Preparing for next year's graduation

[devalsam]

My daughter will be graduating high school next year and I was thinking that it might be a good idea to start picking some supplies up now and put it away to get ahead of the ball and spread out the costs. Do graduation supplies tend to go on sale? Where are the best places to look?

And if you've been down this road already, any tips or pointers? Obviously I won't be buying anything with the year but I figured basic graduation stuff is the same year after year, right?

 

[kookiekat02]

You should be able to find some good deals on graduation stuff starting around now and possibly into July. Oriental trading, dollar stores, and walmart would probably be some good places to start looking. Early congrats to your daughter!

 

[Pembo]

Just had my son's grad party. We didn't spend that much using the Dollar Tree and Aldi's for supplies. Personally, I wouldn't buy ahead, who knew a year ago that my son would want his soon-to-be-college colors instead of his high school colors?! Enjoy the ride that is the senior year.

 

[Sagginit]

I always see stuff on clearance at Target. Many of the items are dated with the year but if you check the end caps in the party/stationary section you might find something you can put away for next year. A lot of grad stuff does tend to be black/white with gold or silver for some reason so it may or may not mix in well with other items you pick up closer to the party. If you are planning this far ahead you may want to think if there is anything you want to DIY (such as signs, banners, decorations, scrapbooks, autograph/ guest books) and instead focus on picking up items you might need for that ahead of time. I have done some banners and DIY decorations for parties, it can cost more than buying it pre-made if I have to buy supplies at the last minute.

 

[sk!mom]

Just had my son's grad party. We didn't spend that much using the Dollar Tree and Aldi's for supplies. Personally, I wouldn't buy ahead, who knew a year ago that my son would want his soon-to-be-college colors instead of his high school colors?! Enjoy the ride that is the senior year.

When DD graduated two years ago that was our theme as well. Not congrats and high school colors but ON to the next step of life and college colors.

I didn't spend enough on party goods to warrant stocking up and storing for a year.

 

[Sandi]

My DD did not want a party. She was sick of them by the time she was a junior. She went to several of her classmates' parties but chose, instead, to have a very nice dinner after graduation with grandparents, DH and I. Maybe your child has her heart set on a party; I was surprised mine didn't want one.

 

[runwad]

I'd pick up some thank you notes when you see them on sale. We just got generic thank you's from the $ tree, but I like the Graduate thank you's that are out. There are lots of style's that don't have the year on them.

 

[clh2]

We did not spend anything on decorations. Instead, we put out many of her bigger projects from elementary school, ribbons and trophies, scrapbooks we had made, etc.

We picked up a pennant from DD's college, and hung that up. We had 2 cakes, one had her high school colors, and the other was in her college colors, with a college slogan on it.

For plates, napkins, forks, etc, I always pick up stuff from Costco. I never pick colors.

I know someone who decorated their grad party with various high school and sports t-shirts.

Just trying to put out ideas that do not really cost money, just take a bit of planning!

 

[barkley]

just went into a local independent store-ALL of their grad stuff (non date specific) was at minimum 50% to 75% off (gifts, thank you notes, decorations......).

when dd graduated I purchased allot of items for her grad party from dollar store (high school color plates, cups, balloons, signage......). since the university she was going to attend had the same school colors as her high school had (and ds would be graduating from the same high school), instead of purchasing cheap throw away tablecloths I went on-line and for about $6 each purchased 3 cloth tablecloths in her school(s) colors (I can reuse them for other purposes, used them for high school graduation/her db's graduation/will use them for college graduations).

as far as saving $$$$$ by doing ahead of time-ds graduated this year and the bulk of his classmates opted out of professional photos/grad announcements-parents or non professionals took photos that they took to Costco or used on-line companies to do grad announcements/photos at a fraction of the cost (we received multiple college grad announcements of the same type this year as well)-savings of several hundreds of dollars.

 

[Maddie2]

Our youngest son just graduated and our other son graduated a few years ago. The best thing I did was to buy enough supplies for both boys when our oldest graduated. I didn't have a good handle of the number of people who would attend the first time around - so, rather than run low, I bought far more than I ever thought would come - and in the end had enough for both graduations! Neither boy was too into choosing colors, so I just went with the high school colors. This year, I LOVED already having everything we needed! I just pulled out the box and was set to go! Rather than serving punch, we went with bottled water, so we still have plenty of plain white cups, but they will get used over time.

