Graduation Party Planning

Do you want to have the most exciting graduation party in town? It can be done, but it requires a lot of careful planning. The following should help you create a party that would honor that special graduate! Most importantly, decide on your budget. Don’t worry if you have a small budget. Small budget forces you to be more creative, and it doesn’t mean you have to compromise on the quality. Your budget is going to have a big impact on the size of your guest list. You can only invite as many people as you can afford to feed. When preparing your guest list, you need to consider the size of the place of the party. There should be only as many people as your home can accommodate. The most common location for graduation parties is private homes. If your home is too small for a large party, you can ask to see if the party could be held at a friend’s house. If your party is going to be held in an apartment consider noise, parking, and space issues. The type of food your serve has a lot to do with your budget and your audience. If your budget only allows for pizza, you can still have a great time. If you can afford catering, your guest will be sure remember it for a long time. Don’t serve alcohol if you expect children at the party. To save money, you can purchase preprinted invitations, and print or hand-write them. Hand written invitations are more personal, and often more appreciated. Depending on your guests, you can send e-mail invites. Purchase supplies for decorations. Make sure there is film in the camera, or there is enough memory in the digital camera. Try to order a cake with a graduation theme. You could choose a theme for the party depending on what school the person graduates from. For example, you could have a hospital theme for your nursing school graduate. Order personalized party favors with the name and school of the graduate. Personalized chocolate makes for a great graduation party favor. You can even get personalized m&m's now!

Catering For Your Party

Dealing with catering service providers is part of planning a successful party. A caterer normally provides food and beverages and they have an important role in your party. If you have experience with caterers, you are in luck. But if you have never hired a caterer before, don’t worry.

If the party venue offers this service, it is also possible that you don’t need to worry about hiring a third party caterer. Even if catering is not provided by the party location, they may be able to recommend some to you. If your party site manager, recommends a caterer you should still do your homework. Just like any other vendor, a caterer should be able to provide you with several references. You should always contact the references.

You should ask about reliability, trustworthiness, quality, and related issues. Never assume that a caterer recommended by someone if surely the best possible solution for your event. One caterer may work great for one event, but be insufficient for others. A caterer may be experienced in smaller parties, but not experienced with parties with two hundred invited guests.

There are two different styles of catering:
Seated Dinner - Seated dinner setting will normally require more staff than a buffet. Serving the food requires more severs. With a seated dinner, you will need more tables and chairs because most of the guests will eat at the same time. A seated dinner offers less flexibility for your guests, because they usually have a couple of options to choose from. To simplify the process, menu options should be included with the party invitations so your guests can choose which selection they prefer. The pre-selection process enables you to work with your caterer on the final count.

Buffet – You may be able to get away with less chairs and tables with a buffet dinner. Buffet gives your party guests more flexibility, and they don’t all have to eat at the same time. A buffet dinner also gives your party guests more options to customize their food selection. The buffet requires fewer servers and less staff. Guests can pick and choose what they like. In addition to the obvious advantage of a more flexible dinner, your guest can go back for seconds. Because buffet dinners require minimal service staff, you may even be able to save money with this option.

Alcohol Free Party

Parties are fun but planning them is work. The more carefully you plan your next party the more likely you succeed. Better planning means better party. A successful party can help you entertain friends, family or coworkers. It can help you maintain or start long lasting friendships. If you play your cards right, a successful party can help you get promoted more quickly.

How much money you spend on the party is one of the most important aspects of party planning. You have to know how much money you can afford to spend per guest. The budget determines what kind of food and drinks you can serve. A large budget doesn’t guarantee a successful party and a tight budget doesn’t guarantee a disappointing party.

You can save a lot of money by serving soft drinks, and avoiding alcoholic beverages all together. If your party is during the day, you can more easily get away with no alcoholic beverages. Most people don’t drink during the day. An alcohol free evening party may be a stretch.

If it is a party with children present, you can easily explain an alcohol free party. An alcohol free party yields a more peaceful environment, and fights are much less likely. It is much more easier to control sober guests than a bunch of drunks. Baby showers provide a great opportunity for a sober party as a form of solidarity for the pregnant mother.

If you decide to serve alcohol avoid salty thirst triggering foods. Serve food before you serve alcohol. It's better to eat while drinking than to drink on an empty stomach. Designate a friend or family member to be the bartender for the evening rather than allowing people to serve themselves. Be prepared to take away car keys, and know your designated drivers.

Not only that you save money because non-alcoholic drinks cost less, at the end of the party there are no arguments about who's going to drive home!