Calling all families and friends of recent or soon-to-be graduates! Celebrate the accomplishment of your loved one with a backyard graduation party. Simple and easy, outdoor entertaining allows the guests to soak in the sunshine and enjoy a casual social event. Read along for tips on how to host an exceptional backyard graduation party.
Opt Outside
Graduation traditionally falls at the beginning of summer, calling for celebrations outside. You may set up outdoor games, including corn hole, badminton, ladder toss, or KanJam. These activities keep guests busy before and after the food is prepared and bring laughter and energy to your event. If rain is in the forecast, you may set up a tent outdoors.
Casual Dining
Rather than a sit down dinner, prepare foods for casual dining that guests can enjoy while roaming, chatting, and playing games. For an extraordinary event to remember, reserve a food truck. Whether it be street tacos or wood-fired pizza, all the guests will love enjoying the food right as it is prepared. In the Boston area, Vesta Mobile Wood Fired Pizza brings the party to you, offering 15 types of fan-favorites including maple bacon, buffalo chicken, margarita, and dessert Nutella and strawberry pizzas. Search online for food trucks available near you.
Alternatively, cater sandwiches, salads, barbeque or a variety of desserts – cupcakes, cake, cookies, ice cream sandwiches or all of the above – from your go-to local spots. These options allow the host to focus on the day’s festivities rather than on preparing food for a crowd of people. If you do choose to cook at-home, a backyard barbeque will always be a hit. Hotdogs, hamburgers, grilled vegetables, and chicken kababs make for an all-American barbeque.
You may also prepare a cheese board in advance. Harder cheeses such as cheddar, gouda, parmesan, and gruyere will maintain their integrity when sitting outside on a table. Guests will enjoy the snacking before the main course is served. Weston Table offers a collection of cheerful and celebratory canapé plates, including a “Pop, Fizz, Clink!” and “Cheers” plates, for these smaller bites of food. You may also customize these plates with your school name, mascot, graduation year, or favorite saying. For customization, minimum orders are only 4 plates!
Drinks
Avoid buying plastic bottles. Instead, fill serving jugs with water and lemonade. Given that the drinks likely will be sitting out in the sunshine, you may replace ice with frozen raspberries or strawberries in your lemonade. As the fruit melts, your drink will not be watered down but, instead, will turn the gorgeous color of the berries and absorb a hint of the fruit’s flavor. Set out a cooler with adult beverages for those who choose to imbibe.
Décor & Music
Sparklers, a personalized cake, and a school pennant or other high school or college merchandise turn your party into a truly special event for your graduate. Request photos in advance from your graduate’s friends and family to make a slide show and create a playlist of the top ten songs from every year of your graduate’s career. These personal mementos add a celebratory element.
Enjoy time with loved ones on this special day before your graduate embarks on the next stage of life!
