Unconventional Graduation Parties

Graduation season is upon us, and graduation party season is here as well! Congratulations to all the graduates of 2025!

It’s time to start some new trends with graduation parties in 2025 and beyond. Your grad is unique, and their party should be too. Below are some fun ideas to inspire you to throw the best graduation party ever. 

Unconventional Idea #1: Game Night

Gone are the boring days of gathering friends and family over to your house to play board games that may or may not end in relationships ending over pretend bankruptcy. This idea can be used for all ages, from preschool graduates to college. 

For younger kids, scavenger hunts are always a hit. If you want to do something elaborate, have your guests start before they come to your party location and show each other what they found along the way. Or, start at your venue and have the kids run off the sugar rush with their grownups as they explore the party venue and complete their scavenger hunt cards. 

For high school, consider taking the crew to a laser tag arena and enjoy watching them run off the year’s cares. Then take them back to the private party room for the cake and the celebration. 

You can also put together a murder mystery game night, one that you either put together yourself or you buy online, complete with roles, clues, and the culprit all put together ahead of time. The kids can dress up and really get into the roleplaying, creating accents or giving the characters back stories and tapping into their creative side!

For an older crowd, a blackjack game night could be a great option. Entertain! Can help you set one up and provide the dealers ,all your grad will need to worry about is how much of their gift money they could lose! 

Unconventional Idea #2: Craft Party

Another crowd pleaser that can appeal to all ages is a craft party plenty of options exist, from hiring a teacher to come to your house and give private lessons, to buying crayons and paper at the dollar store and putting kids to work making picture frames, this idea is something you can easily keep under budget. 

For younger kids, have them paint shirts they can wear at the start of every school year for a long-term memento. They can decorate a scrapbook that they can keep their favorite memories from the school years ahead and keep forever to reminisce. Or, let them make something old school like sock puppets for some new toys they can play with over the summer. 

High schoolers might also enjoy making a scrapbook, picture frame, or some other kind of container to hold treasured memories from their time in school. Another option is to go to a pottery studio and introduce them to a new hobby they can practice over the summer, or simply paint pre-made pottery to stand next to their diploma as a reminder of fun memories celebrating this milestone 

Paint and sip parties are for the college and grad parties. Creating their own mementos, enjoying adult beverages with their closest friends, and using the art they made later is a great way to end your grad’s school career. 

Unconventional Idea #3: Elevate the Classics

If your grad is not interested in something that breaks the mold entirely, never fear. We have ideas for them too. 

The classic pool party is still a great option, hiring a live DJ will take the fun even further. Give one of our professional DJs a curated playlist for your grad and watch them enjoy their music as they are celebrated for their achievement. 

A backyard BBQ party will please a crowd, add in a line dancing instructor to keep everyone moving while they wait for their burgers to finish cooking and you’re guaranteed a successful event. Or cater the food from a special local BBQ place so you can enjoy the party with the rest of the crowd. 

A celebration at a park can be taken from traditional to trendy is to focus on the theme. Choose a central theme, and build the party around that. If your grad enjoys the beach, bring food and music that sets a beachy vibe. If your grad is more reserved, consider hosting a tea party themed event with softer vibes and more refined finger foods. 

Whatever option you choose, the main focus should be your grad. So pick a party idea that celebrated them and they will enjoy, and you cannot go wrong!