<p>sounds like a good compromise, ordinarylives, with the invitation for adults and FB for kids.</p>
<p>If I recall correctly, our S-2011 received a bit over $2,000 at his grad party and another $300 - $400 in gift cards. That was from family, friends, neighbors, parent coworkers, etc. Nearly all gifts were $30 or less. Of course we hosted a party that included over 100 invitations and we fed between 80 - 100 with S’s friends coming later and finishing off all the left overs. We had a caterer provide baked BBQ chicken, a pasta dish, salad, BBQ ribs, green beans, and rolls and butter. We provided the cake and all the beverages (beer and wine for adults and water and soft drinks and lemonade for the kids). We used informal printed invitations for the adults and S used a facebook page for his friends. In hindsight it might have been easier to just give S the value of the party but the party was much more fun and many neighbors and friends are waiting for D’s party because they had so much fun.</p>
<p>The EFCs for S and D were about $2,000 apart due to S earning more and having more inthe bank as he is older and has worked more. Much of D’s income was from babysitting so it was cash and not official income. Speaking of EFC, I just got an email earlier this week from FAFSA telling me to complete my FAFSA update. It turns out that I updated D’s FAFSA after the taxes were filed but never did the FAFSA update for S. I am glad they remided me as I would have hated to lose the FA for S in his senior year. It only took 10 minutes to complete the IRS update.</p>
<p>Check with your insurance agent as often you can take your S or D off the policy as a regular driver and save. Most policies do cover any driver when using your car with your permision. This should cover you for when the kids are home on break but double check as every insurance company is a bit different.</p>
<p>Wath for your Daily Cruise News for this weekend’s events. There will be a midnight chocolate buffet on the pool deck. Your kitchen crew will present all types of chocolate treats and desserts along with carved fruits, vegetables and special ice carvings. Special multi-faith holiday services will also be held on Saturday and Sunday. And there will be an Eater egg hunt for the younger children on Sunday afternoon.</p>
<p>Around our parts, Costco is the “go-to” place for very inexpensive custom party invitations. Very popular for grad parties and/or announcements.</p>
<p>Congrats to all who have deposited! It’s so exciting to hear all your news!</p>
<p>Congratulations to those of you who have made the decision. I hope I will not be the only one left on the cruise.</p>
<p>About the graduation parties… do most students have them? On the average, what percentage of students have graduation parties? Do they have the parties before or after graduation? We might not be able to have one due to trip plans.</p>
<p>We probably won’t have one, aside from serving dinner & cake to the out-of-town relatives who drive down for the day. Grad parties don’t seem to be a big thing here, but maybe we’re out of the loop - wouldn’t be the first time!</p>
<p>Most kids do have parties around here. Our graduations are on week days, Mon, Tues, Weds (one day for each public hs in the district). Parties will be the weekends before or after. Most are open-house come and go type events. Menus are simple–taco or hot dog bars, pulled pork sandwiches, cake, dessert bars. Because guests might hit several a day, everybody always has too much food. How much can people eat, after all? </p>
<p>Where we live, most kids don’t have big parties for graduation. I know we won’t be having one, even though she’s having two graduations – HS one week, and her AA from CCC the next week. We have no family locally, and none that will be coming into town for it, because we are only allowed 4 tix for the HS one, and that is our immediate family already. We will probably go out to dinner with some friends, and send out announcements to the grandparents, aunts and uncles, as well as some close family friends who aren’t local. There may be a gathering of kids from grade school, but not sure. We used to have a very, very close knit group, but from middle school on, they all ended up at different schools and most of us have drifted apart. But we wouldn’t be gifting each other, just catching up.</p>
<p>Congrats to everyone for their good news – feels great!! We still haven’t filed the SIR yet, but expect to this weekend. D14 has made a firm decision on UCSC, and seems very happy with it. We leave Friday for the ASD, and if they have it set up like UCSD, we will do the SIR at the campus event. </p>
