BIG LIST OF HOMESCHOOL GRADUATION IDEAS
Whether you’ve homeschooled all the way through, or just a few years, the completion of high school is an accomplishment worth commemorating. Here is a big list of homeschool graduation ideas to provide inspiration for a fun and memorable graduation celebration.
Get a free printable download of these ideas for easy reference as you brainstorm your own homeschool graduation ideas! You’ll find the printable list in my resource library, linked at the end of this article.
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HOMESCHOOL GRADUATION PLANNING
Start planning early! If you begin early enough, you may be able to incorporate ideas that require advance preparation throughout your child’s senior year of high school.
But also…don’t stress about making it the perfect occasion. The main thing is that your grad feels celebrated and enjoys their special day.
Advance planning:
- create a Pinterest board to save ideas (make it a shared board with your grad)
- start a shared Google doc to brainstorm ideas
- start to narrow down type of celebration: party, trip, celebratory dinner
- decide who will be invited
- choose type of invitations: simple announcement, e-vite, mailed invitation
2-3 months before:
- choose a date
- decide on location (and book if necessary)
- consider needed seating, tables, tents, etc.
- consider needed seating, tables, tents, etc.
- set a budget
- order and send invitations
- choose a decor theme or color scheme if desired
- find and purchase decor and supplies
- decide on food to be served
- book catering or order food items as needed
- ask friends or extended family for help
- preparing food
- decorating and set up
- restocking food trays
- stocking drinks and ice
- taking pictures
- organizing games if needed
- running a photo booth
- cleaning up
TRADITIONAL GRADUATION ITEMS
Whether you have a graduation ceremony, a party, or an alternative celebration, you may wish to include some traditional graduation items in your plans.
- senior pictures
- graduation announcements
- cap and gown
- diploma
GRADUATION CEREMONY
As a homeschooler, you may not be participating in an organized graduation ceremony with a class of students. Some states do have ceremonies for homeschoolers to attend, or you might be part of a co-op or other homeschool organization that plans a formal graduation.
Otherwise, if you’re on your own, consider whether you want to include a more formal ceremony as part of your graduation festivities.
A graduation ceremony can be thought of similarly to other ceremonial gatherings such as weddings or funerals. There are typically some prayers, speeches, music, and a pronouncement.
Here are some things you may want to include in a graduation ceremony.
Opening Remarks
Have someone welcome those who came to recognize the achievement of the graduate in completing high school. This typically takes a celebratory tone, and can include humorous anecdotes or even homeschool-related jokes!
Music
Decide if you will have the graduate walk to the traditional Pomp & Circumstance or find music that fits their style and wishes.
Also, you’ll need to decide when the graduate enters, either before or after the opening remarks or prayer.
Speeches
You may wish to ask one or two people close to the graduate to offer words of encouragement or inspiration. Parents, grandparents, co-op teachers, coaches, or youth group leaders are possibilities for this role.
It is a good idea to give speakers a time limit—perhaps 10 minutes—to keep the ceremony reasonably short.
Your teen may, or more likely, may not, want to speak. They could speak to what homeschooling has meant to them, lessons they’ve learned, or their future plans. This is entirely personal preference.
Prayers
Prayers could be offered by parents, grandparents, pastors, mentors, or anyone close to the graduate.
Awards
You may choose to present your graduate with any awards they received from extracurricular activities, scholarships, community organizations, or academic achievements.
DIPLOMA PRESENTATION
Choose someone to present the diploma—usually parents in a homeschool ceremony.
Your student may then move their tassel from right to left on their graduation cap if they are wearing one.
PRONOUNCEMENT AND PRESENTATION
You’ll need to decide if you are going to have a closing prayer after the diploma presentation. If so, the presentation of the graduate would come immediately after the prayer. If no prayer, the presentation announcement would occur immediately after the diploma presentation. Something like, “presenting our high school graduate, ___________” would suffice.
