Graduation Party Bingo Cards (Free Printable Generator)

The word list

The squares apply to high school, college and even pre-school celebrations. Add the graduate's school colors, mascot or favorite food to make the cards personal.

How to play at a graduation party

Graduation open houses are long and drop-in. Guests arrive and leave at different times, so most of the usual party games do not work. Bingo cards on a table by the guest book fit perfectly, because each person can pick one up, play for as long as they stay and drop it in a bowl when they go.

1. Put a stack of cards and a cup of pens beside the guest book or the food table.
2. Add a sign explaining that squares can be marked any time, and a bowl for finished cards.
3. When a guest completes a line, they bring the card to the grad or a parent for a stamp or a signature.
4. Draw one winner from the bowl at the end of the afternoon for a small gift or a gift card.

Variations to try

• Advice bingo. Fill some squares with advice categories, like money, friendship or first apartment. Guests write a one-line tip in the square instead of marking it, creating a keepsake for the graduate.
• Class reunion style. For a joint party of several graduates, include squares for each student's school, club or sport.
• Memory ride. Use the card as a trail through a photo wall. Each square matches a picture, and guests find and mark the photo.

Tips for families

Remember the drop-in crowd. Stack plenty of cards, and keep a spare pen under the table, because pens disappear quickly at open houses.

Choose a prize relevant to the next step: a notebook for a college-bound grad, a coffee gift card or a desk plant. Wrap it in the school colors.

Do not make the graduate answer the what's next question over and over. Put it on the card, and guests may find that the game gets the joke across for them.

Printing for an open house

Print on heavier cardstock in the school colors, or print on white and add a stripe of colored tape along one edge. With one card per page you can staple a tassel or ribbon to the corner.

Black and white ink saver mode keeps costs down when you print a big stack for a long open house. Frame one printed card as a sign explaining the game.