Graduation Party on a budget

This last Sunday I finally threw my daughter L's high school graduation party. I budgeted ahead for this, allowing for so much money from my savings to pick up the cost. We invited around 60 people (mostly family) and everyone except a cousin & her spouse who were out of town attended. When planning the first place I had to consider was the venue. My home at just under 1100 square feet is far too small, not to mention the issue with the dogs & cat and guests with allergies etc. My GF kindly offered his home but since he lives about 30 minutes away from most of the guests I decided not to make everyone drive so far. When my middle daughter K graduated I held her party at a local metropark pavilion. This is a first come first served situation but it is also free.  I decided it was my best option. I chose a random Sunday and we planned on being there at 7 a.m. to make sure we had the area. Party started at noon. We arrived at 7:10 and the entire pavilion was empty. We claimed half the space.
  The second thing I considered was decorations. I was fortunate at the end of the school year where I work that a large box with tablecloths and napkins was left behind after the 8th grade graduation party. All the items are marked 2013, so I asked the principal if I could purchase them. She said I could just have them since they cannot be used again. There were some plain blue and yellow paper placemats as well but these I will return since they can be used next spring.  My daughterinlaw and I went to a local craft store that had decorations on clearance and picked up some signs, a card box, etc. Daughterinlaw insisted on picking up this cost. Daughter L's boyfriend's Mom gave us some streamers she didn't use. These decorations worked very well and we were able to save everything except the tablecloths and napkins for next year when my youngest graduates.
The next thing to consider was food and drink and how to keep things cold. Last Thursday I met daughter K at BJ's so she could get some diapers for new baby and I picked up charcoal, paper plates, cups, plasticware, all the veggies for the veggie tray, chips, salsa, and some baking supplies. Cost: $94.  The burgers, hot dogs, buns, pop and water were bought on Saturday and GF insisted on picking up this cost. What a guy.
I have a super large 'fishing' cooler that we use for camping to keep food cold, and GF has a regular sized one for soda pop, Son R has another one for bottled water. Drinks were simple, canned pop, bottled water, and a two gallon drink dispenser with ice tea . No alcohol is allowed in the park and with teens in attendance I preferred not to serve it in any case.  Son R and I went and bought ice after we unloaded all the stuff at the park. Cost: $19 since we needed a lot of ice. I had froze water in several plastic containers to make 'blocks' of ice for the dispenser, which worked perfectly. This worked well at my sister's anniversary party and was a great tip. To keep food like macaroni & potato salad cold I had large containers filled with ice that I set the bowls of salad inside.
I did not  have to provide all of the food. My family's tradition is to pitch in and bring a dish for occasions such as this (just last week I took a dish to my sister's 50th anniversary). Family members brought potato salad, fruit salad, baked beans, pasta salad, tossed salad, cole slaw, brownies, and two kinds of cookies. Daughter K made a brisket and shredded it for sandwiches as well as bringing hummus and pita chips. I made macaroni salad,  a pasta caprese salad,  a veggie tray, pizzelles, assorted chips, and salsa.  And of course GF provided the hamburgers, hot dogs, buns, and beverages.
The fourth thing I had to consider was the cake issue. I debated doing a traditional half sheet cake and decorating it or making cupcakes. I settled on doing the cupcakes. They are easier to transport and to eat. The craft store had graduation decorated cupcake liners on clearance so I picked up enough to do 75 cupcakes, cost $6. Daughter in law joined me  and we did  24 white cupcakes (doctored up box mix from Aldi) with white frosting (from scratch) , 26 chocolate (another doctored Aldi mix) with chocolate frosting (from scratch), and 24 cherry-white chocolate chip cupcakes (Aldi white box mix doctored with maraschino cherry juice & chopped cherries with white chips added) with cherry frosting (from scratch) . I already had the cake mixes and supplies for frosting in my pantry so no extra out of pocket there.  I bought plastic graduate decorations at a local baker's supply place as well as a couple of large boxes to transport the cupcakes. A graduate cap cookie cutter and blue and yellow sugars (school colors) rounded out my expense to $19.
And finally the last decision to be made was what to do for entertainment. GF has a bocce set, his brother has a cornhole set, daughterinlaw's parents have a volleyball net, and GF has horseshoes for the horseshoe pit already at the park so entertainment was taken care of. We never did set up the volleyball net or play bocce due to the wet park conditions from the previous day  but the cornhole and horseshoes were very popular.
The recent heat wave broke finally and the weather was gorgeous mild temps and sunshine. I got very lucky since the day before was miserable.
We had a  terrific celebration! My total cost was $138 due to GF's generosity. I had budgeted $250. With what he spent the party came in at $318. I will remember this amount for next year when it is youngest son's turn and plan accordingly.