ALTERNATIVES TO A GRADUATION PARTY
If your graduate does not want a graduation party, here are some alternative celebration ideas:
- take a family trip
- send your grad on a trip with a friend
- simple family gathering with close family members
- gift—give a memorable or useful gift that is meaningful to the graduate
- spend a day doing things your grad wants to do (spa, rock climbing, shopping, brunch, etc.)
- bond over an activity with your grad (bungee jumping, skydiving, parasailing, etc.)
Read: Candy Awards Sayings for Homeschoolers
GRADUATION PARTY IDEAS
If you’re planning on a graduation party, keep reading for loads of ideas and inspiration.
But first…don’t forget that this is supposed to be celebratory and FUN! If it stresses you out to plan coordinating decor, cute food spreads, and memorable photo displays—do NOT feel obligated to do it!!
It’s ok to have a bare-bones party with guests who love and support your graduate, want to hang out and have fun, laugh a lot, and eat chips and salsa.
The ideas below are only worth doing if you’re excited about it. No pressure, no guilt, and no comparisons.
So…here we go…
DECOR IDEAS
1 | Balloons: balloon arch, balloon path leading to party area, balloons on display tables
2 | Tassel garland: DIY outdoor tassel garland at Sincerely, Sara D
3 | Paper flower grad cap tassel: tutorial at The House That Lars Built
4 | Sprinkles grad cap: tutorial at Dream a Little Bigger
5 | Banners: chalkboard banner, graduation banner, school years photo banner
6 | Yard signs
7 | Marquee sign with grad year numbers
8 | Fillable acrylic letters or numbers (GRAD, year, YAY)
10 | Diploma napkin wraps: roll white or cream napkin around silverware and tie with color coordinating ribbon to look like diplomas
11 | Flowers in bud vases
12 | Bubble machine
13 | Lighting: string lights, lanterns, LED candles
Photos
There are so many creative ways to display photos at a grad party. You’ll find lots of inspiration on Pinterest.
14 | framed photos on display tables, buffet tables, or dining tables
15 | photo collages
16 | hanging picture memory board
17 | clip photos to twine or wire around a tree, across a pallet, along a stair banister, etc.
18 | pin photos to corkboards
19 | tape photos to the panes of antique or decorative window frames
20 | create a slideshow
21 | Timeline wall
If space allows, create a timeline wall with pictures, significant milestones, and funny stories from the past 12 years.
Use a large roll of paper as a backdrop and mount it against a wall or attach to tall stakes outside.
22 | Memory board
Use a large posterboard or trifold board to display any of the following items:
- photos
- handwritten or types messages or stories
- physical memorabilia from the graduate: performance programs, artwork, ticket stubs, etc.
- pictures of your student’s favorite things
Personalized display items
Include a display showcasing your student’s hard work and accomplishment over the years.
23 | create a stack of curriculum used throughout the years (display on a table with photos and memorabilia)
24 | display favorite books read throughout the school years
25 | include a display of extracurricular interests: sports gear, dance shoes, artwork, performance programs, etc.
26 | display academic work of the student over the years (artwork, science projects, papers, etc.)
27 | Quote wall
Use a variety of canvases, chalkboards, and posterboards to display inspiration quotes, Bible verses, or funny quotes from the graduate’s childhood. You can also leave some blank space—white posterboard or chalkboard—for guests to add their own inspirational quotes or messages.
ACTIVITY IDEAS
Keep it simple with background music and a photo display for guests to peruse, set up a DIY photo booth, or go all out and plan interactive games.
28 | Music playlist: the graduate may enjoy choosing favorite music for their party
Photo backdrop
There are a whole lot of ideas for this. Go as simple or as fancy as you like.
Your photo backdrop doesn’t have to be “graduation” themed either. If you’re going with a specific theme or color scheme, have your photo backdrop coordinate with those colors or theme.
Have your grad take photos with guests as well, especially close friends and family.
29 | balloon arch
30 | hanging streamers or garlands
31 | decorate a wooden pallet with lights and garland
32 | use a backdrop frame
33 | decorate a folding screen
34 | use an oversize picture frame
35 | purchase a photo backdrop
36 | add photo props
37 | Karaoke machine
Games
38 | badminton
39 | croquet
40 | horseshoes
41 | ping-pong
42 | ring toss
43 | cornhole
Oversize lawn games are generally popular.
