Graduation Party Decorating Ideas

May is the month for graduations galore! Decorating for events can be time consuming and stressful. Believe me, I’ve planned plenty of events and sometimes you don’t even get to enjoy the actual event.  A graduation party is the type of event that you should really sit back and enjoy. It’s not like a birthday that comes every year. Graduations are few and far between and a cause to celebrate.  So here is an easy way to put together a graduation party without the stress.

^^^PIN THIS SO YOU REMEMBER THESE IDEAS^^^

There are so many things that go into a hosting a successful party. Today I’m going to focus on the gift table.  This is an area that you can put together for not a lot of money.  Everything that I’m going to show you came from Target.  And most of it was from the dollar bins at the front of the store.  Please tell me I’m not the only one who can’t resist those bins. Items just seem to jump into my cart screaming “Kelly, please pick me!”

GRADUATION PARTY DECORATING IDEAS

THE COLORS

A lot of the graduation items that you find in in the stores are gold and black. But if your graduate’s school colors aren’t gold and black, use their school’s colors!  It will give the party a more personal touch.

THE BACKDROP

In my opinion, the backdrop is more important than what’s on the actual table.  The backdrop sets the mood for the party and can be put together for cheap. I have a chalkboard wall that I use for a lot of parties, like our lemonade party.  I like it because you can customize it with any design that you like.  For a graduation party, I drew a simple banner with “Congrats Grad”.

I am not a chalk lettering expert by any means.  If you are nervous about chalk art or don’t quite know how to do it, I highly recommend The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering. You’ll be a pro in no time.

If you don’t have a chalkboard backdrop, you can make one using a piece of black foam board and white vinyl letters cut from a Silhouette machine.  If you don’t have a Silhouette, you can use a craft knife.

The tassel was on clearance for a couple bucks. You can find tassels in all different color combos or you can make your own .

 THE TABLE DECORATIONS

If you are using the table as a gift table, you may not need many table decorations. The gifts will act as the decorations.  However, if you are using the table for just an extra area of decor, fill it up with boxes wrapped in your graduate’s colors. I had some leftover gold and white wrapping paper from Christmas that worked perfectly. And yes, it’s from Target dollar bin.

I scattered some glitter on the table because honestly, who doesn’t love glitter. I also added a few glittery bags and a chalkboard that people can write well wishes on.

The letters on the chalkboard are chipboard letters and I attached them with hot glue.

My high school mascot made his way into some pics because I thought he was just too cute not to make an appearance.

My mom actually bought me this when I went home for my high school reunion.  So if you have anything sentimental, add it to the table!

I hope I’ve shown you an easy way to decorate for your next graduation party.  If you want more graduation ideas, check out this adorable way to dress up your drinks with a free printable!