I made topiaries using silk flowers in the school colors. (Real flowers would be great too.) The silks had long, thick stems and I tied them 3/4 of the way to the blooms with ribbon in a school color also. Used a decorative pot, put small rocks in the bottom (for weight) and a small block of floral or Styrofoam to hold flowers, then finished pot off with moss. Then I stuck in long green wooden picks with pictures of the graduate glued to the tops of the picks. I also used the name of the college on smaller picks. Very inexpensive and everyone loved them!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I need ideas for cheap but elegant centerpieces. I am graduating from college after 20 years. I plan to have a luncheon and my colors are purple and maroon.
Hi,
We make balloon centerpieces at reasonable prices and many are personalized. Right now we have available two graduation centerpieces, one is $8.50 the other is $10.25. You can see them at www.celebratedsensations.com/
Please let me know if I can be of further help to you.
Katie
Here's what I did last year that was cheap and clever:
1) graduation caps, used as coasters:
black square paper napkins... poke hole in middle with needle ... run 2 or 3 lengths of yellow ribbon through hole (school color) ... tape ribbon on the underside. Make ribbon length in proportion to napkin to make it look like a graduation cap. I made 20+ of these and had them all over the house. Can be done well in advance of party. You'll love the look.
2) photos under plastic on table
Scan photos of graduate from childhood years and print out on regular white paper ... scatter on table ... cover with clear plastic tablecloth (bought at dollar store). I used only young child pictures and scanned about 30 of them. Did this on numerous tables throughout the house. Not too many things cuter than a bunch of baby and little kids pictures scattered about. Photos can be scanned well ahead of the party.
4) stack books as food holders
Stack old textbooks, 3-5 of them, on a table. Wrap with yellow crepe paper ribbon to simulate a book bag stack. I used their hardest course books, like chemistry, biology, etc., to give an appreciation of how hard they worked to get through. Put bowls of fruit salad, etc., on top of the book stacks.
5) See if you can find some glasses in the shape of 2006. The guests will wear them and they make for fun photo opportunities.
I loved planning these things. Have FUN!
I loved the photos in the flower pot idea! I'm going to expand this idea and purchase some small pots of annual yellow flowers, wrap the pots with blue wrapping paper (our school colors) and then tape photos of my son on straws and stick these in the pots. After the party, the pots can be given to grandparents, aunts, etc. as a way to remember my son's graduation.
I am on a very tight budget as in barely anything but I want a nice looking party. The theme I have is stars. what do you think I should do for the centerpieces?
At my cousins graduation party, her sisters made centerpieces. They bought little vases and use stencils to write her name, the year she graduated, and flowers on it. Then they put styrofoam balls (purchased at Walmart) that fit the inside of the vase and stuck pretty fake flowers in it. It looked nice on the tables.
Sometimes StumpsSpirit.com has really elegant centerpieces at great prices! Check it out!...for someone doing a grad party and the theme is "STARS,"...I did it...StumpsSpirit.com had colorful 3D Star centerpieces for a set of 6 @ $30.00. You can choose your own school colors too.
Once the Stars were placed on the tabletops, I just sprinkled some graduation caps confetti around them and bits of curling ribbon just to add a more elegant look to it. Have fun, graduation comes only once in a lifetime.
I am looking for ideas for Graduation centerpieces made of candy.
I'm organizing the graduation reception for my law school class. I'm stuck on ideas for centerpieces (both big and small tables). My ideas so far are:
One of my best friends of ten years will be graduating from college on May 12th. His mom wanted me to decorate for his graduation party. As centerpieces I will be using styrofoam cups filled with gravel or marbles. I will then use metallic gold tissue paper and wrap the cups up. Then I will attach two helium filled balloons in his school colors green and gold. He has a degree in criminal justice and music directing, so I will use die cuts of music notes, badges and diplomas to finish the look.
Love all the ideas. I was stumped until this site all I had come up with was visiting the party store and spending more money than I wanted. Love the diploma costers, the rolled diplomas. Think I wll print the grad year to runn along the side of the rolled paper. Thanks to all !!!1
I am planning an open house for Spring of 2008 and I have some ideas, but I wanted to keep cost low. I read about the taco buffet and thought that was nice. I wanted to have the M&M candies personalized for center pieces in her school colors.
I have been asked to plan my cousin's grad party from Law School. Need a fun theme or some small ideas that will get my creative juices flowing! Help!
My boyfriend is graduating Law School in a few weeks and I was thinking of getting some plastic scales of justice and filling them with m&m's. I think they will make nice centerpieces as well as conversation-starters!
Cali
I love the idea of the scales of justice, but I can't find plastic ones, have you had any luck finding cheap scales of justice?
I went to Michael's and bought my daughters first initial of her first name, K, in three dimensional paperboard letters. I then purchased a paperboard box to mount each letter on. I spray painted the letters in her favorite color, (or you can use your school colors), then painted the boxes white. I glued a letter on the lid of the box then used glitter spray paint over the entire piece. I plan to add some sand to each box so they don't blow away in the Kansas wind. I will use them as centerpieces with glitter or confetti sprinkled around them.
Hello! I'm trying to come up with ideas for a centerpiece. It's for a graduation party, I want something unique! I thought of the fruit tree but what else?
My daughter is graduation from high school in two weeks. I'm using a margherita glass, filling bottom with colored stones from the dollar store in her school colors. Took her pre-school graduation picture, and her high school picture, printed them out on card-stock, with a nice saying, made a fan out of them, stuck them in the glass, and wrapped tulle around them with curling ribbon. They are adorable. I made 3 of these. I am also using old vases that I have and buying carnations in her school colors to put on the other tables.
I need ideas for decorating round tables for a college graduation.
By Wanda
Get some inexpensive mortarboard style grad hats (try a party store). Turn upside down. Put in floral foam (the dry kind) to fit tightly inside. Add long tinsel picks in school colors, curly ribbons like the kind you stick on parcels (let some ribbons fall over the sides of the hat, go for sparkle and shine. Silk flowers to fill in. If you want a candle, cut the center out of the foam to fit the bottom of small to medium size glass vases or other glassware before adding other decorations. Add the candle by sticking to the inside bottom of the vase using candle stick or plasticine. Decorate around the candle center with the kind of decorative items I mentioned before.
I need ideas for high school graduation party centerpieces for my twin daughters. I have 16 tables.
By Nancy
I filled a large glass bowl with fortune cookies. The kids loved reading each other's fortunes. The centerpiece will disappear, but it's sure fun!
I would like some ideas for a centerpiece for a college graduation for someone with a CPA degree.
By Ellen
