Budget Boho Graduation Picnic
Over the weekend, I threw my first-ever surprise graduation picnic for my close girlfriends, and it was so much fun! We ate, fellowshipped, played graduation-themed games, and ate some more. I'm going to show you exactly how I threw this party for under $150! It takes quite a bit of resourcefulness, but it's worth it. :) You'll also find hilarious graduation games and decor in here as well. Feel free to take all the ideas! I want to see what you come up with!! ^_^
Fun facts:
I actually deconstructed my wooden pallet bed to make this long picnic table
The sticks were originally for my macrames :D
The blankets, bottles, and florals were borrowed from my church!
The plates and utensils were from Target
The platters were from Dollar Tree
Finally, the incredible cupcakes were from SerendipityCupcakesCA.com!
My crew (consisting of Emily and Natalie) and I immediately got to work by setting up all the decor as we saw fit. The boho tent maneuver was a total last-minute decision! Since this was a party for close friends, we had the liberty to improvise on the spot. And, honestly, that was the best part of decorating!
Kristy from Serendipity Cupcakes did such an amazing job!! They were absolutely delicious and fit the theme perfectly! I highly recommend her online cupcakery. You won't be disappointed!
Meet Emily, one of the sweethearts who helped me set up! ^_^
I got this graduation dessert table idea straight off of Pinterest, and it worked perfectly! Just get Nerds, Ring Pops, gummy worms, and Smarties, and label them Nerds, Class Rings, Book Worms, and Smarty Pants! They were a hit!
Here is the finished product!! ^__^ YAY!
Sasa said a prayer for the graduates before we started devouring the food! God is SO faithful and gracious, indeed!
Time to dig in! ^_^
The photo above was the table setting before people brought their dishes (it was a potluck). Below is what it looked like during our meal:
Yummyyy
Meet Maya, one of my very best friends! I love her oh so much!
Here I am with my four beautiful graduates!!
Another unplanned success: my friend brought all THREE of his puppers to the picnic! It was doggo heaven!! Btw, thank you to EcoWish for the comfy tropical romper. It was the perfect outfit for this occasion!
LOL! Everyone was busy taking pictures until this adorable scene stopped us in our tracks! All cameras were pointed towards one direction, and one direction only!
So adorable, right? x)
"What a lucky boy!" we kept saying. It turned out that his name really was Lucky!
After lunch was GAME TIME!!! The first game was called Graduation Fashion. I broke them up into teams with each graduate as a team leader, and each team received two black trash bags, one slab of cardboard, tape, and scissors. The objective was to create the most beautiful cap and gown in ten minutes. They would be judged based on their cap and gown design, runway walk, and theme.
And I've gotta say, a few of the competitive boys here were quite the fashion designer! LOL!
Oh yes - they were also allowed to use all the resources in the vicinity, so here's Brandon fighting off other team members for resources:
I thought this game was pretty awesome because you get to dress up the people you're celebrating in trash bags, and they liked it! In fact, they're trying to OUTDO one another in trashiness! It's hilarious. Just watch the final runway show below:
The next three games were combined into one competition for the ultimate prize: a $50 Sephora giftcard. Bwahahah! During the first round, they had to blow mini marshmallows into a tiny bucket (pictured below). That round was called "Shoot for the Stars." After all team members completed that challenge, they got to move onto the next round, which was de-scrambling letters to form the intended sentence. It's kind of like hang man, except you only get one hint: a word from the phrase. The phrase was, "A piece of advice."
Finally, once the team completes the second round, they can move on to the final round, which was fairly easy. I didn't take any pictures at this point because I was so hyper, but each team member had to balance a book on their heads and complete an obstacle course. For us, there were no obstacle courses and I forgot to bring the books, so we used the candy buckets instead. Hah!
Well, that concludes our awesome adventure! Here are a few of my mains:
Was this post helpful? If so, let me know in the comments below! If you have some other fun, grad-themed ideas, feel free to share them as well! ^_^
Check out Serendipity Cupcakes for your next special event! They are absolutely delicious and Kristy delivers them to wherever you are!
You can purchase the EcoWish tropical romper here!