This year is uniquely different. Missing milestones is never easy, especially when it’s your graduation! My husband and I, realized not that long ago that we have not one but two graduates in our house this year. Our eldest is graduating elementary school and our middle one is graduating kindergarten. Both of them are missing the graduation fun but are taking it fairly good. After all, once we go back to normalcy (fingers crossed) they will each have more graduations before entering adulthood! This optimism may not be so easy for older kids who were completely robbed of their senior fun - time with friends, countless sporting events and gatherings, prom, graduation and many other senior sendoff events.
With social distancing the new norm, at least for the foreseeable future, we won’t be throwing our high school or college grads any big graduation parties. This does NOT mean you can’t celebrate your grad. Give the Kids a Way to Go Out with a Bang! Below are creative ways to do just that – CELEBRATE!
1. Celebration Car Parade – Host a Neighborhood Drive-By Parade. Ask your friends, family and neighbors to join in on the fun. Arrange a time for them to drive by and wave to the new graduate. Encourage all of them to decorate their cars to make the celebration more special and acknowledge your child’s achievement. Ask the local police to escort with sirens and lights. Ahead of the event, use social media to get organized and spread the word – Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Zoom or good old-fashioned text and phone!
2. Adopt-A-Senior – A national and local project that has gained lots of popularity and showers the graduates with some extra love. Parents post photos and a quick bio about their graduating seniors, and then other members of the community “adopt” them by providing an act of kindness. This all takes place in a Facebook group. There are no rules on what type of gift should be given and sponsors usually send a gift of sentiment to brighten up their day such as gift baskets, gift cards and presents.
3. Decorate Your Front Door – Join in the fun and decorate your door to celebrate your graduate. This fun activity can be done either by your senior or by you as a surprise for them. The decorations should represent what makes your senior special. Include their favorite sports, future plans, pets, friends and activities. Make it unique. Add balloon garlands. Our clients’ favorite are Graduation Door Posters with your senior’s picture to show your pride for the whole neighborhood to see.
4. Graduation Memory Book – create a beautiful album of your senior’s High School years. Include artworks, essays, photos from dances, homecomings, sport games, holidays and more. These don’t need to be professional and can be from your iPhone. Don’t want the hassle? No problem. Send us your photos and documents and Irene Keselman Photography will design and produce a beautiful album for you to last a lifetime.
5. Throw a Family Only Graduation Bash – before you do anything though, ask your senior of how they want to celebrate this milestone! Let your family know the date and time. Follow all local regulations for social distancing and the number of people you can have in your party. Choose a theme and decorate your space! Have an outdoor cookout or order from your local favorite restaurant for a no stress event. Don’t forget the Cake! Combine your graduation party with a Father’s day celebration to celebrate the Dads and Grads in your life. Don’t forget to call us to capture your event. 😊 Here are some must have music tracks for your graduation party, as recommended by the Incredible Soundz Entertainment:
· See You Again by Charlie Puth
· Memories by Maroon 5
· Congratulations (Clean) by Post Malone
· I’ll Be There for You by The Rembrandt’s
· Graduation by Vitamin C
6. Host a Virtual Graduation Party – Thanks to the internet, it’s easy to host a virtual graduation party. Set up a virtual party and invite your friends and family. For the most success, invite just the most important people so that the grad can share their celebration on their special day. Google Hangouts and Zoom are easy and free to use. Make sure you have lots of natural light and a good internet connection for the best results. Dress the part, decorate and maybe bring your favorite restaurant home with you by ordering a special meal. You can also invite a special guest, mentor or speaker to say a few words. Likewise, invite all guests to share a special memory to share with your senior one by one.
7. Surprise them with a Unique Senior Portrait Session – Let’s get your senior in front of the camera to commemorate all they’ve achieved so far and celebrate all the future has in store! Your senior portrait is the time to express your unique personality, talents and achievements. This is your chance to be creative and artistic and allow me to deliver images that express your unique spirit and personality. Let’s make magic.
8. Custom Gifts – Commemorate your grad with a custom gift! There are lots of ideas but here are some of our favorites:
· Framed Portrait Prints – get a beautiful custom wall display. Can be a mix of single prints, a composite collage or a combination of both. Add a wood or metal frame or get an acrylic for a polished ready-to-hang gift.
· Senior Modern Yard Signs – these completely custom yard signs are a perfect way to say it proudly and loudly. Customize it with your own text and image to make it unique to YOUR senior.
· Custom Christmas ornament designed with the Class of 2020 in mind. Include an image of your grad! Cherish these for many years to come. We can make one for you!
· Beautiful Swarovski jewelry! - Have a girl graduate? Get her some sparkle for her life! There is really a gift for any taste and budget. Most popular? Probably the wrap and ice bracelets. Check them out HERE.
Have your own suggestions? Comment below.