Helpful Guide To Throw A Successful Graduation Party During Quarantine

With schools closed for the rest of the year as a precaution against the COVID-19 pandemic, high school and college seniors alike are facing some serious disappointment.

After all, the start of the summer months should spell celebration for so many reasons. Not only is school out and the weather warming, but it’s also the end to a chunk of education - and a marking of a new beginning.

However, with quarantines in place for many parts of the country, a graduation party simply isn’t possible, especially if you’re trying to maintain social distance. It’s likely that, in the coming months, many plans related to celebrations and ceremonies will have to change - but that doesn’t have to put a damper on your graduation festivities.

Here are some tips on how you can throw a graduation party during quarantine. Who knows, it could still end up being the best party ever!

Graduation Ideas

COVID-19 might have a lot of people changing their plans - nobody is hopping on an international flight any time soon - but that doesn’t mean you have to live with the disappointment. You just need to switch up your plans! Don’t cancel your graduation party immediately.

Consider throwing a smaller party for your kids’ graduation celebration party

Instead, get creative. By changing your mindset, you can still have an enjoyable party that’s one for the record books. You can give and receive personalized gifts, express your excitement and pride for the new graduate, or even celebrate with the graduating class. You just need to do so differently than how you might have in the past.

Consider throwing a smaller party. You can still celebrate your big day, but you’ll need to do so with fewer people in attendance - ideally, less than ten, although some places in the United States have opened enough now to allow slightly larger gatherings.

You can easily create a fun, enjoyable setting for your graduation party - it will just be smaller and more intimate, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Just make sure you limit your contact and adhere to the recommended six feet of distance between each other. Wash your hands for 20 seconds and disinfect any and all surfaces after attending the social gathering.

If you’re not comfortable with a limited in-person gathering, consider a virtual party. With the technology we have today, there’s no reason not to take advantage of it for a quarantine-approved bash. Host a party on a video-sharing website, like Zoom or FaceTime, and you can limit social interaction, protect everyone from the virus, and still have a great time.

There are still all kinds of benefits to having a virtual party, even though you might miss the hugs and in-person camaraderie that you ‘d get at an in-person shindig. Nevertheless, a virtual party is still a great way to exchange stories and swap congratulations and to enjoy the social gathering without having to think about the constant risk. Plus, there’s no limit on how many people you can invite.

Graduation Yard Sign

Putting a few signs on your yard is a great way to show your graduate that you care! After all, there’s no party like a drive-by party, something that has become increasingly common in the onslaught of COVID-19.

You can make a “honk and wave” kind of sign, or you can put your graduate’s photo on the sign with a brief congratulatory message (just make sure they’re okay with this first!). You might simply put a yard sign out that says that a graduate of the local school (you would include the name) lives there.

You don’t have to stop at the most typical, run-of-the-mill signs, either! There are all kinds of options. One of the latest yard sign trends is to use a garden flag,customized with the colors of the school and a message of your choice. You could also make a Fathead-style graduation sign with a photo cutout of your graduate’s face. There are even graduation banners you can buy.

Some other options? You could make a DIY photo booth with a digital photo frame and then display the end results on your lawn, or you could put out some congratulatory balloons. The options are endless.

No matter how you choose to recognize your graduate, putting out a yard sign is a fun, creative way to show your graduate how proud of them you are.

Virtual Party Ideas

Stay Positive For Graduation In These Uncertain Times

Whether you plan on hosting an in-person pool party later on or not, having a virtual party is a great way to show your graduate how much you care - without all the risks of an in-person event. If you decide to throw a virtual party, be sure to take the time to send out regular invitations as you normally would. These should include all the details of the party, including where to send gifts and which communication platform will be used to broadcast the event.

You should also make sure your graduate has a cap and gown! Some schools are providing these, but if not, you can buy them online. If your graduate was deprived of the opportunity to walk across that stage and receive his or her diploma, making sure they can do so now, in a virtual graduation party, is a great way to make up for it.

When you throw a virtual party, you’ll likely be limited in terms of food and drinks and who is ultimately able to attend (some people really aren't fond of virtual events). However, you can still play your favorite party games or just sit around and swap stories just like you normally would at a graduation party.

Date Change Ideas

If you aren’t a fan of having a small party or having one via Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom, you might want to consider just changing the date of your graduation party. You’re not going to be able to change your graduation date, of course - that will still probably take place in May or June. However, who’s to say that your graduation party has to take place on the exact same day as the actual event?

Consider rescheduling your graduation party for another time, when it will be safe for people to gather in groups, interact closely, and travel or be in public settings. Postpone the party to a later date - if you can, hold off on setting a date altogether. It’s tough to say when the risk will have passed, so you might want to play it safe and wait to schedule the party for when conditions are safer.