44 | lawn Jenga
45 | oversize Yahtzee
46 | Connect 4
47 | oversize checkers, chess, and tic-tac-toe
Interactive games
48 | who knows the grad best trivia game
49 | guess that song: choose songs from the past 12 years and play snippets for guests to guess the title or artist
50 | Are you smarter than a graduate?: gather a list of academic and pop culture trivia questions and divide the group into two teams to compete for a prize
WAYS TO INVOLVE GUESTS
51 | Ask distant friends and family to send a recorded congratulations message and compile into a video for your grad
52 | Ask close friends and family to send photos of themselves with the graduate: create a digital or physical photo album for the grad or include in a slideshow during the party
53 | Have guests write down a favorite “something” to be put into a jar or box at the party—recipe, Bible verse, piece of advice, tech tool, book title, etc. After the party, compile the suggestions into a document or printed product. This works best if you include this request with the party invitation so that guests have a change to think about what they want to share.
Ask guests to offer advice for the graduate
54 | corkboard display with small cards to pin to the board
55 | advice jar
57 | spiral bound journal
58 | Jenga guest book: tutorial from Must Have Mom
59 | sign a photo frame
THINGS THE GRADUATE CAN DO
60 | create a time capsule
61 | perform at the graduation ceremony
62 | give a speech—what homeschooling has meant to them, things they’ve learned, future plans, etc.
FOOD IDEAS
63 | sweet success candy bar
64 | One Smart Cookie cookie bar
65 | chocolate fondue fountain
66 | celebration candy board: tutorial from A Pumpkin and a Princess
67 | diploma cookies (Piroulines)
68 | popcorn bar
69 | DIY sundae station
70 | mocktail mimosa bar: sparkling cider with variety of juices and garnishes
71 | charcuterie boards
72 | diploma wraps: tortillas filled and wrapped with a chive
73 | sandwich bar with “honor” rolls
74 | taco bar
75 | build-your-own burrito bowl
75 | baked potato bar
76 | hot dog bar
77 | slider bar
76 | build-your-own pizza
77 | your graduate’s favorite foods
GIFT IDEAS
78 | journaling Bible: have guests highlight or underline favorite verses and write a note on the side
79 | memory quilt: use t-shirts from vacation spots, sporting events, concerts, etc.and have them made into a blanket
80 | ask guests to bring a book that helped them grow in some way and write an encouraging note in the front
81 | college or “adulting” survival kit: put together a toolkit of chargers, command hooks, OTC medication, first aid supplies, painter’s tape, multitool, reusable grocery bags, etc.
82 | gift card album
84 | money album: get a photo album and add a picture of something that happened each week or month (you’ll need to plan ahead) along with whatever amount of cash you want to include—gift at graduation
85 | personalized or engraved jewelry
86 | scratch-off map or list: choose something that aligns with the graduate’s hobby’s or aspirations (book lists, movie lists, maps, hikes, football stadiums, bucket lists, etc.)
Theme Ideas
Looking for a theme idea for your grad party? Here’s a few to get you started.
87 | career or college major related: science, literature, accounting, design, etc.
88 | location: related to area of the country graduate if graduate is moving for college or career
89 | specific university colors
90 | graduate’s favorite colors or style
91 | graduate’s favorite things: sports teams, video games, art
92 | futuristic theme
93 | Then and Now
94 | Adventure Awaits
95 | Keys to Success
96 | To God Be the Glory
97 | The Next Chapter
98 | Building a Bright Future
99 | Dream Big
HOMESCHOOL GRADUATION INSPIRATION
These ideas are really just a jumping off point for your graduation festivity planning.
Start by asking your grad what type of celebration they would prefer.
Gather ideas and inspiration in a centralized place, like a Pinterest board or Google drive.
Give yourself lots of time to plan.
And enjoy the feeling of accomplishing something worth working for!
Visit my homeschool resources page for monthly unit study ideas, projects, and homeschool planning help!
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