If you plan to have a candy buffet, start looking for candy bowls/decanters, etc. Thrift stores are great for this, but you can never start shopping too early!

 

[pjlla]

I love all of these ideas and suggestions. When DD graduated a few years ago, I had gone ahead and bought undated graduation themed napkins the year before. Unfortunately she decided to go with an ocean-themed party (she is a Marine Bio major) and the napkins didn't go very well.... so I only put a handful out on the drinks table. But I saved the rest and now DS's party is 10 days away and I have plenty of napkins! He only wants a basic "graduation" theme so the napkins will work fine. I'm heading out today and plan to scope out Dollar Tree and maybe Walmart for marked down decorations, table covers, etc.

We used glass mason jars for drinks at DD's party (I am very opposed to using plastics) and after the party they were washed and packed up and are ready for DS's party. The "food" theme for the party is pizza (pizza appetizers, main dishes, and pizza desserts) and so other than for salad and cake (if I actually get around to making the pizza themed cake), we won't need much flatware, so despite my hate of plastic, I will put out disposables for that. And I'll probably go with plain white Chinets (from Costco) for the plates.... and they will be separated out and burned after the party.

I also bought three big drink dispensers for DD's party (found them a year in advance on the clearance shelf at Kohl's) and those will be filled with ice water, lemonade, and iced tea. For DD's party I did iced tea, iced coffee, lemonade, and water, and found that most folks didn't want iced coffee. So I'll skip it this time. Live and learn! Not sure if we will do any adult beverages..... the majority of the guests will be underage and EVERYONE has to drive, so it may be best (and cheapest) to skip it.

SO my answer to the original question is YES..... this is a GREAT time to get marked-down graduation party supplies!!...........P

 

[Pembo]

We did have a candy buffet and I got all bowls, containers and a divided tray at the Dollar Tree. The big cost was the candy.

We bought bottled water and pop in cans so we didn't need cups or ice and we had a trash can for recycling right by the coolers.

I am a very low maintenance person and didn't want to worry about refilling food or drink containers. The most I had to do was transfer from chicken from warming in the oven to the table.

 

[HM]

All I can think is that you don't know how many you'll invite or have attend at this point and how you would plan on buying supplies for an unknown like that.....

 

[powellrj]

You kind of have a general idea how many you will invite. DD went to a small school and even if everyone in her class came, it would only be 70 people! We knew she would have around 100 people attending, so that is what we planned for.

DD was number 3 and a pretty smart cookie (mom brag she was valedictorian), so I wanted to do it up big for her. I started buying marked down items her freshman year. She teased me about that, but I wanted to be prepared! Her school colors were black and gold, so it was easy to pick up items on sale. We went with her high school colors because we also used all of her pictures and awards and most were black and gold to decorate the hall, so everything just flowed.

We had a hitch in our plans in that my mom developed dementia and needed to be watched the whole time, and I was in a car accident so I was in a wheelchair. Thank heavens for my DDIL and her friends because they set everything up and took it down.

We did a nacho bar. We had a hot table that included a big crock-pot with boneless, skinless chicken breasts and salsa, refried beans, tortillas and that wonderful but bad for you orange plastic cheese.

Cold table that had all the cold toppings. Lettuce, tomatoes, pico, shredded cheeses, sour cream and salsas, corn and black beans. We had a big kiddie pool on the table filled with ice and then had bowls with the toppings set inside the pool.

She didn't want a cake, so she bartered with her boss and instead of a gift, her boss baked and decorated cupcakes for the party.

For drinks we just used coolers with ice filled with sodas and water. Not what I had planned, but it was easy. We started buying soda in march when it was on sale, so we had plenty.

We also did a candy buffet. Once again, I started picking up bags after easter and then every week at the grocery so it was cheaper. I also used big bowls for things like tootsie rolls, double bubble and suckers and smaller bowls for the more expensive candy. I used corsage bags for the candy bags and they were cheap but nice looking and not so big that people took lots and lots of candy.

