Graduation is one of the proudest times in a person’s youth, marking an academic achievement and the transition to the next stage of their life. Although this occasion is often commemorated with a party, a lot of these celebrations tend to be boring, cookie-cutter affairs. There are some ways, however, to make the graduation party far more unique and memorable.

Grad-style treats

Snacks are a centerpiece of any party, and a graduation party is no exception. You could go for the usual, boring tray of cheese cubes and crackers, but with a few clever tricks, your party could have some far more appropriate food.

Buzzfeed offers a couple great grad party food suggestions. For example, set out a selection of ring pops with a placard reading “class rings.” Then, with a little melted chocolate, some miniature Reese’s cups, chocolate squares, some Airheads sour belts and a bit of construction, make bite-sized chocolate mortarboards.

Finally, after all that construction work, finish with an easy project. Tie ribbons around Pirouette cookies for easy “diploma” cookies.

Tweak the note jar

Graduation parties will often include a note jar where guests can leave bits of wisdom or well-wishes for the graduate to read after the party is over. However, this doesn’t need to be done with a humdrum empty jar and stack of paper.

For a little graduation day flair suggested by Pro Flowers, have guests roll their notes into little diplomas and tie them with a piece of ribbon. Or, for a note “jar” that will be revisited over and over, put out a set of Jenga blocks with some permanent pens and ask the guests to write their notes on the game pieces.

Get clever with the guest book

Closely related to the note jar is the traditional guest book. A regular old scrapbook works fine, but you can take that idea to the next level with a few variations on the theme.

If you know a quilter you can ask for help, tweak an idea from A Smith of All Trades and have the guests write their names on partially-white quilt squares, then assemble them into a handy blanket to warm both the grad’s body and heart. Or, for an art-loving grad, take this idea from ‘i do’ it yourself and have guests fill in a peacock’s tail with colorful thumbprints using inkpads — just be sure to have some cleaning wipes on hand so guests can clean the ink off their fingers afterward.

Have some fun with photos

If you are stuck for creative decorating ideas, a graduation party always benefits from displayed photos. For example, if your graduate is something of a shutterbug, The Thinking Closet suggests raiding their Instagram and using their photos, plus string and clothespins, to create banners. For an added twist, give the photos a Polaroid-style border and write a message along the bottom of the pictures.

Alternatively, take an idea from Studio DIY and hang your graduate’s pictures overhead tied to the ends of balloons. This can be given an extra personal touch by adding photos of all of your grad’s friends with senior superlatives (either official or made up).

With these ideas, your grad’s party is sure to impress and be a memorable occasion that they can look back on years later.