Tips for a Graduation Party Slideshow

Commemorate your grad's success with a thoughtful and memorable graduation party slideshow! Slideshows are wonderful for graduations—as well as engagement parties, rehearsal dinners, and anniversaries—because they are a fun and easy way to visually celebrate the guest of honor.

Slideshows can be used in couple of ways. You can keep the slideshow running in the background of the party on a loop. Or, you can premier the slideshow at a key time during the party such as during dessert or during any speeches.

There are a number of programs and sites that you can use to create a slideshow (PowerPoint, iMovie, Slide.com, etc) and there's enough variety out there for various comfort levels. If you just want to include photos with some text, you can do that. If you're a bit more advanced and want to include photos with text, music and transitions, there's something for you, too.

Here are some tips for how to create a memorable graduation slideshow:

• Include pictures from childhood through today. Your guests will get a kick out of the old childhood photos and it's always fun to take a trip down memory lane during such a milestone occasion!

• Ask the graduate's friends and other guests if they have pictures they'd like to includ in the slideshow. When you send your graduation party invitations, ask guests to send you any pics they have that would be appropriate. Plus, they'll be more attentive during the show because they'll be looking for their photo!

• Choose appropriate music. The ideal song is family-friendly and appropriate for all ages. Here are some suggested songs:
  

  “What a Wonderful World” - Louis Armstrong
  “Time of Your Life” – Green Day
  “Because You Loved Me” – Celine Dion
  “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” – Randy Newman
  “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” – Isreal Kamakawiwo’ole
  “More to This Life” – Steven Curtis Chapman
  “Forever Young” – Youth Group
  “Good Life” – One Republic

• Keep it short. Depending on what other activities you have planned for your party, be careful not to make your slideshow too long. Try it out on yourself to see if you need to speed up the time between photos. You don't want the audience to get bored. The exception is if you decide to play the slideshow in the background at the event. In that case, longer is okay.

If you like the idea of a slideshow but you're not sure it will work for your graduation party, another idea is to purchase a few digital picture frames and display them throughout the party space. Upload different photos to each frame and let them rotate through the photos during the party.

Lastly, if you came across some wonderful photos while you were putting together the slideshow, use them in other ways! You can blow up a great photo to use on a sign in board, create a photo cake, or make some personalized party favors!