful if you have an elderly family member who isn’t able to leave the house as easily but doesn’t want to be left out of this fabulous graduation party idea.
4. Celebrate the 12 Days of Graduation
I love this idea my friend Kim at Stuffed Suitcase Travel came up with.
Start a countdown 12 days before graduation, gifting your graduate a little something for each day.
An iTunes gift card, $21 in cash, a flipbook of their school photos ending with senior year, etc.
They don’t have to be elaborate, just unique ways to acknowledge how special this time is for them!
5. Sponsor A Senior
A super fun way to let the seniors know they are loved is to participate in a sponsor a Senior program.
Our district has an unofficial Facebook group for just such a thing- might be worth asking in your local groups to see if there’s one to join.
The idea is simple: there are sponsors and Seniors who need sponsorship.
Don’t let the word “sponsorship” scare you: we’re talking small ways to acknowledge the end of the year or to prepare the graduate for their next big step.
Seniors (or their parents) create a wish list on Amazon or share their needs/wants/likes with the group.
Then a sponsor (or sponsors) step in to help bring a little happiness to their lives by purchasing a needed college dorm item like this bedside shelf accessory or maybe a gift card to Starbucks.
That’s just a start- I know parents are all about creative ways to put on a graduation party during this weird time.
Whatever you do, make the grads the center of attention for one special day. After all, they deserve it!
What are your best graduation party ideas? Let us know in the comments!
Patty Holliday is the owner and creator of all things No-Guilt Universe. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.
john spen
Sunday 21st of March 2021
Great post with wonderful grad celebration ideas