Tying all my son's interests into one cohesive Open House - during a Pandemic.
Here's few ideas, tips and links for a fun Open House.
Liam's love of Purdue, theater, and sports made it a little tricky, but we figured it out eventually.
Therefore, the theme of his party was "Boiler Up & Break a Leg."
Despite the Covid pandemic, we wanted to have a small, socially-distant Open House for my son's graduation.
He was very active in high school, competing in three Varsity sports, starring in theater performances, and leading the National Honor Society as President.
We wanted to acknowledge all of his accomplishments while still displaying our excitement at his choice of Purdue for his future.
To keep our guests socially distant and mostly outside, we had several areas for the party in the front and back of my mother's lakefront home.
We had seating in the front and back of the house with only the food inside.
On a picnic table, as guests entered, there were extra masks and hand sanitizer. More were also placed in various locations.
To go along with his theater theme, we created curtains with plastic tablecloths.
They matched the tablecloths that we used to cover the garage wall. I actually kept them from our last Open House. I was pretty happy when Liam decided to follow his brother and go to Purdue. I have another blog post on how I created this here.
Banners and signs for his teams and graduation were created from Spiritline (Shindigz) throughout the year.
The left bay of the garage had drinks and a popcorn bar. The large H was from an antique sign that a friend gave me, and I chalk-painted it.
PopCorn Bar
I created and ordered 22 oz Stadium cups from 24 Hour Wristbands. I ordered 200, which was way too many. However, they were perfect for college-living so many were sent to my sons' dorm and house. For Covid precautions, we individually packed the popcorn in the cups, which actually made set-up so easy and kept it fresh all day. We ordered from the Popcorn Factory. We also had little sanitizing wipes and extra containers for IU fans that didn't want a cup or those who wanted just some candy. I ordered candy and seasoning from Amazon and bought glass containers from Hobby Lobby with coupons every couple of weeks.
The back wall featured his Cross Country and Track seasons plus we had a TV in the corner for a slide show. In the past, the teens have usually hung out in this area and love seeing themselves flash on the screen.
We also had a table where he featured his most impressive awards, scholarships and card trunk.
I used burlap rolls from Hobby Lobby for table runners. For these centerpieces, I bought glass vases and filled them with white, gold, and black glass beads. I also had a Purdue ribbon wrapped around the vase and topped it with gold paper shreds. Vintage Purdue decor and pendants were attached to sticks in the vases.
Again, we reused the chicken wire screens from our last graduation to display his team pictures and various sports events.
They made set-up and take-down so easy since most items were just hung with clothes pins and small hooks.
On the various doors, I created signs with a theater theme using Canva and Rasterbator programs.
Inside Area
We designated the inside lower level of the house as the food destination. However, we kept very few seats inside to encourage guests to eat outside. Again it was decorated with the screens.
I purchased the banner on the fireplace from Etsy. This is my second purchase from this seller. I have always been happy with the product.
We had another slide show running plus an area where guests could leave notes for the grad.
I also used one of the screens to display his class photos through the years and other school awards.
The inside and back of the house started the theater theme of the party. I used more of the glass vases but added tickets (from Amazon) wrapped inside and these awesome photo props from Etsy. They personalized the show signs, tickets and the light-up Broadway sign on his Popcorn Bar. This seller was wonderful to work with, and the props were so cute that I used them for my decor instead of my photo booth.
Food Set-Up
Since balloon arches seem to be the rage, I made this one the night before with my daughter's help. I was going to put it outside but since there was a chance of showers, we used it here. It was definitely a process. I bought an inflator on Amazon, which was a life saver. I purchased the balloon kit from Etsy, but that store has now closed.
I offered a couple of hot items for those who felt comfortable with a buffet. I definitely learned some lessons from last Open House. Please read that post for more details.
We had more cold and packaged food so that guests could come in with their masks on, grab some goodies, and easily take it outside to socially distance themselves.
We spent hours cutting and packaging items, but it made for an easy set-up and refills throughout the day.
I bought I bought the sandwich bags, parfait cups, veggie cups, and circle labels on Amazon. I made logos on Canva to give the packaging a little pizazz.
I grabbed little chalkboards and labels from Michaels for extra signage.
The banners were again from Wine Country Banners on Etsy that was previously linked.
Behind the food, I modge-podged paper letters from JoAnne's with his running bibs and theater programs from his favorite performances.
Desserts
For the dessert table, we had a variety of grab and go options. We learned from our last Open House that we had too much cake left over. So we skipped the large sheet cake and ordered a small cake with 150 vanilla and chocolate packaged cake pops from ToyAnn's Sweeterie.
A family friend made and packaged the sugar cookies that tasted even better than they looked. They are available at Grammy's Sweets on Facebook.
Having these packaged made it easy for guests to quickly take them home or outside to enjoy.
We also had a cooler in front of the table with a variety of ice cream cups that were a big hit with the younger crowd.
Back Area
We had rain showers 30 minutes before the party, so we set up the tent for the adult beverages. Then, we left it up because it created some shade for the tables later in the day.
In addition to the Photo Booth props, I also added clapboards and stars from Party City to the centerpieces.
We used the forest area to showcase more sports and graduation signs displayed throughout his high school years. Like the banners earlier in the post, they were made through Spiritline.
With a Great Deal of Help & A lot of Preparation, we had a wonderful Open House. It was the celebration that Liam deserved and a great send-off for His Next Adventure.
