Graduation Party Food Prep Timeline (What to Make Ahead)

When you can't afford to cater an entire event (or simply don't want to) and need to prep food at home to stay to your budget, hosting a graduation party for 50 people can feel like a huge task.

If you're in the same shoes as I was, you get to benefit from my experience throwing my daughter's open house style graduation party. I took extensive notes in the weeks leading up to the event and I'm finally sharing them here so your party can come together flawlessly.

You'll want to start by previewing the full Graduation Party Menu for 50. We only had 30 people attend on the day of the party so I've included notes and quantities for a smaller group, too.

Some items I ordered from the grocery store catering department and the rest I made at home.

I broke up all the work into smaller chunks so that by the time the day of the party arrived, it was mostly last-minute prep and assembling the dishes to set out.

Here's everything you need to do to keep organized and on track!

Recipes to Prep

You can view the full detailed graduation party menu here. I had several catered items in the list but this post is meant to help you with preparing the homemade dishes used to fill in the rest of the menu.

To keep things easy, I'll just be referencing the prep work for these recipes:

1. Homemade Condiments: Just a few easy sauces for dipping.
2. Southern Macaroni Salad
3. Fresh Veggie Tray
4. Fresh Fruit Tray
5. Very Basic Salad Bar
6. Seasoned Pretzels
7. Deviled Eggs
8. Cold Spinach Dip
9. Fruit Dip
10. Boat Dip
11. Chocolate Eclaire Cake
12. Lemon Sugar Cookie Cups

Two Weeks Before (Or Earlier)

Order the catered items for your party. Schedule a pick-up time 2 - 4 hours before your party begins and make sure you have a plan for storing and reheating if necessary.

For us, that meant:

1. Sandwich Platters
2. Popcorn Chicken
3. Sheet Cake

One Week Before

Clear out your fridge space as much as possible. You'll need all the room you can get.

Review your serving dishes and make sure you have everything you need for the food you're about to prep. I used the old trick of Post-It notes on each dish so I had one less decision to make when the party arrived.

This is also a great way to help you delegate last-minute prep tasks. Your helpers won't even need to ask "Which dish?" when they help you assemble things and serve.

Five Days Before

My homemade seasoned pretzels were hugely popular on the snack table at the party. My daughter loves them so much, I made two batches.

They keep well in an airtight container on the counter so this is a perfect recipe to get done today and have them out of the way. Just hide them so the kids to pre-snack!

Four Days Before

You need hard boiled eggs for both the deviled eggs and for the Southern macaroni salad.

You can prep 2 - 3 dozen eggs on the stovetop or in an Instant Pot. Here's my favorite way to make hard boiled eggs.

Store them in the fridge when you're done.

Three Days Before

All the homemade condiments I made actually taste even better once they've had a chance to chill in the fridge.

They each take just a minute to stir together but you'll be so grateful to have them ready to go and stored in mason jars with all the dishes already washed.

Take an hour and prep them all at once:

1. Honey Mustard Dip
2. Raising Cane Sauce
3. Buffalo Sauce

This is also a good time to wash and chop the lettuce and any salad bar toppings you want to offer. Store them in the fridge.

Two Days Before

The trick to easy assembly later is to have fillings prepared in advance.

1. Lemon Curd: My easy lemon sugar cookie cups tasted amazing with my homemade lemon curd. You could use a store bought jar if you prefer but by planning ahead, you'll definitely have the time.
2. Fruit Dip: This easy fruit dip keeps really well in an airtight container in the fridge and is easy to stir together.
3. Spinach Dip: My cold spinach dip is easy to stir together and will keep well in the fridge between now and the party.
4. Peel the Hard Boiled Eggs: You can prep the eggs for the deviled eggs, but keep them under plastic wrap in the fridge so they don't dry out.
5. Prep the Deviled Egg FILLING: Store just the filling separately from the hard boiled eggs in it's own airtight container. You can pipe the filling in quickly on the morning of the party.

The Day Before the Party

1. Bake the Sugar Cookie Cups: Using store bought cookie dough for my lemon sugar cookie cups, this task is very easy to do. Once completely cooled, store them in an airtight container. You can assemble the lemon tarts tomorrow.
2. Make the Chocolate Eclair Cake: This easy chocolate eclair cake HAS to be made the day before so the graham crackers have time to soften.
3. Prep the Macaroni Salad: The key to making my Southern macaroni salad ahead of time is to reserve 1/2 cup of the dressing. Toss together the pasta and veggies and the rest of the dressing and stir in an airtight container in the fridge. I kept the extra 1/2 cup in a separate mason jar. Then on the day of the party, add the chopped hard boiled eggs, the reserved dressing, and toss just before serving. It will make the salad feel freshly made.
4. Prep the Ranch Dressing: My homemade buttermilk ranch dressing has fresh herbs in it. It is the one condiment I save for the day before the party to prep.
5. Assemble the Boat Dip: You can stir this creamy boat dip together in 5 minutes.
6. Slice the Limes and Lemons for the Lemonade Bar: Get the fruit garnishes ready for the DIY lemonade bar. Store them in ziptop baggies in the fridge.

The Morning Before the Party

1. Slice the Veggies for the Veggie Tray: Return to the fridge.
2. Prep the Fruit for the Fruit Platter: Return to the fridge.
3. Slice the Watermelon: Cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge.
4. Assemble the Lemon Sugar Cookie Cups: Fill the cookie cups with lemon curd and top with a fresh berry. Place on a tray and keep in the fridge.
5. Pipe the Filling in the Deviled Eggs: Cover loosely with plastic wrap and return to the fridge.
6. Fill Drink Coolers: Load up your coolers with ice and nestle in your canned beverages.

Pick Up Your Catered Food

I ran to get the food myself, in retrospect I should have sent either my husband or daughter.

This is an excellent task to delegate to anyone who offers to help.

If you have to go to do it yourself, be sure to leave a checklist of tasks for anyone at home to continue helping!

I stored the sandwich trays in the fridge and kept the popcorn chicken warm in my oven.

Final Assembly for Serving

Now just before your party starts, everything will have been prepped and is just about ready to be set out on your buffet table.

1. Condiments: Pour the prepared condiments in small serving bowls and set them near the popcorn chicken and salad base.
2. Macaroni Salad: Add the diced hard boiled eggs and reserved dressing. Toss and place in the serving dish.
3. Fruit Platter: Arrange the prepared fruit and fruit dip on the platter.
4. Veggie Platter: Arrange the prepared veggies on a platter. Place near the condiments or dips.
5. Dips & Dippers: Place the boat dip and spinach dip out near the bowls of seasoned pretzels and tortilla chips.
6. Salad Bar: Set out the prepared lettuce and toppings near the condiments.
7. Dessert Station: Arrange the lemon sugar cookie cups on a tray and set out the chocolate eclair cake.
8. Set Up the Lemonade Bar: Set out the garnishes and one gallon of lemonade to get started. Fill an ice bucket with ice.
9. Set Out the Main Dishes: Set out a sandwich tray and platter up the popcorn chicken.

Controlling the Crowd Flow

With all this food, how and where you set it all up for your event is a total strategy. Be sure to check out my post about how I set up my kitchen to entertain our guests.

More Graduation Party Tips

How to Throw a Graduation Party Your Kid will Love

Our Graduation Party Menu for 50 People: What Worked and What Didn't

DIY Lemonade Bar for Parties

Lemon Sugar Cookie Cups