Celebrate graduation with a creative and fun pool party.
With so many graduations taking place in the late spring and early summer, pool parties are an ideal way to celebrate. Make your pool party special by tying the graduation theme into your decorations, food and activities. For a personalized theme, center the celebration on the graduate's alma mater, area of study or a favorite college-themed film. To highlight the pool-party theme, throw a luau or an "under the sea" bash. Does this Spark an idea?
All About the Graduate
You may want to plan a simple pool party and center all the decor, invitations and refreshments on the graduation ceremony itself. Incorporate all the details and imagery from the event into your party planning. Roll invitations, seating cards or menus into diploma-like scrolls and wrap them with decorative ribbons. Frost cakes or cupcakes with school colors, insignias or mascots. For a creative touch, decorate a basic square sheet cake into a mortarboard, using colorful frosting for the tassel. For light but festive fare, prepare mortarboard-style sandwiches. Cut bread slices to resemble mortarboards and lightly toast them so they hold their shape. Assemble the sandwich with any filling, and then cut olives and a bit of yellow cheese down to size for a tassel, pinning to the sandwich with a toothpick.
Classic Pool Party Themes
For a low-key graduation party, highlight the pool party theme with beachy or nautical decor and refreshments. Instead of party favors, provide colorful beach towels. For an extra touch, embroider them with the date to commemorate the occasion. Send out creative themed invitations by printing the invitation on sticky-backed paper and placing it on a bottle of sunscreen. Include clever phrasing, such as "Instructions: Apply liberally from 11 A.M. to 3 P.M. on Sunday, May 7th." Serve seafood favorites like shrimp cocktail, crab cakes, crab legs, lobster dip, bacon-wrapped scallops or sushi. For college graduates and adult guests, round out the refreshments with tropical drinks, from piña coladas to frozen margaritas.
Personalized Themes
Above all, let the graduate's likes and interests set the tone for your celebration. For the accomplished scholar, set a theme around an area of interest. For the medieval historian, serve mead and roasted turkey legs. For a chemistry student, serve beverages in beakers and calibrated glassware. For a film student, replicate the pivotal pool party scene in "The Graduate," using pop art decor and playing plenty of Simon and Garfunkel tunes. Hard-partying college grads may appreciate a bash inspired by "Animal House." The toga party works perfectly for a G-rated pool party, with guests conveniently wearing their swimsuits underneath. Liven things up with a relay race, challenging guests to balance cafeteria trays laden with fake (or real) food while crossing an obstacle course.
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