Breaking the wallet before the walk: local families struggle to budget graduation parties

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– How much does a graduation typically cost? That's the question many parents have before they throw their kid's graduation party. In between picking out the perfect venue, catering and decorations, making the perfect party can be difficult, especially with rising costs and inflation.

Laura Lee Klosterman's son graduated from Watersprings school last week. She had a vision and did everything possible for a perfect celebration.

"We had to get a venue and food was actually probably one of the more expensive things," Klosterman said.

Venues and food was the top expense for graduation parties. Postage and announcements also added significant costs.

"I was hoping to keep it pretty cheap. But in my mind, because I did a lot of 'do it yourself', I thought, oh, 'I bet I can do this for 500 bucks or less, and there's just no way,'" Klosterman said.

Shane Gritzenbach's step-daughter is graduating from Thunder Ridge High School this Friday. His family is still planning her graduation party, and opted to get a permit from the city instead of renting a venue and are closely monitoring different grocery stores.

"For like, the food and the, drinks and stuff, we've been watching, different supermarket prices."

How Idahoans are Stretching Dollars for Graduation

Local News 8 reached out to the community about the growing costs of graduation this year. Some people budgeted by throwing a small party and cooking from home, and some people even picked up extra shifts.

Jordyn Quilimaco, a local parent, was expecting to spend $500 for her graduate party. Instead, she spent nearly double at $1,100.

"My original plan was to rent a shelter at Tauphaus Park, but I had to change it to hosting at our place to help with saving some money," Quilimaco said.

She also said food was another reason party planning was so costly.

"Food prices have definitely skyrocketed. We did the same food for a party last year that cost maybe $150 for meats. It cost around $350 this year," Quilimaco said, "Venues have also gotten more expensive, which is why we had to change to doing it at home."

Quilimaco encourages families to prepare early and not be afraid to ask loved ones for help when graduation expenses start adding up.

"Plan ahead and save. It took us two families coming together, two months in advance, to get what we could, and it was perfect. Remember to breathe, and don't be afraid to ask for help from family," Quilimaco said.

Both Klosterman and Gritzenbach say to begin planning as soon as possible to know what to expect.

"Be prepared ahead of time. Plan out your event. Plan out what you want to do. Because if you don't plan it out. You're going to get into higher costs," Gritzenbach said.

"There are some people and their kids are just going into their sophomore year. And one of them said, 'I need to start planning now,' And I'm like 'yeah, I would,'" Klosterman said.