I had plates, napkins and silverware at each of the tables so it kept people moving. If you forgot a fork with your hot food, it was OK because you could get one at the cold food table.

We had the party at our church, so we were able to have tables set up as people came in with all of her pictures and awards. We used a classroom to eat and serve food, so we just had table decorations set up in there.

We used one of her senior pictures a friend had taken for her announcements and invites and if we mailed them, used them as a post card to save money on postage.

 

[luvsJack]

We didn't do a party just a whole family dinner out and then dh, dd and I went to Universal so can't help much with that. But other things I saved on was

Senior Portraits--dil has a great camera, she and dd got ideas for poses on Pinterest and picked out 3 or 4 outfits for dd to wear. They spent the day at the school, at a nearby creek and at the railroad track doing some beautiful pictures. Did the same for cap and gown pictures. I spent less than $50 on printing them from Walmart--and that was prints for both grandparents, friends, aunts and uncles, etc. Did the same for prom pictures. DD and her date sat down afterwards and picked the prints they wanted and we ordered the whole lot for $25 or so.

Invitations--used the above photos and made collage invitations and announcements on walmart.com. Great invites and maybe $30 for a big stack.

The only thing I bought dd from the company that did their invitations was a tassel to hang in her car so the real one could stay on the cap in her room.

 

[ceecee]

I got some generic grad decorations the year before and DD decided she would rather go on a trip than have a party. So I ended up giving them away. We had just family and then had another grad party at the Beach Club Solarium with our family from Florida, it was great. The cake I ordered from the Boardwalk Bakery was wonderful! I did decorate our room with some of the decorations.

 

[Zhoen]

I wanted to add that you can watch Freecycle for people giving away their extras right now. You can even post a want-ad if you don't see any offers. Aside from that, I wanted to second what others had said about about using old photos and such for decorations.

And don't forget that Michaels and AC Moore are constantly sending out 40%-55% off coupons, so you can make your own sales. Around here (Maryland) AC Moore is great about the 55% off coupons, which I took to Michaels because they match competitor coupons... sorta... they only match up to 50%, but hey, every little bit! If you know your theme and can estimate your numbers, there's no reason to pay full price for any of it!

 

[skysmom99]

We did not spend anything on decorations. Instead, we put out many of her bigger projects from elementary school, ribbons and trophies, scrapbooks we had made, etc.


I know someone who decorated their grad party with various high school and sports t-shirts.

Just trying to put out ideas that do not really cost money, just take a bit of planning!

I really like both of these ideas. The first is very popular in the area where I live. The second is great, too. My dd, who is graduating next year, has tons of shirts and jerseys from years of playing 3 high school sports. Those along with her varsity jacket can cover a lot of wall space.

 

[indimom]

We're in the midst of final preparations right now. High school colors were blue and white, which made it a cheaper for us. I went with basic white plates and napkins. I did get blue solo cups rather than red. We bought blue and white plastic table covering in rolls at Sams which were cheap. I'll probably have plenty left for DS in two years.

DD is going into a science major so her cake will be decorated with the periodic table (she did NOT want a cake with her picture or a bunch of flowers on it). We're adding a small selection of candy in beakers and flasks (bought online for very little). We're decorating the tables with fresh flowers in graduated cylinders (also bought online). DD is going to make some cookies that look like petri dishes of bacteria (check pinterest, not as gross as it sounds). And we'll have her t-shirts from high school, organizations, runs, and her new college out also.

We're doing a pretty simple meal. BBQ, Cold cuts, Corn, baked Beans, Potato Salad, Fruit Salad. Chips. Lemonade, Tea, Water.

So, I guess my advice would be: Know what kind of party you are throwing. I didn't buy any of the typical "graduation" supplies. Just focused on a color scheme and DD's wish to focus more on her degree field than her high school. My nephew went into the Marines, and his family used MC colors and Americana décor rather than high school. Another nephew did the tradiational high school colors with lots of "grad" décor.

 

[Aliceacc]

My son's party is in a few weeks (he graduates on the 26th of June.) I'll hit BJs for paper goods one of these days, and pick up a few trays of food.

But something I'm very glad I started early was picking up odds and ends for going away to school! I started at Christmas time, and have a pretty good stash so far.