This year, everything is being done a little differently, and that includes how we celebrate our 2020 graduates. Ceremonies and celebrations will be more intimate than we may have initially anticipated, but there are so many ways to tip your hat to your grad for a job well done while staying safely at home. During this time, so many have actually been able to connect more often than ever before thanks to technology, so use that to your advantage, rope in your out-of-town family who may not have been able to make it to graduation in person and make your grad feel extra special for their achievement.
Here are 18 ideas for celebrating your graduate virtually or at home!
Create Graduation Photo Ops for Your At-Home or Virtual Graduation Party
A graduation is an achievement that must be commemorated and shouted from the rooftops—or the front lawn in this case! Just because the neighbors can’t be there to celebrate doesn’t mean you can’t share the celebration with them.
1) Print a lawn sign with an announcement
This is a common practice even without social distancing in place, so make it extra special with more customization than usual.
2) Then and now graduate photo
The now and then comparison is always a graduation requirement! Find their Kindergarten graduation portrait and have them hold it framed, or even better, recreate it!
3) Get a big head made of your graduate
Your grad is already probably a little big-headed from their achievement, right? Make a literal big head to display on your lawn or send them out to friends and family to take photos with virtually.
4) Create a custom Instagram frame
Craft a customized Instagram frame that they can use to take photos with family celebrating the milestone. Later, it can be used for a bigger celebration!
Play Games at Your At-Home or Virtual Graduation Party
It’s not a party without games, right? We’ve all been hosting virtual game nights that become a highlight of the week. Put one on the calendar to celebrate your grad with family and friends. Celebrations can be easily customized with games geared towards the graduate!
5) Graduation MadLibs
MadLibs makes any party more fun. Send a few of these Graduation MadLibs to your closest friends, hop on a call and let the fun ensue!
6) Create a personalized trivia game about the graduate using Kahoot
Who knows the graduate best? Put together a call with the grad’s closest friends and put them to the test! You create the questions, and participants just need a cell phone to play.
7) Graduation Bingo
Bingo night is always a hit. Create a board with graduation-related words or buy one from a small business online. Share it with family and friends and see who takes the cake on a virtual bingo night!
Dress the Part at Your At-Home or Virtual Graduation Party
There’s something so special and symbolic about the cap and gown tradition. Just because they can’t walk across a stage doesn’t mean they have to miss out on some of that tradition and creating memories.
8) Dig up your old cap and gown
Make sure your grad can still don that cap and gown that they’ve worked so hard for. If you can’t find yours, find one online to surprise them with! Don’t forget to play Pomp and Circumstance as they walk down the stairs in full dress.
9) Take it back in time
Everyone has special moments from their graduation they’ll remember forever, and this is your chance to help your grad create a story to tell for years to come! Surprise the grad and have each family member dress up from the decade you graduated… they’ll definitely get a good laugh.
Host Your Own Ceremony at Your At-Home or Virtual Graduation Party
If this time has taught us anything, it’s how to get creative and make our own fun. You don’t need to be an event planner to put together an epic graduation ceremony to honor your grad with those closest to them!
10) Invite a surprise guest speaker for a “commencement address”
Is there someone your grad idolizes that you could ask to speak for their ceremony? Make it memorable; it’s something they’ll cherish forever.
11) Ask everyone to share a favorite memory or story about the graduate
There are a couple ways to do this one! Ask everyone to pre-record a video of them sharing their memory or story so you can turn it into a surprise video to play, or have them do it live during your “broadcasted graduation ceremony” via video chat.
14) Set the stage
Make sure they still get that special moment to walk across the stage—a symbol of making it to the other side as a graduate! Whether you set up some rope or fabric to create the illusion or actually have something that can act as a stage, make a “diploma” that you can hand over.
Food Ideas for Your At-Home or Virtual Graduation Party
Coming from a caterer, it’s not a real celebration until you add the food to the party. Make the cuisine all about the grad for your celebration; there’s nothing like a menu crafted just for you to make someone feel special!
15) Plan a drive thru graduation party
Invite your guests to a personal drive thru event where they can safely pull up, grab a bite and congratulate the recent grad!
16) Make the graduate’s favorite food
This one’s easy—you’re family, and you know what the grad has grown up loving. Make that food to take them down memory lane and create even more memories together as a family during this time.
17) Order their favorite meal from a local restaurant or caterer
Sometimes it feels more like a celebration when you don’t have to do the prep that creates dishes galore, right? Check out the menus from your local restaurants or our Tasty Catering menu—did you know we’re delivering everything from breakfast to dessert right now?
18) Pick a theme; everyone enjoys something in their home from that theme
Just because you may not be able to have a meal together in person doesn’t mean you can’t take it to the screen! Collaborate with your friends and family and choose a type of meal that everyone will order and eat together via video chat. Think pizza, taco night, all the tasty appetizers…the sky is the limit.
There you have it – all the ideas needed to craft a celebration fit for your grad. Just because this year will be unique doesn’t mean it will be any less fun or memorable. Your grad will be able to celebrate with those who are most important to them, close to home, and what’s more special than that?
Which ideas do you think they’ll appreciate the most? Let us know by sharing your at-home graduation plan in the comments section!
