April 16, 2025
Graduation Prep: Chaos, Love, and a Lot of Balloons
Graduation season is here—and in a big family like ours, that means checklists, confetti, and complete chaos! In this episode of We Are the Hansons, we’re sharing the behind-the-scenes mayhem (and magic) of prepping for a milestone moment with a house full of kids. From trying to find everyone’s “nice” clothes to wrangling balloons, keeping toddlers off the cake table, and managing our emotions as another one of our kids hits a major life moment—it’s a rollercoaster of love, laughter, and last-minute grocery runs. Whether you're prepping for your first graduation or your fifteenth, you’ll laugh, nod, and maybe tear up with us as we reflect on the beauty of big family milestones—mess and all.
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Hey, everyone, and welcome back to We Are the hands Ends.
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I am so glad you're here with me today. This
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episode is going to be a little more personal, a
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little bit chaotic, and a lot of fun because we
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are diving into the beautiful madness that is planning a
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graduation party. Whether it's your first graduate or your fifth,
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whether you've got a senior in high school or college,
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this milestone is a big one, and if you're anything
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like me, you want to make it memorable, meaningful, and
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let's be honest, manageable. So today I'm walking you through
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how we get ready for a graduation party in our house,
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from the planning to the prep to the last minute
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panic and proud tears. Now. I know some of you
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all are the spreadsheet and label maker types. You've got
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Pinterest boards going back to twenty twenty two for this moment,
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and others are more like, Okay, we've got a folding
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table and a dream, let's do this. I respect both energies.
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Here's how I break it down. We try to do
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it close enough to graduation that it's still special, but
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far enough away that we aren't fighting for parking or
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party rentals with the rest of the county. Also check
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your church, sports and family calendars. You don't want to
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plan the biggest celebration of the year on the same
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weekend as your aunt's fiftieth anniversary bash. Choosing a venue backyard, park,
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church hall, rented space. In our case, we usually host
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it at home because we've got a big family and
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somehow we always end up with forty people in the kitchen. Anyway,
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just the realistics about your space and your weather. Budgeting.
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This part is not fun, but it matters. Decorations, food, drinks, invitations,
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maybe a DJ or a photo booth. Things add up fast.
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Decide what's important, and for us, we like to spend
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a little more on food and memories, and we diy
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the decoration and favors. Now, let's talk about vibes, because
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every grad deserves a party that screams you did it,
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but also feels like them. Go with the school colors
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or your grad's favorite colors. Add in some metallics or
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naturals to balance it out. I'm a sucker for gold
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and Navy, classy and still celebratory photo displays. This one
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is my favorite part because I love pulling out baby pictures,
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school photos, art projects, sports trophies and making a little
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memory lane area. It's emotional, it's sweet, and it's a
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conversation starter. Blue arches and banners. I have a love
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hate relationship with ballue arches. They're cute, but they're a
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full on workout. Pro tip grab a balloon pump. You'll
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thank me later. Guestbook and advice jars. Love the idea.
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Have a spot where people can leave advice or wishes
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for the graduate. It's simple and sweet and something you're
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grad will treasure later on. Let's talk about feeling the masses,
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because hungry guests do not make for a good party.
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Catering versus DIIY. If it's in your budget, catering can
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take a lot of pressure off. But we usually do
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it hybred, maybe some trays from a local barbecue place,
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and then we fill in with homemade salads and desserts
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and sides. Whatever. Drink, keep it simple, water, soda, lemonade.
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If it's an adult party, you might have a cooler
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with some grown up options, but I like to keep
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it low key and family friendly. Dessert table cupcakes, cookies
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and a custom cake and listen if you're up at
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midnight the night before decorating a cake shape like a
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graduation cap. Know that I see you and I salute you.
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This is the day before or the morning of. And
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let me tell you, no matter how much you plan,
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this day is wild. Someone will forget something, You'll inflate
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fifty balloons only to realize the wind is eighteen miles
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per hour. You'll trip over a cord and someone probably you,
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will cry, but also laugh a lot. This is when
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the village shows up. Siblings, cousins, aunties, best friends. They
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all come through. We've got people setting up tables, taping
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signs on the garage, arranging cupcakes, chasing toddlers, and playing
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music to keep the vibe alive. There's something beautiful about
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the chaos, honestly, because this day isn't about perfection. It's
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about celebrating a journey. I see my kids growing up
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and it always is a tear jerker for me. It
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doesn't hit me right away. It hits me right after graduation.
