Skip to main content

How to throw a great graduation party in your backyard

As any parent knows, the first major step into adulthood for their teenage child is their high school graduation. Parents also know that like any other teenager out there, yours will likely want to celebrate their accomplishment with a party. By having a high school graduation party, your child will:

  • Receive the recognition of completing 12 years of education
  • Have an opportunity to rejoice in their accomplishments with family and friends
  • Get hands-on experience with planning larger events
  • Have a chance to plan and budget right along with you to gain some financial experience
  • Possibly receive monetary gifts to assist in the financial burden of higher education/college

But let’s be honest, hosting large group events of any size more than what would comfortably be seated at your dining room table can be tedious, stressful, and expensive. However, there are several proven ways to cut the cost of hosting an event such as your child’s graduation. What’s the biggest money-saving tip we’re going to talk about? Hosting it in your very own backyard! (Or a family member/friend’s backyard.) But how can you do that successfully? Let’s look at a few graduation-party ideas to help get the creative ball rolling.

Recommended Videos


Create a clear and concise plan

Like other events and celebrations, a backyard graduation party deserves the same — if not more — attention to detail than other events you have planned in the past. Brainstorming in a designated journal, keeping clear and legible notes, bookmarking websites for supplies, and open communication between yourself and your child helps manage tasks, needs, and expectations. It’s important to keep your child’s wants (within reason) in perspective when planning their graduation party.

We certainly don’t advocate blindly giving your child the party of their dreams, no questions asked. However, finding a balance between their vision for their get-together and your pocketbook doesn’t have to be akin to the Riddle of the Sphinx.

Table set up outside welcoming guests to outdoor graduation party
Ball on a menu budget

When it comes to summer activities outdoors, there’s nothing more quintessential than a backyard, casual-style menu to go along with them. Whether you plan to cater the event or prepare the food yourself, you may want to consider a menu that consists of less-expensive but crowd-pleasing and stomach-filling dishes. This will be a major factor in pinching a few pennies on the food bill while also stretching the food out as much as possible. Along with the traditional barbecued meats, burgers, and hot dogs, here are a few upscale but low-budget ideas for feeding your masses:

  • Mini slider sandwiches: These are essentially a blank canvas. Personalize them to you or your groups’ liking with an array of deli meats and cheese, cooked meatballs or sausage in sauce, or a grilled veggie option for vegetarians.
  • Pasta salads: Again, this dish is a blank canvas, ready to be splashed with color and flavor. Toss different kinds of pasta in with veggies, cheeses, deli meats, and dressings to complement your menu and add a bright pop of color to your party tables.
  • Cupcakes: Forget large cakes that require being strategically cut and don’t store well. Cupcakes are a better option for outdoor events due to their portable and convenient size.

Keepsake memories

Like the saying goes, “All good things come to an end.” Your child’s party will rapidly come to end before you even know it, especially if many hours were spent preparing for it — or at least that’s the way it seems to go. To capture as much fun and excitement in one setting as possible while also providing fun entertainment to your guests, you may want to consider adding some sort of photo booth or photography station to your backyard layout.

Depending on your budget, you may be able to rent a photo-booth setup, hire a photographer (bonus: Find a photography student who will likely work for less than an established photographer in exchange for the experience), or simply set up props and a tripod for guests to mount their own devices to take silly photos. The idea here is to capture as much happiness, pride, excitement, and joy as possible for your child — and their guests — to look back and remember the fun times had during that party.

As you can see, there’s more to a graduation party that just showing up and eating! It’s important to keep in mind that this is your teen’s special day to celebrate a huge achievement, but that doesn’t mean it should cost you an arm and a leg. Backyard graduation parties are thrown frequently. What sets them apart from each other is well they are planned, thought out, and put together.

Emily Pidgeon
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Emily's work has appeared in the Tube City Almanac, Tube City Online and our Affinity Sites. When she's not writing, she is…
What to do when your child is obese
How these healthy habits can help with childhood obesity
Standing on a weight scale

Parents only want what's best for their kids, and that means facing health challenges head-on. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity is a major issue in the U.S. with around 13.7 million young children and adolescents falling into the obese category. A child is considered obese if his or her Body Mass Index (BMI) or body fat measurement is over the 95th percentile. Most BMIs for kids and teens are in the fifth and 85th percentile range. A child above the 85th percentile is considered overweight for their age.

The concern with obesity in children and teens is the impact on overall physical and emotional health. Obese children and teens face an increased risk of high blood pressure and cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, joint problems, low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Future health problems include a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and cancer. An overweight child is more likely to be obese as an adult, as well.
The concerns with childhood obesity

Read more
How to play capture the flag: Teach your kids the rules
This fun outdoor game is ideal for groups of kids of all ages
Group of children running in capture the flag in a park

Capture the flag is one of those backyard games that have been around forever. It's easy to play and requires minimal supplies. It's a staple for kids' camps, the Boy Scouts, and a popular game for neighborhood kids to play, especially in nice weather. Its origins date back to the battlefields of the Civil War. Color guards were given the serious duty of protecting a regiment's flag. A battle concluded when one side gained possession of the other side's flag. The Medal of Honor was awarded to the soldiers who captured the opposition's flag.

Capture the flag has evolved into a fun, competitive game ideal for the outdoors and groups of kids, as well as a go-to game at summer day camps and sleepaway camps. If need to entertain a group of kids or even teens, you need to know the rules. Here's how to play capture the flag.
Where to play

Read more
These are the absolute best pool games for kids
Dive into summer with these fun and exciting games for the pool
Kids having fun in a pool and wearing sunglasses.

Just having a backyard pool doesn't necessarily mean instant entertainment for your children. It typically doesn't take long for kids and teens to become bored, even with an amazing pool just outside their door. The same is true if you're a member of a community or club pool. Now, you don't have to feel like a camp recreation director, but it's always a prudent idea to have pool games for kids in your back pocket for those inevitable moments when boredom creeps in.

Pool games are a must-have whether it's a lazy summer family afternoon or if you're hosting a playdate or a birthday party. If you're looking for cool pool games for the kiddos that always make a splash, we've got your summertime menu for backyard excitement.
Pool games for kids

Read more