<p>D graduates this spring, but will stay on through summer and possibly fall to finish up the second undergrad degree. Plus apply to the next level of education, grad school or med school or whatever. </p>
<p>I’d be very interested to hear what parents did - or plan to do - for undergrad graduation? Did you send announcements? Have a party? And if you had a party, how did you do it when all the most desired guests are in so many different places? Did you just have a celebratory dinner? Did you do nothing at all, especially if the student is continuing their education and doesn’t particularly care if they have any recognition? </p>
<p>Please let me know your thoughts and experiences.</p>
<p>When D1 graduated, we had a family celebration dinner at her favorite restaurant. We also gave her a gift of a trip for her and her boyfriend. Both were continuing on with their studies but even if they hadn’t been, our celebration would have been the same. I think by this age, they’re a little old for families to be planning parties which would include their friends. We did not send out announcements, in fact, we’ve never done that, for any graduation, including high school. It’s not something which is commonly done where we live and also, everyone who would care about the graduations would already be aware so no announcement is necessary. :)</p>
<p>I guess it varies with where you live. It’s traditional here to send a graduation announcement by mail, I’ve gotten any number of them so I did the same. Sent the ones you order through the colleges (Josten’s, etc). At first I thought it was tacky (like you are soliciting a gift), but after 4 or 5 years of hard work and a lot of money I think the announcement is nice. Most important: I cleared it with my kids when they graduated and they thought the announcement idea was fine.</p>
<p>We had a dinner at the house, catered and homemade foods for about 50 people, mostly family and local friends. Most of the college friends were busy/far away but that is understood. The gf/bf was there so that’s what they care about the most. I think a party marking undergrad degree is entirely appropriate, my kids even asked if we were having one.</p>
<p>Well, I think an announcement is fine, as long as people are not interpreting as requesting a gift. Lots of people ask me “when is D graduating” or “what’s next” etc. - lots of people are curious, and announcements would seem to serve as a sort of broadcast update. D has no real interest in a party, and after four years I’d rather give her a gift of cash rather than spend it on a party that she doesn’t care much about. But I’ve also noticed that people don’t seem to send announcements the way they used to - is this because they are perceived to be requests for gifts, and therefore are thought to be tacky?</p>
<p>We had a family dinner. She was traveling immediately afterward, so there was no other get-together (we’re not into big celebrations, but we did have a party for her brothr’s HS graduation during our extended-family vacation. She would have shared that if she’d been home.) We never send announcements. those who should know, know.</p>
<p>S graduated this past spring and will continue to reside in LA. We held a party the evening before the ceremony. Because he was on the opposite coast from our home, our family plus in-laws rented a penthouse suite (20 percent discount by booking on-line) in a Santa Monica hotel overlooking the ocean that accommodated all of us during our stay plus all the guests for the party. I created and printed invitations at home (ivory embossed inkjet note cards) for folks to attend the party, the ceremony, or both if they’d like. The wording took on more of a celebratory feel to minimize implication of any presents. Picked up food at Trader Joe’s that could be easily heated/nuked for the party. (We had a full kitchen.)</p>
<p>Fortunately, younger SIL lives in LA, so she was able to attend the party. We also have friends and relatives in that area, and several came. We were surprised that many of the invitees did send a check to our son. The bulk of the 50 guests consisted of S’s friends and his roommate’s family, so there was a lively mix. The party ran from 7 to 11 p.m., and everybody seemed to have a good time. S was very appreciative of the effort and refused our offer of a gift. Oh, well. We’ll just keep saving.</p>