In the old days, I like to think that it was a much simpler process to announce a high school graduation. In fact, I think things were pretty homogenized when I graduated and I simply had to order the announcements through the school—everyone’s looked alike and then I can’t remember if I addressed them and mailed them out or my mom did (I’m pretty sure it was me.) Regardless, it seemed a fairly easy and painless process.
With my daughters, however, the invitations/announcements have been a bit of a bigger deal. First, my daughters decided they wanted to do a joint announcement that would also serve as an invitation to their party, and then they wanted to design the card and come up with the wording on their own. It took a committee meeting for us to come up with the document and then I got to go shopping for a printer, paper, envelopes, etc. I felt a huge sigh of relief once I sent in the order until I realized that we still had the daunting task of addressing the envelopes, choosing the photos to include and managing the list!
As many of you know, I am a single parent so rights of passage like graduations demand a bit of tact, organization and inclusion. I had to contact my children’s dad to see if he had any addresses to add (he did) and he contacted his mother to see if she had any addresses to add (she did) and then each of the girls brought their own guest lists to the table too. Whew! While I am not sure how I got elected to coordinate the project (Mom default, I think), I do feel a sense of satisfaction seeing all of those neatly addressed envelopes stacked up ready to be mailed.
Here is what I’ve learned: Give yourself plenty of time to compile and sort the guest list. If you are doing separate cards for invitations and ones for announcements (we put it all on the same card), you may need to coordinate your separate lists. Make sure to get your graduating student involved. The more ownership the child takes in the whole process, the better, plus he or she can learn valuable skills along the way. There are so many cute and cool options out there for cards–you do not have to stick with the ones the school suggests unless you want to. Gather all the addresses and names in one place—you will need these again when it is time to write thank-you notes. Finally, try to have some fun with it. I KNOW that it seems like a big chore, but how often does a child graduate from high school (or college or whatever)? It really is a fun reason to celebrate.
Graduation–Part Three–To Have a Party or Not
Graduation–Part Two–the Paperwork!