To everything there is a season, 
A time for every purpose under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1

High school graduation is a rite of passage – marked by celebrations, parties, and connections – all the stuff memories are made of! Yet many 2020 graduates have been robbed of their season.

Our era of quarantine has resulted in cancellation of so many traditional events and celebrations, but it doesn’t mean we can’t make it special for our grads. We just need to be a little more creative and intentional.  

Today’s blog is for anyone who wants to honor a graduate. Whether one of your own children is passing this milestone or you are celebrating other graduates in your life, I hope one or two of these ideas might empower you to love on your graduates well.  

1.  Create a Chronological School Photo Memory 
   This might require some digging to find all those photos going back to kindergarten, but it will be worth it. Here’s a shot of one that I put together for our eldest son:
   We’ve developed a photo template with spaces for K-12 pictures, that you can download to make it easy for you to trim and attach photos (please note: you can trim a wallet-size photo for 12 of the spaces, but the featured senior portrait is larger). The PDF file includes templates in ten different colors.
2. Friends & Family Collection 
   Reach out to friends and family, asking them to send a photo, write a note, share a Bible verse, or write up a special memory. Assemble these into a scrapbook, devoting one page to each person who has contributed. When we moved to a different state years ago, a friend assembled something similar for us as a going-away gift; we will always treasure it. Here’s a page from that album that provides an idea:  
   (Side note: this idea could also be tweaked for a special birthday. If your daughter is turning 16, ask 16 friends to contribute and create this special birthday album!) 
3. Tee Shirt Quilt 
   When our son graduated from college, I collected his old tee shirts from various events, organizations, and favorite things. Because sewing is not one of my talents, I paid a local seamstress to make these into a throw-sized quilt. If you have the ability to tackle this project yourself, it would be a true labor of love. If your sewing skills are as lacking as mine, consider reaching out within your group of homeschool moms or in your church, or checking with local sewing clubs or senior organizations for someone who can do this for you. (A project like this might be a great distraction – and welcome source of income – for an older lady who is avoiding crowds while weathering COVID-19.) If all else fails, look on Etsy or the local Facebook Marketplace for someone advertising sewing services. And be sure to pass on contact info for your seamstress to the moms of other graduates!
   
4. Write a Letter 
   Putting your love, memories, thoughts, hopes, and prayers into a letter to honor this young person might be the most special thing you can do. Take some time to think and pray about what you share. This may be a treasure that lives in someone’s Bible for the rest of their life.  
   
5. Blow Up His/Her Phone! 
   Reach out to as many friends and family as you can. Ask them to send texts, memes, videos, etc., 0n Graduation Day. For Generation Z graduates, this may be the language they hear best of all. 
6. Host a Zoom Party 
   A year ago, many of us had never heard of Zoom. Now we are using the platform to connect personally, professionally, relationally, and spiritually. Our Sunday School classes, committee meetings, and even exercise classes are meeting virtually! I recently helped host a surprise Zoom birthday party for a friend’s special birthday. It was so fun! I even changed the background to add a birthday theme; you could do the same with a graduation background. If you are inviting quite a few people to join, I recommend assigning them a time to “zoom in” and allowing 5-10 minutes of visit time and congratulatory messages from each participant.  
   
7. Declare graduation day as THEIR honorary day!  
   For example, if my daughter, Ginger, were graduating on May 16th, I would declare that May 16 is “Ginger Macfarlan Day!” Festivities could include: 
   a. Issue a formal proclamation – print it out, read it, and blow a bugle to begin. (With a smart phone, you can find any noise!)  
   b. Breakfast in bed 
   c. Make her favorites for every meal 
   d. Schedule several friends and family to call at different times during the day 
   e. Display photos, awards, trophies, etc., on the kitchen table, coffee table, etc.  
   f. Plan an activity that she would love (board games, favorite movie, made homemade ice cream, bike ride, hike, etc.) 
   g. Ask everybody in the family to share a favorite memory or something they appreciate about your grad when you gather for dinner. 
   
8. Create a Book of 20!  
   a. 20 coupons (Wash your car, back rub, etc.) 
   b. 20 Stories 
   c. 20 Bible verses 
   d. 20 Funny Jokes 
   
9. Create an A-B-C Scrapbook 
   I did this for each of our children when they graduated from high school. I saved certificates, letters, newspaper clippings, etc., and then worked like crazy during the last month before graduation to create a personalized scrapbook of their achievements. (After the first one, I kept telling myself I would start earlier next time. Never happened! I guess I do my best work under pressure!) With online options like Shutterfly, you can do this much easier and quicker if you choose to only use photos and add your own words and memories. Here are photos from the ones I created the old-fashioned way for our Macfarlan graduates: 
10. Feel-Good Box or Jar 
    Ask family, friends, and extended family to write a brief note, prayer, affirmation, or encouragement on a note card or small piece of paper. Fold or roll these up and put in a decorative box or large jar.  

These ideas vary greatly in terms of time and resources required, but they’re a jumping-off point for you to use, tweak, or change to make them work for your family. We would love for you to share your own creative ideas in the comment section below. What are you doing to honor your graduates during this unusual time? 

Download our FREE photo template to help you create graduation memories:
K-12th Photo Template for Graduates

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