8th Grade Graduation Party Ideas

Passing middle school and entering high school is a big change for your teen. He could be going through various kinds of emotions at this stage. A part of him would be happy, a part of him confused, and a part of him apprehensive about what to expect at high school! As parents, you can make your child feel great and recognize his achievement of passing middle school, by arranging a graduation party for him!

Gone are the days when the only graduation parties that were celebrated were post high school and college. Nowadays, parents plan a graduation party for eighth graders with equal gusto, to make their teenager son or daughter feel special. If you are thinking on the same lines, then here are some interesting 8th grade graduation party ideas, which will help you plan the event in a fun, organized manner!

As homemade invitations look much more personalized, make the invites yourself, at home itself. The invitations should clearly mention the time, date and venue of the party.

It should also mention the time when the party will be over, so that the parents can come and pick up their wards after the party. Be very creative when designing the invitations. As these serve as a prelude to the guests on what to expect, if you have the party planned around a theme, incorporate it into the invitations, with some beautiful graphics.

As for the number of invitees, limit it to the number which you can easily accommodate at the venue. If you feel that everyone invited will not be able to make it, invite at least five people more. This will ensure that your teen has enough invitees to have fun with at the party!

The party decorations should scream fun. Some of the popular themes for such parties are - Hollywood, rock-n-roll, beach, movies, American idol, Hannah Montana, etc. So choose any of these themes and recreate the same with the party decorations.

For instance, if you are having a Hollywood theme, have cutouts of actors and actresses pasted on the walls. You can even have a red carpet near the entrance, and click photographs of the invitees as they enter the party venue! Such fun party ideas are sure to be a hit amongst the invitees!

As children this age love to gorge on fast foods, include fast food items such as pizzas, burgers, hamburgers, chips, etc., in the menu. As for beverages, aerated drinks, lemonade, tea and coffee, will be more than enough.

However, if you want to make the day really special, how about arranging for a sit-down dinner? A formal dinner, no doubt will require you to take much more efforts, but it's your child's graduation day, so do something different! Plan a four course meal, complete with soups, salads, the main course, and some yummy desserts!

The kind of entertainment and activities that you plan can make or break the party. A fun thing that you can do is to arrange for a DJ and a dance floor. If you have booked a hotel banquet for the party, this can be easily done. However, if the party is at home, you can ask your son / daughter to burn CDs with some latest hit numbers, to play at the party.

Some of the fun games that you can plan are - musical chairs, scavenger hunts, movie quizzes, board games, card games, one minute games where teens compete with one another, etc. If you have an outdoor space, you can even arrange for games like basketball, soccer, tennis, hockey, amongst others!

By now, you must have got a pretty good idea of how to plan the graduation party. To make sure that you don't go wrong, consult your son / daughter before finalizing the invitations, décor, food, and activities for the party. After all, they will have a better idea of what teens like. Lastly, if you can arrange for all the invitees to go for a movie, post party, it will be like icing on the cake!