5 Tips for the Easiest Graduation Party Ever

Last Updated on June 20, 2024 by Michelle

We need a painless, simple Graduation Party. Here are my tips that helped us pull it off…

First, a little bit about the gal behind the party… (Scroll to the list below if you just want the quick tips.)

Kayla is my third of four daughters. She’s my full-blown Ag Girl who could work circles around most adults and grow a garden, preserve veggies, bake sourdough bread, and milk a cow better than anyone I know.

From Homeschool to CNN

She had finished up 18 years of homeschooling… well, officially 13, but from the day she was born she was a part of her big sisters’ learning experiences and loved every minute of it. She was reading at a second-grade reading level at the age of 4. I know the date exactly when she finished her reading curriculum. May 20th of her 4th year. (She set a goal for completing her reading program before her sister’s May 21st birthday.) She would turn 5 that September. That summer she even read a simple story in front of dozens of adults at the library summer reading program.

Within a few years she was reading novels like Lassie Come Home. Then at 9 the girl started her successful business (she was even written up in CNN Business! You can find that link to her write up right here, if you’re interested). She had a dozen monthly customers and 3 retail locations. I kid you not, this lady has always been driven and self-motivated.

Gardening, Baking, Tapping & Programming

So it was no surprise when we moved to our rural New England farmhouse that she asked me to help her turn over a huge garden, preserved her harvest, learned to cook over the open fire and in the beehive oven, joined in on learning to tap trees and make maple syrup, and helped us set up a homestead, complete with her sweet dairy cows. When her heifer, Selah, was born, well that was Kayla’s best day ever.

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Read about Kayla’s first Strawberry Pie and snag her recipe here.

Read about Selah, our sweet heifer right here.

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In 10th grade this beautiful lady coached a robotics team using this mindstorm robot (affiliate link)–was named an FLL robotics coach of the year–and discovered she also loved politics (well, it is a love/hate relationship, for sure).

But she also discovered another endeavor that she set her mind to wholeheartedly. While running a homestead (she’s always been the manager, Bill, Hayley, and I were the hired hands that worked for free), she decided to earn college credits in her final 3 years of homeschooling high school. She met with college professors, via online classrooms, and completed the work for an Associate’s Degree.

Keeping it Simple

So last night we had a party. To celebrate this amazing lady and her two degrees. Yet, for all her passions and hard work, she’s a simple lady at her core and wanted the party to be simple.

I didn’t mind this task–pulling together an impromptu, simple Graduation Party–given that her older sister is getting married just 6 short days from now. So here’s how we pulled off an amazingly fun night honoring this driven, determined lady in style, yet kept it as simple as can be.

5 Tips for A Simple Graduation Party

1. Keep the invitations simple

No need to invite a whole class of acquaintances; invite those people closest to the graduate (hint: this is often not all peers).

2. Use the food as decorations

I grabbed some sweets that described Kayla and labeled them as such, for a “Sweet Ode” to my sweet lady and set it all up on the front porch table, to greet guests as they arrived.

3. Add a few things that are meaningful to the graduate

For me, this was super easy, I snagged some of the quotes and verses that Kayla has made for her room decorations over the years, and hung the clipboards around the candy table.

4. Stick with something easy for you, if you want to serve something homemade

Kayla, her sister and I love DIY kombucha. I make 4 gallons a week; this week I just made sure to make a nice variety (these teas, blended just for kombucha, made it super easy) and we shared with our guests.

And yes, I did say 4 gallons. You’ll never believe how cheap it is to make this amazing DIY carbonated drink. I broke down the costs right here.

btw, if you’d like to know about this amazingly good-for-your very simple carbonated drink you can make yourself, you’ll love to know about my mini crash course, Simple DIY Kombucha.

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5. Make the activities as simple and true-to-the-graduate as possible 

For Kayla, that meant a bonfire, croquet, and root beer floats. Three things she loves that we could pull off without a minute’s notice.

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If you look at the world, you will be distressed, if you look within, you will be depressed,

if you look at God, you will be at rest. Corrie ten Boom

 

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And have you tried my a-MAAHZ-ing Maple Sugar Cookie recipe that’s in my Resource Library? You won’t find this deliciousness anywhere else… until Sweet Maple is in print this fall.