<p>@staceyneil --I so feel for you! We have been able to make our shortfall work by switching to the triple instead of a double, and she will use her work income this summer to cover her personal expenses. We also will try to carpool with our friends whose daughter is attending the same school, to cut down on transportation costs. Won’t help for holiday trips, but we already know the bus fares are doable. Those simple adjustments make it just workable for us. I hope you are able to find some ways to tweak the COA in your favor. D14 also applied for, and was accepted into the EOP program (that might be a CA thing, not federal) but it guarantees her on campus housing all 4 years (as long as she is continuous on campus) and gives her free textbook rentals if her loans are maxed out. Need to verify if that is the $5500 amount, or just what’s on her FA package ($6700, although we aren’t taking that much in loans) Sounds like your idea for selling the boat may work, but I’m really hoping some amazing option presents itself other than selling your boat.</p>
<p>D’s graduation is on a Saturday evening, so she’s planning to have a party/open house that afternoon. I’m leaving the planning up to her.</p>
<p>@PetraElise, I’m not sure if it’s regional but we’re similar to you on graduation festivities. (I know you are also in So Cal.) We’ll go out to a nice dinner. His grandfather will come to the ceremony and maybe his uncle if we can score a 5th ticket. Most people in our community don’t have big parties. We’ll send invitation/announcements to very close relatives. And like you, we will try to have a gathering of elementary school chums. This would be more for the moms than for the kids, who have basically drifted their separate ways. Also, our church usually hosts a nice dinner for the graduating seniors in the youth group. I’m glad it’s working out for your daughter at Santa Cruz! I will always think of that school, somewhat wistfully, as the road not taken. May your daughter have a wonderful time there.</p>
<p>Can’t believe it. We just disembarked from the ship. DD chose Willamette University. No regrets, no second guesses. For the rest of you still at sea, I hope the journey comes to a peaceful and happy end soon! </p>
<p>@calla1 – sounds like we have almost identical plans!! Thanks for the support on UCSC – I’m very sure she will thrive and grow there. On so many levels it is an ideal fit for her, and it was just too close financially not to make it happen. UCSD would have been no stretch financially, but the fit just wouldn’t have been as good. </p>
<p>It’s funny, because whenever anyone mentions UCSB, I feel that same way-- the road not taken, and she didn’t even apply there! I think she would have fit in well there too, but they didn’t have a good program for her goals. D15 will be looking into it though!</p>
<p>The open houses are very common here and I would say that most of the kids have them. Some are more fancy than others, but for the most part, it’s a tent, tables and chairs in the backyard with a buffet spread of food. I cooked for my D’s party- penne with meat sauce, fettucini alfredo, (purchased) chicken, and some salads- potato salad, tossed salad. S wants Mexican and finances are better so we’re catering that. Tent, table, and chair rental are about $350. Food will be about $675. We will pick up balloons and table cloths in school colors or the college colors. Some also have more alcohol than others. I’m not big on the alcohol part. I think I had one or two cases of beer available at Ds for the “I can’t go to a grad party without having a beer” folks. I also come from a big Italian family who has fewer reasons to get together and everybody is always excited to have a reason to gather outside of funerals these days. I get the paper goods and sodas/water bottles at Sam’s Club. Cake is usually from Sam’s Club. </p>
<p>We have three tiers of invites. The older and far away relatives get the typical formal graduation announcement. I print invitations at home for the closer relatives and friends who I know don’t care if they get the formal announcement. Then there is the Facebook event for the kids, neighbors, not as close friends. </p>
<p>People used to make big elaborate photo boards but now they making DVDs with background music with pictures of the kids from birth through senior year. With D, I tried to include pics of as many of the relatives and friends who would be there. My family loves watching those and will sit in the house in front of that TV for several iterations. It will be set up to loop continuously. Most of the gifts were cash/checks but Bed, Bath & Beyond or Barnes & Noble gift cards are popular gifts also. My family does tend to be very generous. There are a few close friends who were extremely generous because they knew my ex had been unemployed and I would be working hard and making sacrifices to get these kids through college. </p>
<p>You can even lower your utility bills significantly when the children move out. We have gas, forced air furnaces and I cover their heat registers with a magnetic cover that forces more heat to the rest of the house. There is one TV on at a time instead of two or three, most of the time. Less computer usage, fewer laundry loads, fewer people cooking snacks, etc. Since my D is in NYC- far away- and can’t come home often, I do send her money. When in high school, I used to give her $30 a pay period for her lunch food and $40 for gas. When she went to school, I started direct depositing that same amount to her account to help her cover shampoo, laundry detergent, other hygiene items, etc. that I would probably buy and send back with her when she came home on weekends if she was local. I told S I won’t do that with him and explained why I do it with her. I told him I’ll just stock him up on toothpaste, shaving cream, snacks, etc. when he comes home or when I come out there to meet up with him. With him, I can take him on Sam’s Club runs to stock up easily and he won’t have to fit things in a suitcase that he can take on a plane!</p>
