Parties

Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Graduation Party Ideas

Looking for fun graduation party ideas? Check out this colorful Oh, the Places You’ll Go themed party for a high school graduation.

My sister’s graduation party was a big success. Everyone kept telling me how lovely all the decorations were. And my sister had a good time, which is the most important thing!

I got some great pictures of the decorations, but of course, I’m missing a few because my mom showed up with all the food before I could finish.

Completely on accident the party ended up being inspired by the cover of Dr. Suess’ Oh, the Places You’ll Go! which is my go-to graduation gift. This was completely unintentional, especially since my sister wanted her theme to be cats. Oh well.

oh the places you'll go

The biggest reason I felt like the party was Dr. Seuss themed was because of the bright pink, orange and yellow, which my sister requested, decorations. I wrapped every surface of my house in these colors. (Also the balloon path was a fail. More on that on Wednesday)

front yard party decor
front porch party decor
graduation party decorations
graduation party decor

All of the colors were so happy and cheerful and I really feel like using the same colors, streamers and pom poms in each party space made everything look cohesive.

living room party decorations
tissue paper garland decorations
tissue paper pom pom decorations

But I was most proud of the outdoor setup. Our patio is small, but I had tables and chairs in the yard and it worked. It actually has made me reconsider our vision for the backyard.

graduation party

The outdoors pictures are the ones that I didn’t get enough of, but you can see here that I had 3 tables set up with matching table runners and centerpieces to keep things cohesive (new favorite word) even though every chair and table were different. I also hung more streamers, tissue paper pom poms and a few paper lanterns in the trees and on the outside of the house.

gold centerpieces

The centerpieces were simply Dollar Tree vases that I sprayed with my favorite metallic gold spray paint paired with gold mason jars or bottles. Chelsea, sorry I copycatted you, thanks for being an inspiration! 😉

graduation party centerpieces

I also put Jesse’s beer pong table to more appropriate use and set it up to be the present/utensil station.  The straws are something I picked up at IKEA months ago and fit the theme perfectly. I even used the washi tape from the invitations to wrap the flower pot that the straws are in and to tape up the garland. Look at me tying things together. 

back yard graduation party

The plates were just bright yellow plates from Target and the napkins were pink, yellow and orange tie-dye, also from Target.

backyard graduation party

There’s that washi tape again and a picture of my gorgeous graduating sister! They grow up so fast!

graduation picture

Of course it wouldn’t be a party without the food. We had a ton of sides like pasta salad, potato salad, fresh fruit, 7-layer dip and my buffalo chicken dip. Plus my mom ordered a few pounds (yes pounds) of BBQ, cole slaw and baked beans from our local BBQ joint.

graduation party food

And of course there was a cake.

graduation cake

The party was an excellent success, and everyone had a wonderful time. It was nice to have most of my family over for the first time and give them tours of my house and everything.

16 Comments

  1. I’ve been waiting for this post all morning! Everything looks so great and I can’t wait to hear more details about the patio re-vision.

    I can’t believe your friend is moving mere miles from Bekah & I, of all places in the world! So excited! Kind of crazy that I have yet to meet Bekah though!

  2. Cool! Looks like a sweet party.

  3. It came together so great! You are such a great sister for hosting 🙂

    Everything is definitely cohesive.haha. but really, it all looks very put together without being way over the top!

    I’m excited to hear about your new backyard ideas!

  4. Love all the decorations!! It looks like a great party. Can’t wait to hear your plans for the backyard.
    One of my best friends moved back home after 7 years of living across the country so I’m thrilled! We had a welcome back dinner last Friday for her 🙂

  5. Jess @ Little House. Big Heart.

    I love the decorations! You did such a great job! I’m sure your sister loved it!

    Can’t wait to hear about your backyard!

  6. Krystle @ Color Transformed Famiky

    It turned out great and I can tell you out a lot of work into it. I’m sure she appreciates all the hard work you did.

  7. It looks like such a great party! Your décor is great! It’s so bright and cheerful and it really does tie everything together. Can’t wait to hear the new plans for the backyard space!

  8. Love the color combos…looked great!

  9. Jessica@HomewithBaxter

    What a nice big sis! It looks like your party turned out great!! Ha, you cracked me up with your countdown to Christmas. Not yet! I love summerrr.

  10. I still love that color combo! I’m glad all went well. And mmmmmm pasta salad. This pregnant lady caves Italian dressing like every other minute. I need some now, actually.

  11. What a great sister you are! I’m glad everything went well!

  12. Kristen | Popcorn on the Stove

    You did an awesome job! It looks like the party was a ton of fun 🙂

  13. Kelly @ Corner of Main

    I’m so glad to hear the party was a success! Everything looks lovely! You did a great job =)

  14. Ok, I see you’ve made a few tissue paper poms too :). They looked great. You really did decorate everything. Your house looked so festive and fun. What a wonderful celebration. And…now I can’t wait to see what you do for Christmas 🙂

  15. What a beautiful party! I love the colors you chose and the tables outside look so welcoming!

  16. The party looks fantastic and like everyone had a great time! I’m calling you next time we host a party! 😉

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