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A brunch graduation party is the perfect way to celebrate your high school senior. With a delicious breakfast-inspired graduation brunch menu, drink stations, and creative activities, your grad’s special day will be both memorable and fun for both them and your guests.
In the weeks surrounding graduation, there are likely many parties scheduled during the peak times. A brunch graduation party is a great way to find a less busy time that will have everyone arriving bright and ready to go earlier in the day (especially the parents!).
Below is a list of everything you’ll need, including a full list of supplies, to plan the perfect brunch graduation party!
For more graduation party and high school senior year ideas, join us in the Graduation Ideas | Countdowns, Parties, Gifts & Deals Facebook group and/or follow us on Instagram.
Before diving into the details of your brunch graduation party, it’s important to lock in the logistics. A well-planned event starts with choosing the right date, time, and location while keeping guest count in mind.
Late spring is always busy, with multiple celebrations and events happening around the same time. To ensure your party doesn’t conflict with other major events:
If your guest list includes multiple graduates, consider co-hosting a joint brunch to maximize attendance while also sharing costs!
Your brunch does not have to be on a weekend once school is out. If you’re struggling to find a date/time close to the actual graduation, consider a weekday.
Timing is always tricky during the busy party season, but brunch hours typically fall between 11 AM – 2 PM. You can adjust based on your schedule:
An Open House style party is popular with party durations between 2-4 hours to allow for guests to attend for long enough and still be able to navigate multiple events the same day.
Your location should match the size and style of your celebration. Consider these options:
If hosting outdoors, have a backup plan in case of bad weather. Consider a tent or indoor space just in case.
Start by determining the number of family members and family friends to invite.
Next, have your graduate determine a friend guest list. If this will be a combined graduation party, have the students collaborate to come up with one list without duplication so that you’ll have a number.
Now add the family invitees for each student + the number of students. Considering food, beverage and potential location rental, are you within budget? If not, each graduate may need to reconsider their list.
Since many graduation parties are open house/drop-in style, you might not have a good headcount leading up to your event, so you’ll need to prepare on best guess.
Traditional invites may be a thing of the past!
For most graduation parties in our area, Evite is frequently used by the parents.
For students, we’re seeing invites sent using GroupMe or other social platforms with the time, date and location. These do not have an official RSVP function, so an exact count will be a moving target making planning for food and drink a little tricky! Check with your student to see how friends are handling invitations and ask them to try to stay on top of expected numbers.
If you’re trying to decide on printed invitations or announcements, please see our article to help you decide on the right plan for your family.
Your grad’s big day isn’t just about the perfect setup – it’s about celebrating the journey. So sip the mimosa, snap some pictures, and soak it all in. Let the trash bags and refills wait – today is about making memories, not managing the mess!
Folding rectangular serving tables – Consider what you’ll need them for and then how many. We’ve found that having a couple on-hand has come in super handy throughout the year at holidays or Super Bowl parties!
Brunch food should be delicious, easy to serve, and a mix of sweet and savory options. Consider a majority of room-stable options that don’t require heat or cold to keep them fresh for the duration of the event. Depending on the number of guests and any known dietary requirements, you may want to offer a few gluten-free or allergy friendly options.
Consider how much time you have to prep and decide whether you want to serve all homemade, a mixture of homemade and store-bought or all store-bought or catered. Stores like Costco and Sam’s are great options for breakfast foods to serve a crowd. Visit the store in advance to see what they offer, check prices and review number of servings in each package. You can then use that information to determine how much you’ll need to purchase.
You can also try your favorite breakfast restaurant to fully cater or to provide items that you’d rather not make or buy from a store. Your favorite bagel or donut shop around the corner may be a great place to grab a few special treats or even a breakfast spread. Check their website for catering options.
A budget friendly tip? Save those tongs that come with Chick-Fil-A catering or take-out leading up to the party.
Don’t want to do it all yourself? Hire a college-student to help with restocking food and beverages and to help with clean-up. The hourly rate for the duration of the party may be worth it to allow you and your family to truly enjoy the event.
A mimosa bar is a must for a brunch graduation party! Offer classic and non-alcoholic versions so everyone can enjoy.
Juices: Orange, pineapple, mango, cranberry, peach.
Sparkling Options: Prosecco, champagne, and sparkling cider or flavored sparkling water for non-alcoholic mimosas.
Fruit Garnishes: Fresh berries, orange slices and mint sprigs.
Sparkly plastic cups or taller stemless flutes for the mimosas. Don’t forget the Sharpie to label the glasses.
Glass drink dispensers for juices – these (seen above) come with chalkboard signs to easily label each one. These can also be used for iced tea, lemonade and other beverages.
Beverage tub or container to keep juices and Prosecco cold. This is a white beverage tub option from Walmart.
Small tongs for fruit and garnishes.