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I have a son graduating May eighth, and he is
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our youngest son to be graduating, and it's kind of
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hitting me a little hard because he's my last baby boy,
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even though he's not a baby to me. He's still
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my baby. He turns eighteen on Easter, so it is
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hitting me pretty hard knowing that my last son will
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be graduating, moving out and doing his thing with going
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to linement school or he's got a couple different ideas
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on what he wants to do. It's been quite rough,
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and I don't think I'm quite ready for him to
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graduate yet. I got his cap and down in the
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mail the other day and I sat there looking at it, like, Wow,
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it's getting more and more and more real. I still
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have three girls left to graduate. Knowing that he's my
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last boy graduating is a whole different feel. And I'm
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sure when my youngest daughter graduates it's going to be
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real close to the same feeling. And if you're a parent,
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I think you would know what I'm talking about. It
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gets rough. I thought the first kid graduating was rough.
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It just gets more rough every time another one graduates.
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I think that's because you're getting close to the end
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of your children growing up and moving out, so it
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just gets more and more and more. It's not easy,
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let's put it that way. Once everything is set up
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for your graduation party, the guests are arriving, the music's playing,
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the grad walks in and bam, it hits you. Every time,
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I usually have tears, so I have to leave the room,
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make sure I'm good, and come back the little human
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you raised, supported, yelled at about homework, stayed up late with,
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prayed for, cheered for. They made it. I cannot tell
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you how proud I am of my son that's graduating
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this year, because senior year for him, he hit National
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Honor Society. Made my day. I think it made his too.
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He's very smart. He's never really been big into school,
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so for us, for me and him, that was a
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big thing. I was so super proud of him, and
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he was so proud of himself. Just the big smile
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on his face, he was happy. I knew when I
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seen the look on his face that he was proud
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of himself. There's laughter and hugs and picture after picture,
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maybe even a toast, maybe a speech that makes everyone cry.
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And even though you're exhausted, your feet hurt, and you've
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got frosting on your shirt, your heart is full. So
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if you're getting ready to throw a graduation party, here
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is my advice. Don't stress about perfection. Nobody is perfect,
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and you're there to create memories. Focus on the feeling.
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That is the best feeling in the world when you
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can tell your child you did it. Invite the people
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who matter, the ones who are there love you and
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are a big part of your family, and celebrate this
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milestone with everything you've got. You did it, They did it,
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and it's worth every second of that chaos. Once one
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of your children graduates, you know you did right. You
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know that you guided them all the way to graduation
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and they made it through. Now it's their turn from
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graduation on to succeed the rest of the way. And
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I have no worries about my children whatsoever, because my
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kids have started work at fifteen and they worked their
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butts off every single day and make money and are
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able to buy whatever they want. I know I will
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never have to worry about them not working, not going
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on to the next level, not finding a family and
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creating a life of their own. They will do it.
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And I know that I never ever worry about our children.
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And I know the last remaining girls, the last three,
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I know they will do the same. They will all succeed.
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All of our kids are doing great and I am
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so proud of them. Thanks for hanging out with me today.
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If you've got a graduation party coming up, I want
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to hear you're celebrating. You can send me pictures through
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our Facebook. You can send me messages through our Facebook
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and we are the Hansens. You can send me an
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email at We are the Hanson's Show at gmail dot
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com and please go subscribe to our YouTube channel. We
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are the Hansens. Until next time, deep breasts, big hugs,
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and extra cupcakes.
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00:11:59.600 --> 00:12:03.879
134
00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:09.440
135
00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:13.879
136
00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:17.480
137
00:12:17.919 --> 00:12:21.559
138
00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:25.600
139
00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:29.279
140
00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:32.639
141
00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:35.559
142
00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:40.120
143
00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:43.840
144
00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:50.320
145
00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:53.600
146
00:12:53.639 --> 00:12:56.440
147
00:12:56.519 --> 00:13:00.759
148
00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:06.679
149
00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:12.759
150
00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:14.279
