What kind of celebration was there for your high school graduation?

Haha, well, I graduated in 1977 and yep, no parents allowed, just a major party night, kegger parties, sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. I think a few parents had a little at home party for the graduate and family but this was way before the safe party scene was popular. We all just split and made the rounds to several big party scenes and indulged in beer, weed, and all manner of 70’s party fare. lol

Well, I remember the school band, the school orchestra, some speeches and awards.
I do remember that my parents were not there, because somehow chopping wood was more important to them (so, fuck them).

@Coloma Oh, yes. I do believe I saw you there, youngster. ( ‘76er here. Aren’t you jealous?!)

US high school grad in ‘81. It was in a Virginia town with the population of ~25K and one high school. There were ~250 in our class.

A graduation ceremony was held in the auditorium. The females wore a cheap, white gown and cap, and the males wore the same in black. We were shuttled across the stage in order to receive our certificates. There was a keynote speaker of local prominence and special recognization for the valivictorian and saluditorian.

Afterwards, there were a few parties hosted at a handful of grad’s parents’ homes.

Where I live now you think that half the neighborhood is getting married all at once when it is just Middle School and High School catered events going on. ((Face Palm))

I graduated H/S a semester early in December. I graduated on a Friday and Monday I was in Community College….no time for parties or fan fare. My mom gave me a free months rent at home.

I have no idea, as I didn’t bother with such trivialities. I didn’t attend my graduation ceremony ether.

About the same for the ceremony here, @Pied_Pfeffer,. About the same population. Ours was held at the football field.

Mom’s were good to us in those days, @Cruiser! When they weren’t trying to kill us.

I know, @Cruiser! They have graduations for everything. Graduation from preschool, kindergarten, 6th grade, middle school, high school…...

@Dutchess_III Yeah, you still smell like that spilled bong water and pee on your overalls. lol

Kegger at the park, then many of us went camping and muddin on the Illinois River for the weekend. This was 1989.

When our oldest son graduated middle school his best friend got a limo and took 10 others to Hooters for dinner.

No such thing as graduating high school in the UK. You would probably have a party but no ceremony. When I left school we had a formal dance with the boys school

I believe my maths teacher handed out midget gems & a packet of monster munch (pickled onion)
Or it could have been a curly wurly & a pack of spangles, I forget which

@ucme no opal fruits?

God I loved them, used to pull a face like a bulldog chewing a wasp chewing on them buggers

The Grateful Dead were playing here on graduation night (most of my friends were a year above me so I am counting that since I never graduated) so we partied in the parking lot and camped out there after the ceremony.

1971. Somebody had a party after, but I couldn’t stay late, I was off to my summer job early the next morning.

Well, I graduated 30 years ago (this month actually). I honestly don’t remember what I did after the ceremony. But since my Bday is June 14, my mom let me have a combo party. It wasn’t a big family thing, or neighborhood thing. It was basically just a party with some of my close friends with presents, food, cake and other random silliness.

I think my parents to me to a hibachi grill place with my best friend. It was fun.

I think a lot of graduation parties that are around are also for college grads.

My college graduation party was at my parents’ house and there were about 30 guests.

I decided to skip the ceremony and watch the 2010 World Cup finals instead. I had no intentions of missing that match and I didn’t care much about ceremonies. By the end of the first-half of the match, 15 of friends ended up at my place celebrating and watching the finals. Now that was a ceremony.

Four of us guys found out after graduation where the teachers were going for a picnic and beer party in the afternoon, we invited ourselves. Not a problem.
We only had one beer each and the grilled hot dogs were delicious.

haha in 1995 it was like well…glad that shit is over, guess I’ll fill out the CC paperwork now. If I remember right my little rock band at the time played a party the night after. Nothing too memorable.

I wasn’t invited to parties.

I went to the commencement ceremony because my history teacher insisted I go, even bought my cap and gown. It was… Long.

2003

In 1973, we had a PTA coordinated Grad Night after the ceremony. A bus ride to San Francisco, a cruise on a ferry around the bay, with a band on board for dancing.

Then we docked in Oakland and had an all night party with two bands, a casino, buffet dinner, funny pictures with cut outs to stick you head through, and it ended with a breakfast about 5 a.m.

