Summer vacation is winding down, and for older teens that means one thing: college is on the horizon. Soon it’ll be time for hard work, new friendships, and maybe some wacky adventures here and there. If your nearly grown up kid is moving away for college, you’re going to want to plan a farewell party.
Unfortunately, college is an expensive time, with the tuition alone it can set you back quite the pretty penny. With that in mind, a going away party may not be on your list of priorities. But you’d be surprised how little a party can cost if you’re frugal about it.
Here are a handful of things to think about when trying to save money as a farewell party planner…
Picking the Venue
Venue choice can really make or break a good party, as you want it to be a unique gathering, but somewhere that’s reliable, clean, and safe. Rule No. 1 of securing a good venue is to check out reviews before you even think of putting down a deposit.
The five star reviews aren’t really the important ones — as they could be commissioned — the lowest reviews will tell you everything you need to know. Obviously, bad reviews will have their share of Karens, but it’s here you’ll find out if the venue has legitimate problems such as fire hazards, hidden costs, and inconsistent venue descriptions.
If in doubt, and for the more cozy-core option, a party in your home is always a good choice. It’s also the most affordable option as you can do your own decorating, cooking, and your very own personal DJ Spotify is always looking for gigs.
Picking one of your kid’s favorite restaurants is also a good option if you don’t want to or can’t hire out a dance hall with a caterer, DJ, and decorator. After dinner, you can stay for drinks and desserts in the restaurant, pass around going away gifts, and just spend time together.
Sharing Food
If hiring a caterer isn’t in your budget, you have a few options when it comes to food. Take-out is a great option if you’re only inviting a few friends and family, but for a larger event, the potluck option is always a winner. Asking friends and family from the guest list to bring one homemade or store-bought thing will add up to a grand feast without breaking anyone’s budget.
A cherry pie here and there, potato salad, some chips and salsa, doughnuts, candy — whatever they feel comfortable making or buying. It’s an especially good idea for guests who have to stick to a specific diet, as it means they can just eat what they bring without the risk of sharing an allergen or breaking their vegan diet. If your party has a theme, the food can reflect that. You can also make your kid’s favorite foods, buying some ready-to-go snacks from the store here and there.
Don’t fall into the trap of feeling like you need to go fancy, when honestly anything made with love will be just as good as something a caterer will produce. The difference being you’ll have tons of different cooks, not just one.
Decorate With Memories
As with food, you can have full control over the decorations for a lower cost than hiring someone. Whether in a rented venue or in your own home, there are tons of ways to make the party location fun, festive, and sentimental.
A popular and sweet decor idea is to cover the walls in photographs of your kid’s life pre-college. It’s up to you how much you want to embarrass them with baby pictures, but a chronological display of their life up to that night will have your guests in happy tears.
Pinning or photos to the walls is an obvious option, but you can also buy or make photo lines, which are long strands of twine, LED lights, or ribbon that you can clip photos onto, almost like a clothes line. You can even decorate as the party goes with a mini Bluetooth printer, or Polaroid cameras if you’re willing to rent a handful of them. Your guests can become your own photographers of the event with their phones, print out the images, and attach them to the peg line. Guests can keep their photos as a keepsake, or you can gather them to use at their graduation party.
The Guest List
If you’re part of a huge family, and your kids have a lot of friends, it can be difficult to whittle down the guest list to fit in your chosen venue size. When planning the list, write down everyone you would want to invite if space/budget wasn’t an option. Then gradually shorten the list based on the following: how often you see them, how close they are to your kid, if they’ll even be likely to turn up, and how enjoyable they’ll find the event as a whole. If your kid is very close with their elderly grandparent, for example, but that grandparent finds social events stressful, maybe omit them and plan a quiet lunch with them another time.
Maybe also avoid inviting relatives you only tend to see for the sake of politeness — they most likely won’t be offended anyway. If the party isn’t a surprise, then you can leave the guest list up to your kid, as they’ll know who they do and don’t want there. If you can have private meetings with certain people, it’ll bring down the cost later.
Activities
A good party doesn’t really need much more than great friends, fab music, and delectable food and drink. But if you want to take it up a notch, planning some fun activities that folks of all ages will love. If there are young children on the guest list, there are tons of games they can play such as Under the Cups, or trivia video games like Knowledge is Power. If the crowd is more 17+, people probably won’t want to play musical chairs.
Kid-friendly versions of "drinking games" will go down a treat with older kids and adults — without the alcohol, of course. Partners in Pen is a fun game with some hilarious outcomes, as is Who Drank The Vinegar, which sounds gross, but it’s a funny little mystery challenge you’ll never forget. Never Have I Ever with candy, and even play Beer Pong with 0% beer or soda, the list goes on. The web is full of ideas for party games, crafts, and movie marathons, and if all else fails? Just dance.
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