Graduation Ideas For High School Students

A high school graduation is unlike a middle school or kindergarten graduation - although those two events are milestones to be celebrated in their own accord, a high school graduation is a true mile marker in a student’s life.

It can be tough to plan a graduation party for a high school graduate, particularly if they plan on traveling away for college in the fall. You might want to consider delaying the party until August or, at the latest, September, if that’s the case. You may have to postpone indefinitely, though, or have a virtual party instead.

Graduation Ideas For College Students

Graduating from college during a pandemic is another milestone to be celebrated - but, as with a high school graduation, you will have to be mindful of how you do it. You can throw a virtual party or a postponed party for the graduate - or you could throw both kinds of parties.

Example?

You could have one virtual party with friends and family at the beginning of summer, with an in-person party later on, when things clear up. That way, you’ll be able to celebrate with everybody you care about and share the news of where you’re headed next.

Graduation Announcement Cards

Try To Keep Graduation Party Limited To A Select Group Of Friends

Even if you don’t plan on throwing your graduate a party, it’s still considered good etiquette to send graduation cards. You can send customized announcements or those that are more basic. Either way, you’ll want to include the graduate’s name, the name of the school, and a photo of them taken during the senior year.

If you plan on throwing any kind of graduation party, you may want to indicate this on the cards, too. You don’t necessarily have to have the date set in stone or a formal party planned yet in order to do so. If you’re not comfortable shelling out a ton of money on paper announcements when you aren’t planning on throwing a graduation party, feel free to send a virtual announcement instead.

Communicate Frequently

The best thing you can do when planning a graduation party in quarantine is to keep your potential guests in the loop. You don’t want anyone asking questions or getting frustrated about when (or if) you’re going to have a party. Make sure you communicate regularly, especially with guests who happen to live far away, so that you can stay apprised of their situation and views, too.

You’ll want to adjust your party plans accordingly, but regardless of what you decide to do, keeping everyone in the loop is an absolute necessity.

Save Your Graduation Party Decorations

If your spring or summer graduation party plans fell through at the last minute, don’t toss your supplies and decorations in the trash. You might want to hang on to them in case you decide to postpone. Remember, those decorations and supplies will still be useful, even if you have to hold the party several months down the road.

Reduce Food Orders

Whether you are moving the party online or are simply going to postpone, you’ll want to reduce the size of the food order you already placed or planned. Obviously, you’re going to be feeding fewer people now!

If you haven’t ordered food yet, consider whether it’s really necessary for the party you intend to plan. If you’re throwing a virtual party, food is really not required at all. If you decide to throw a party in-person, consider serving food in a way that will minimize the risks to you and your guests. Can you serve pre wrapped or prepackaged foods so you don’t have to touch the food or come into contact with serving utensils? Can you just serve hors d’oeuvres instead of a large meal?

All of these tips can not only reduce the amount of work that you need to do while planning the party, but will help people feel more safe and secure in attending such a party, too.

Send Graduation Gift As Planned

Reward Your Child For Reaching This Milestone - Graduation

One thing that shouldn’t change, even with the pandemic, is your gift giving. Even though the party might not happen, you should still send a graduation gift. The graduate deserves a reward after many years of hard work - and after all, they can’t control the fact that their graduation fell in the midst of a global pandemic.

Therefore, it’s important that you send a thoughtful, timely gift to honor your grad. You can send gifts via the mail to reduce potential contact and exposure, too, so there’s really no risk in sending something along.

Be creative with your gifts! You might want to give the graduate something they’ll use in college, or you could get a gift to help them commemorate their high school or college careers - like a photo album. After all, there has never been a time like this before - and remembering what it was like to graduate in quarantine is something your graduate will want to document!

Key To A Successful Graduation Party Is To Stay Positive and Flexible

Ultimately, the key to celebrating a graduation during quarantine is to be flexible and stay positive. There is undoubtedly a lot of worry and stress that go along with trying to plan a party in general - doing so during a global pandemic is an even more massive feat.

Coronavirus has changed a lot of things, but what it shouldn’t change is the fact that we all still need to stay connected. Make sure your graduate knows you care and take the time to plan a party - or simply to express your congratulations - in one way or another.

Have some patience with yourself and don’t stress if things don’t go exactly as planned. With a little bit of careful thought and planning, though, you’ll likely find that this year’s graduation party is just as special as it would be if you weren’t celebrating in quarantine.

Shana Thompson is a full time professional writer and editor. Shana has worked extensively in the fields of content marketing, on-page and off-page SEO (guest posts, backlink acquisition), and creative writing. As an experienced pro content writer, Shana has worked on several magazines, publishing companies and marketing agencies. Many recent projects have included everything from nutrition and health services, where a lot of research and citations were needed, to writing about health, sustainable, eco-friendly products.

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