The “private” parties were the next night. That’s when I drank too much Galliano, after having a bunch of Harvey Wallbangers.

My then girlfriend (now wife) strong armed my parents into having a family barbecue for me. My girlfriend ran the whole thing and probably paid for most of if.

This was 1989.

The celebration lasted for two days. First there was an end-of-school-year prom. I just went around and ate some food on the counters while people talked and danced. The teachers were there too. The only things that I remembered were the noise and lots of selfies. Then the next day all graduate gathered at the hall to listen to the farewell speech. Then we toured around the school “for the last time”. The school was decorated with drawings and photos and any reminder of the school year, all were put up several days before. We toured around listening to the voice from the speaker talking about school memory and things like that. The tour ended at the schoolyard. We were then free to go and the students greeted and hugged as if they would never see each other again. I didn’t really care for any of that. High school was hell to me anyway.

It’s too far back for me to remember much more than I got to drive my girlfriend to a dance in my dad’s car and was allowed to stay up as late as I wanted.

And this ,,,

My dad and mom had asked me months earlier what I wanted as a graduation gift. At the time I was into reel-to-reel tape recorders, so I asked for one, never thinking I’d really get such an expensive piece of equipment.

When I got home after the dance (and an hour of necking in the back seat of dad’s car), all the lights were out. It was around 2 a.m. I went to my room and turned on the light, and on my bed was an empty tape reel. I remember picking it up and being totally stumped by its being there. And then I heard giggling coming from my parents’ bedroom. I went in just as they turned on the lights—and on their bed was the most beautiful tape recorder I had ever seen, unboxed, with a huge red bow on it.

I was holding the reel and still in a bit of shock when my dad said something like, “Now you know what the empty reel is for.” And both parents started laughing.

It was—and still is—at the top of my list of my very favorite gifts over the years.

I was already out of my parents house and working as a live-in Mother’s helper to a family for whom I’d worked for several summer’s prior.

They asked me if I’d be willing to switch schools and do the same for my senior year. It was a mutually beneficial situation.

They got a year of free babysitting and household help and I got to get out of the hell hole farcically labeled “home” it was great.

Come Sept. I was off to college. I was happy. I honestly can’t even remember whether I even attended the graduation ceremony. I probably did, but nothing memorable.

I graduated from a small town in Mid-west America in (gasp, horror) 1986. Our graduating class was 75 students, I believe. The only honour I graduated with was National Honour Society. I played in the band for commencement, so it broke up the length of the thing. I can’t remember what I did that night, probably had a few friends over and sat at the kitchen table. I had my graduation party with the family a different day, possibly the next day, I’m not sure. It was an afternoon, family pot luck thing. Loads of family members with kids and friends stopped by and brought presents and ate food and looked at my ‘brag table’ that my mom and me put together (it was a custom in my family, something my mother insisted we do to get a feeling of accomplishment, I guess) I was in lots of clubs and did music and art as well as business studies. I later went to my cousin’s graduation party. She graduated from University and was on her way to get her Masters degree… again, family, kids, potluck. Oh, I remember, I was dating a guy, so he and I hung around. Neither of us were into big parties. We probably ended up going to friends and playing D&D and maybe had a drink or two.

I think I went to lunch with my family afterwards. It wasn’t a big deal to me at the time. I was already out of high school a whole semester when I graduated. I never was a party person with classmates. I didn’t drink or “party.”

When my nephew graduated his mom did a day time party for him. It was family and friends. Food, sangria, and soft drinks. I think only one kid bothered with the sangria, which was nice to see. Her kids (my niece and nephew) tried to tell her she shouldn’t serve alcohol.

Didn’t go. I dropped out early in the eleventh grade to avoid registering for the Vietnam War draft, went the California, lied about my age, took the GED and was in college a year before everyone else.

@Espiritus_Corvus
Good choice.

1977…We had a big party with mostly relatives. At that time the immediate family numbered 18 (Mom, Dad, 7 kids, 2 spouses, 7 grandkids), so family gatherings were pretty massive to begin with. I graduated from a Catholic school, so there was the graduation Mass, then the ceremony after that, then dinner and party at home. Favorite aunts and uncles (and godparents) also showed up. In my family, if three or more were together it was always a party, and it didn’t take much of an excuse for the music to start.