Graduation, whether from school, college or university, marks the end of an important phase of your life — a rite of passage into adulthood — so you should theme your party accordingly.
Decorations could be in your school's colours. Adorn the walls with pictures of you and your friends at various stages in your school careers to map your progression from gap-toothed six-year-olds in knee-socks to fully fledged grown-ups. Deck out the room with banners, bunting, streamers and balloons.
Asking everyone to come in gowns and mortar boards might be a little extreme here (and as most people hire them in for the graduation ceremony with a big deposit attached, probably a little dangerous). If your school or college has a uniform, wear it one last time before destroying it at the end of the night. There are no hard and fast rules about what is appropriate — if your parents are coming along maybe try to be quite smart (they'll be sooooo proud), but if it's just you and your mate getting raucous, you’ll probably want to dress down.
Or ask everyone to come in an old white shirt, and get all your class / course mates to sign it as a memento of your time together.
Remember, after this you're probably going to have to actually get yourself a job. This terrifying idea should hopefully galvanise you into one last big blowout, so make the main focus drinking, dancing and having a good time.
Create your own yearbook by simply buying a blank notebook and inviting every guest at the party to write a graduation message. It could be a poem, a joke, a personal message, even a picture that they feel sums up the time you spent at university. Or you could even write down what you think each of your friends will be doing 10 years from now. You'll have fun thinking things up, and it will be a great memento in years to come.
The main focus of your day will have been your formal graduation ceremony, so the last thing you want to be worrying about is preparing food. Plan a cold buffet-style meal including cocktail sausages on sticks, mini quiches, bread rolls and cherry tomatoes so that people can graze throughout the party. Use paper plates and plastic cutlery to minimise the time you have to spend clearing up afterwards.
If you're graduating from uni, choose drinks to reflect your favourites while you were at there. A local scrumpy perhaps, or the speciality of the student union bar.
Alternatively, go for celebratory champagne (or cava if you’ve spent your entire student loan and are nudging towards the upper limit of your overdraft facility). |  |
Non-Alcoholic - Sparkling cider, fruit-flavored sparkling water
| 1. | Breakaway / Kelly Clarkson |
| 2. | Can't Find My Way / Phil Collins |
| 3. | We Are the Champions / Queen |
| 4. | Graduation Day / The Beach Boys
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| 5. | The End / The Doors
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| 6. | Wide Open Spaces / Dixie Chicks
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| 7. | Time of Your Life / Green Day |
| 8. | School's Out / Alice Cooper |
| 9. | The Wall / Pink Floyd
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| 10. | The Winner Takes It All / ABBA
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