Cocktail napkins.
Decorative straws.
Tabletop chalkboard signs:
Keep guests energized with a cold brew coffee station with fun coffee creamers and to-go cups. Add some cold-foam and you have your own little coffee shop!
Of course, you may want to have a carafe of hot coffee with insulated disposable cups as well.
Cold brew coffee – Depending on the number of guests you expect, you can make your own or purchase pre-made cold brew from your local grocery or club store.
Flavored creamers – Vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, or seasonal favorites. You can also look for cold foam available at most grocery stores.
Toppings – Whipped cream, chocolate shavings, cinnamon
Ice bucket or cooler with bag of ice.
Beverage dispenser – You can also serve in pitchers, but one large beverage dispenser may be easier. This is the same dispenser pictured above. Additional beverage dispensers options below:
Beverage tub or cooler to keep milk, cream and coffee creamers cold. This is a white beverage tub option from Walmart.
Disposable coffee cups with lids & straws – Just like at their favorite coffee shop.
Stirring sticks – Go with the wood sticks for iced coffee as they need to be more sturdy to move the ice cubes around.
If your brunch party is outside, add some interactive activities to keep guests entertained.
Giant Jenga, Cornhole or Ring Toss – If you have good weather and the space, setting out a group game for guests promotes socializing and fun!
Polaroid Photo Station with a guestbook – Have a camera with built-in printing capability on a table and have your guests take a selfie! They can add it to the guest book with a note or simply write on the photo itself for a fun memory for the graduate.
Polaroid camera (or similar), guestbook & pens for the Polaroid station
Game setup (Jenga, cornhole, etc.) – use what you have or invest in something new that you all can enjoy during holiday visits and summer break.
Create a special area where guests can leave congratulatory messages, gifts, and look back on fun memories with the grad. Of course, not unique to just a brunch graduation party, this setup can be the focal point of any graduation party. Have fun with it and make it as elaborate or as simple as you want!
A Yearbook Signing Station with fun pens – let your guests browse the grads yearbook and sign (of course, check with your student first!)
Pictures of the grad and school achievements – there are so many ways to display photos from framed pics to collages pinned on a board or attached to a frame. Repurposing something you already have at home is a great way to save.
Box or Basket for Cards – make it easy for guests to know where to place gifts or envelopes by placing a basket or box on a central table.
Photo Album or Slideshow featuring senior year highlights – leverage Canva or iMovie to create an slideshow you can project on a tv during the event.
Decorative tablecloth or school flag
Markers & metallic pens for yearbook signing
Photo frames
Basket or box for cards
Inspired by floral carts that you might see around town, we put together a fun DIY flower bar for our brunch graduation party! Not only is it a fun activity, it makes a great take-home gift! Such a unique idea that guests will be sure to remember and also makes for great photo opportunities. Talk about a party favor!
Provide a mix of fresh flowers (roses, daisies, baby’s breath, eucalyptus) – Purchase what is in-season for the best prices.
Choose a location out of the sun so the flowers will stay fresh and set up a table for guests to make their bouquets.
Offer floral wrapping materials so guests can create a bouquet.
Flowers – We purchased bulk flowers from Costco that arrived in boxes. We just had to cut the stems and place in water. Be mindful of the website instructions for timing for when to order.
Buckets or vases to hold fresh flowers. We used these small plastic waste baskets to keep the stems in water before the party. And then tucked them into these larger tubs from Better Homes & Gardens – another post-party favorite that we love to have on-hand.
Craft paper and string or ribbon for wrapping bouquets – we also used the craft paper as a table cover where the kids made up the bouquets.
Scissors & floral tape.
Table sign with instructions – here is a helpful video on how to wrap a bouquet! This is another great place to use a sandwich board chalkboard sign
We hope these graduation brunch Ideas will make it easy to plan your event. With a well-planned menu, interactive drink stations, and fun activities, your brunch graduation party will be an unforgettable celebration. By including thoughtful details like personalized decor, an engaging coffee and mimosa bar, and a fresh flower bouquet station, you’ll create an event that both your grad and guests will love. ENJOY!
For more graduation party and high school senior year ideas, join us in the Graduation Ideas | Countdowns, Parties, Gifts & Deals Facebook group and/or follow us on Instagram.
If your senior is heading to college after graduation, our Dorm Shopping Recommendations & Deal Alerts Facebook group will help you research what you need and don’t need, select affordable items that will be reusable throughout college, learn how to avoid toxins in common dorm items and save money by pointing out when the favorite items drop to their lowest price. You can also check out our Dorm Room Essentials Guide where you’ll find a shoppable list of our well-researched and recommended products for dorm-living.
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Lauri says:
I found your site while searching for coffee bar inspiration for an upcoming bridal shower brunch. I will use many of your suggestions. Thank you for this very helpful and thorough post!