Tis the season for graduation and graduation parties! This year is a special one for us. My husband is programs director for an organization called City Impact. He has the privilege of working with some pretty cool youth. He has led a group of boys the last few years and 3 of those boys are graduating this year. It has been amazing to watch them grow up into great young men who we know are going to make a difference in their community and in this world.
One of those guys is T.J. We are super big T.J. fans around here. He just has a gentle way about him, he is kind and smart and his smile lights the room. He has always been so great to my girls, he tops the list when they talk of all the “big brothers” they have. T.J. and his family are super special to ours, so I was really excited to help decorate for his graduation party.
I love making social gatherings beautiful, and I really love challenging myself to do it in a simple way that doesn’t break the bank.
One of the first places I checked out was our local dollar store. Working with T.J.’s mom and between the two of us, we were able to find all kinds of fun stuff there – from plates & napkins to a grad mug. They even had a fun poster to be signed by all who enter the party.
{gathering my supplies}
T.J.’s school colors are black and white, so that was super easy to work with. The decor we found at the dollar store had a bit of grey on it too, so working off that I decided to add bits of silver to add some shine to the party.
We will have 4 large round tables that I need a centerpiece for, and of course T.J.’s memorabilia table. He is a football player and has been very active at school so I have lots to work with for that table.
The centerpieces we got at the dollar store came with gold tinsel. I didn’t like how it looked and gold is not a color I wanted to add, so I bought some silver star tinsel and will work with that to make the centerpieces more what I want them to be.
{not what I wanted}
{that is better}
The venue that we will be having the party at provides black tablecloths, and I am putting a square of this awesome silver glitter wrapping paper I found at Michael’s Craft store in the center of each table, which will ground the centerpieces.
I am rolling up paper and tying black ribbon to make simple diplomas at each centerpiece. We also will have small mason jars with water and silver star confetti floating in it, along with a candle. T.J.’s mom found some black and white wrapped candy, so we will sprinkle that around each centerpiece for guests to help themselves to. I hope it turn out as cool as it looks in my head. I’m sure it will!
T.J. had some awesome poster sized photos of himself that we will place around, one on a mantle in the party room and a couple on easels. No one will question who we are celebrating, that is for sure!
For his memorabilia table, I plan on flanking the back of the table with white and black helium balloons, like in this photo.
I will take photos at the party and let you all know how it turned out!
Congrats, T.J.! Thank you for letting me be part of your day. We love you and are very proud of you!
