To Party or Not to Party

To Party or Not to Party

Taryn Bradley

We are in the midst of graduation season and family and friends are ready to party, but how much does a good time cost? GraduationParty.com claimed the average amount spent on graduation parties nationwide is $985; this average comes from a range starting at $525 and pushing $6,500, all dependent on the quality of your party. A party that is lame might divert people from coming, just like a bad product lacks a high demand, and celebrating with a lower RSVP number means less money donated to the graduate. If there is not a large profit margin should the parents funding these parties instead cancel the party and put the money back into the child’s college fund?

Most people convince themselves that a grad party is worth the energy because of the cash they rake in. A party thrower may claim their profits exceed the cost of the party, making the event a success. However, these days parties are no simple task. You can not throw out a bag of chips and a few cans of soda and call it a day, there are high expectations. People plan months in advance by ordering expensive invites, renting venues, paying for entertainment and food, as well as buying a boat load of decorations to set the mood. Pictured below is a budget planner that highlights all of the moving parts of a successful graduation party

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The opportunity cost of skipping the party might be the fun of celebrations and some funding towards college. However, sending the announcements alone might rake in the same amount of cash as throwing an extravagant event. When graduation rates were low years ago, people threw grad parties because making it through high school was actually quite rare. Nowadays graduating is way more common (as seen in the graph below), so the grad party industry blew up. By 2013 average graduation rates rose to 81%, a record high. The graduation trend continues despite the fact that graduating high school has become customary. Had everyone decided to forgo their party a positive externality would be the stack of money safe in everyone’s bank accounts. Not only is everyone throwing graduation parties, but everyone is attending them as well. Let’s say a graduate makes a lot of money off their neighbors, it is possible that they are going back to their neighbor’s party in a few weeks to celebrate that student’s graduation. A circulation of money occurs that balances back out, causing no one to benefit. On the other hand, if one boycotts their own party they still might give to the funds of others and receive nothing in return. Either way this growing rate of graduates should pressure people to quit stressing the importance of graduation parties. This influx of graduates and their party could also contribute to the 5 billion dollar market for event/party planners that grows by 4.3% annually.

The benefits of a grad party are spending time with family and good feelings associated with opening up cards full of money, but only the bank account knows how much those benefits truly cost in the long run.

Works Cited

Bidwell, Allie. "High School Graduation Rate Hits All-Time High." U.S. News. U.S. News and World Report L.P, 12 Feb. 2015. Web. 23 May 2017.

"Hosting a Graduation Party?" Graduation Party .com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2017.

"Party & Event Planners: Market Research Report." IBISWorld. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2017.

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