<p>Graduation party will not be happening here. Son '14 is not interested. We have a small extended family and none will attend the ceremony. Even my sister and her family won’t come, and they are about an hour away. This does not upset Son '14 at all. It definitely bothered his older brother, because he was the valedictorian and spoke at graduation. My sister said she was too busy to come. She also did not offer any congrats, much less a gift. My older son bit his lip about all of this, and when his cousins graduated the next three years in a row, he insisted that I give to each one. Why? He did not want anyone ever to say anything bad about us, that we did not care about this milestone. He graduated from college last year, and again, she did not acknowledge that .Her oldest graduates college this May, and yes, I am sending something. I just do not believe it is right not to acknowledge this. </p>
<p>BTW, Son '14 does not expect anything from my sister, either. And if he receives anything, he said it goes to his older brother. He has his reasons, and I did not ask.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Son '14 is enjoying his break. Went on a 17-mile run with a fellow teammate. Each day, he’s grabbed a nap in the afternoon to recover. He spent some time reviewing for the AP Government exam. Said he has some additional homework to do. He still needs to decline admissions offers, as well as select his housing.for his chosen school. </p>
<p>D’s school has a huge post prom party for the kids. They call it project grad. Prizes, tons of different games, movies, swimming, rock climbing. It’s a huge thing. The parties will happen in the week before and weeks after graduation. We’ll do a big family party, but not invite others to it. There are also tons of pre-graduation events - dinners, awards, baccalaureate, etc. (How many ways and times can we celebrate this?) </p>
<p>Congrats to Minnymom & lab317! Whoo Hoo!</p>
<p>My brother in Minnesota said everyone does a graduation party and they’re more like open houses – you might go to 2-3 on a Saturday. And everyone gives the graduate money ($50 seems to be the norm). In our town, maybe one or two families will throw a party and the senior invites their buddies, but it’s not really for the parents. The school organizes a big all night party for all seniors after graduation and a graduation dinner that’s at a local country club. </p>
<p>Mostly everyone does graduation party open houses here too. Just received the invitation to the first one yesterday! It’s for the day after DD’s graduation and since we won’t be doing hers until August due to timing of other things in the summer, it will be a really nice way to spend time with friends celebrating without the pressure being on us as hosts! Her friend is at a rival catholic school and both schools graduate the same day, over a week before all their hometown friends graduate!</p>
<p>For DS’11’s graduation we hired a company that did pig roasts. The guy running it arrived the morning of the party with the pig laid out on the huge grill pulled behind his truck. He backed into the driveway and was there all day, watching over and basting the pig as it cooked. Since he had graduated a couple of years ahead of DS, they sat outside and chatted with a couple of the other neighborhood guys. His friend had done the same thing the year before which was where we got the idea. Makes for a great conversation starter as the guests start to arrive! And once it was all cooked, the meat was cut off and put into foil pans to keep warm and off he went!</p>
<p>I don’t think we’ll do the same thing for DD - she’s not big on that! But we will have a large invitation list with all her friends, their parents, neighbors and people and we are friends with through theater and other areas. Plus, it will include friends and parents from school and hometown. And I think we’ll need to try to coordinate with the dozen or so families in the neighborhood with other graduates! She’s hoping her friends who play in a band will come with instruments too. For the pig roast, I did a lot of the sides myself - baked beans, etc. And bought rolls and potato salad at BJ’s. I’ll probably go the pasta/salad catering route this time. And August is nice as it’s kind of graduation party/send off to college combined!</p>
<p>No graduation party here. We take our kids out to a nice dinner and they seem happy with it.</p>
<p>Some kids get together and go to the beach for a week… and there are a few local type parties, but I haven’t seen an open house type.</p>
<p>We may not have a graduation party either.
I am considering having a small send off party sometime in August as both my kids [S-14 undergraduate school and D-8 graduate school] will be leaving towards the end of August. It will probably be a surprise party.</p>