You know how graduation feels? It’s euphoric. Everyone wants to celebrate the start of a new life phase, and say goodbye to the memories of the past. The graduates get sentimental over their friendships and talk about maintaining these forever.

This mood leads to the creation of party after party after that big leap forward (graduation). But then, as soon as the certificates are given out and the photos have been pasted on high school scrapbooks, reality sinks in. No longer will you receive allowance, and depending on how frugal or extravagant you were while at school, you will no longer be able to remain blissfully unaware of the loans and IOU’s you’ve accumulated while you were at school.

You also know that you will be competing with everyone else for whatever jobs are available in your city. And, you might even be forced to migrate from your hometown to somewhere else, where these jobs are.

Because of these “real life” issues, setting up a budget for a post-graduation party can be a drain, particularly if planned at the last minute.

So what can you do to make your post-graduation bash a success? Make it a frugal party and plan with your closest friends so everyone can pitch in something (even if it’s just manpower).

3 Budget-Friendly Ideas for Your Graduation Party

1. Make it a Friendly Affair

Friendly, in the frugal sense, means everyone’s willing to help out and pitch in a meager sum to make your party a success. Instead of planning a grand trip to a resort or a nightclub, plan a homely party where everyone can talk about anything and everything about their plans, their most awesome memories and play games. Backyard parties are great for this time of the year, when nights are balmy and the scent of barbecue mingles with the scent of summer grass.

2. Add Some Party Games

A party isn’t complete without entertainment. Plan ahead and make everyone feel good about ditching the expensive party and going for the frugal one. One nice game you can try is spin the graduation bottle. The person tagged will have to answer a candid question about school life (e.g. “who did you secretly like in the basketball team?”, “did you and so-and-so kiss during the spring break party at so-and-so’s house?” etc.). You can also load a Karaoke cd and sing your heart out. Someone can be designated as judge and the awards can be anything from “best chipmunks voice” or “best impersonation of a homeroom teacher”.

8. Frugal Chow

Ransack your pantry and look for appetizer ingredients. Have sausage and bread? Create some sausage rolls and have an instant appetizer to serve! You can munch on these while waiting for the pizza delivery. Here’s a simple recipe to try…

Sausage Bread Rolls Recipe

To make it fast and easy, wrap a sausage link in a piece of bread or toast. The traditional recipe is fairly quick and easy to make as well: Using a can of refrigerated crescent roll dough, separate and unroll each crescent roll. Then wrap the dough around a sausage link. Press and seal the seams and bake according to the package directions. Another idea is to wrap a couple of links in a flour tortilla with some cheese for a fun and tasty twist.

Remember, it’s the fun that you have with close friends that makes an event really special. Have fun!

Here’s an idea for all ye dormers who have seniors graduating this year…. how about throwing a graduation party and an auction party combined?

Think about it. The seniors have a lot of stuff in their dorm rooms lying around waiting for disposal (or shipping home). Are there some items they want to lose before they move on to the next phase of their lives? There may be a plethora of old clothes, computer tables, tv stands, hand-me-down shoes and bags, potted plants that have grown too big for a dorm room, old textbooks, paperbacks, an old CD collection, mobile phone cases, old cellular phone models, printers and many more.

This party is easy enough to set up. Just invite all the seniors to attend a grad party orientation and they can pledge a few items for auction. They get to keep the money or the whole dorm can use the auction as a fund raiser for a project or for donating to charity. Or, the seniors can all pitch in with the money they’re going to make to buy something for the whole dorm to remember them by.

Next comes the creation of banners and party decorations. As the day of the graduation looms in the horizon, there will be more and more people who are willing to pitch in because they feel sentimental about a few friends leaving. A little effort and a tiny piece of their time can make all the difference in making the seniors’ graduation party a success!

Don’t forget to hand out flyers and assign a team to take care of the food. Everyone can pitch in a little something for some refreshments. Maybe you can contact some of the beloved teachers of the senior class to make a speech. Maybe the incumbent dorm president can do a little “passing the baton” ritual for the lower batch.

A graduation party is a sentimental affair, even when there’s something like an auction going on.

Your young lady graduate wants to be an executive? Help her look her best during her first interview or resume distribution sessions. That one has to make the best first impression possible may put a lot of pressure on her, but you, her friends and relatives can give her these following items during her graduation party to boost her morale.

For her job interviews, you can give the following:

A Classic Work Duffel that can serve as her convenient carrier for jobhunting necessities like cell phone, make up for retouching prior to an interview, and her organizer.

A classy bag tells a story about the taste of the individual. Because a fresh graduate cannot afford a designer bag yet, she will appreciate gifts that she can wear with confidence when joining fellow hopefuls in job application queues. If she applies in the business sector or in advertising firms, her taste in accessories will play a big role in her success.

An exclusive personalized mint tin. She will be speaking with people and shaking hands, joking with future employers and networking with contacts. She needs to have fresh breath no matter where she goes, and even during casual business dinners. A mint tin is a thoughtful gift exactly because our new lady graduate will not think of buying it herself. Prevent her from chewing gum before an interview and give her a personalized tin she can fill with mints later on.

Business cards she can put inside her organizer for giving out to people. Handing out cards can be an easy way for her to introduce herself to potential employers. The awkward new graduate can practice a bright smile in front of the mirror while she’s pretending to hand a business card to a new prospect or business contact.

Gift Certificate for her Favorite Magazines. A young female graduate is eager to try out new things, discover new trends and simply explore her new world. It’s amusing how many young girls rely on advice from women’s magazines to update their fashion sense and other needs. Give her the gift of reading, but to make sure that she buys only the magazines she’s interested in, make it a gift certificate.

We all have relatives and friends who are or plan to be executives in big companies. This is timely advice for graduation and other significant events in a student’s life that means he or she is taking the next step to becoming the business world’s next best thing.

Dress him up for success. Most new grads don’t have much money to afford the little bits of accessories that spell success. After that graduation party, surprise him with these gifts and let him know that you are behind his success all the way!

• 
  Business card case. See Silver Plated Business Card Case. Everyone will be talking about his gold case when he pulls it out to flash a business card. Companies will spring for the basic business cards, but you can provide a more elaborate one along with the case. He’ll appreciate you helping him to put his best foot forward. A new case and free business cards containing his credentials is a thoughtful touch. He can give these away to prospective employers or drop them in fishbowls of hip restaurants for exposure.

• Briefcase. One can never have too many briefcases. The traditional type of case has been replaced with more fashionable styles. If he carries a laptop computer, find a briefcase that doubles as a computer case and a place to store his important documents.

• Personalized Overnight Bag – Most new employees go to team building seminars and events that mean time away from home. These are usually accompanied by hotel stays with co-employees which mean they will share rooms and closets. Make his overnight bag stand out from the rest with a nice personalized touch. This is one bag he probably will keep for the rest of his career as he will need something to throw his stuff in when he needs to go out of town for business conferences in a jiffy.

• 
  Watch/timepiece, preferably personalized. Being on time is important for a businessman. He may need to know the time in this time zone and others as well. Give him a watch that is as smart as his mind. Brands like Seiko, TAG Heuer, Fossil, and Movado make excellent timepieces for the wrist.

Do not forget to include a nicely written card stating how much you wish him well in his journey to corporate success. Most young guys will be touched to the core albeit secretly.