I’ll be attending my daughter’s high school graduation ceremony soon. Am I supposed to bring flowers or anything? I probably won’t see her before the event, just afterwards. My concern is that I’d have to hold them for whole event, which I don’t mind, but could be annoying to others. I’m just not sure what the convention is here.
Bringing flowers is a good idea. Though often one of the student orgs sell flowers at the event.
My memory is a little rusty on this, but less than half the young women got flowers in my daughter’s class.
One option, you can leave the flowers in your car and retrieve them after the graduation. I did this, but I knew my car was only going to be a few hundred feet away.
A bottle of Champaign if allowed under local laws. For popping and sharing with adults of course. 
A book - to allay the boredom! 
I personally generally think flowers at school events somewhat performative and silly. Display your congratulations privately.
The other thing is that she’s going to be going straight to a party afterwards, which means they’ll get handed right back to her mom to take home.
@Dinsdale I’m totally with you, but I gotta play the game as best I can.
I would have flowers delivered to the home the morning of her graduation or the day before (if you’re worried that they’ll be a distraction as she gets ready). She gets flowers, she doesn’t have to juggle the flowers, you can get an arrangement without worrying about the size and she gets a surprise at the home.
Flowers seem weird to me at a graduation, hard to explain why. I think part of it is having gendered gift-giving at something that’s fully co-ed seems dated. The girls get flowers, they boys get a firm handshake and a draft lottery number.
Another option that seems really popular around here is a lei – a bouquet the graduate can wear around her neck, even during the ceremony.
At the graduation I just went to, most people didn’t bring anything at all except stuff to make noise - I saw air horns, gender reveal firework type things, etc. And some signs.
I found my brother’s draft card when I cleaned out his desk after he passed.
Sort of an odd and melancholy thing, two of his classmates ended up in combat and dead in Iran [one guy was a Marine embassy guard, and one was a Marine air crew that passed in the helicopter issue]
I vote for delivering a bouquet to their house earlier in the day. They are already going to be juggling a hat and a diploma.
I bet most kids would prefer a card w/ a crisp $50 in it. That their parents can bring home and they open later. And family who bring noisemakers - or shout out after repeatedly having been asked not to - should be shot.
DO NOT take anything to Graduation. Save it all for when she gets home. This is the recommendation of someone who has, for the last 36 years, been charged with telling all the parents who show up at Graduation with giant bouquets, balloons, stuffed animals and the like that 1) those items are not allowed into the stadium, 2) I don’t care how much you spent on them, 3) I don’t care how far away you parked, 4) no, I won’t be responsible for the items until after the ceremony, and 5) feel free to complain to my Immediate Supervisor - she’s the Marine Corps major over there who has even less patience with idiot parents who don’t read the graduation guidelines than I do.
. I already wrote her a fat check, so she’ll be happy regardless.
Our kid just graduated, the only thing we brought to commencement was bottled water and hand fans to keep cool.
It was hot as balls.
MtM
Only if she’s going to be attending the University of Illinois.
When I was a high school teacher 20 years ago, leis made of candy bars were the big thing at graduation.
I would bring flowers. At the recent graduation I attended, many girls got flowers afterward and took pictures with them at the graduation site. Your child may feel left out if she doesn’t have those flowers for pictures with their friends.
As a veteran of many graduations, evaluate your environment and act accordingly:
- Is it outside? You’ll want a beverage suitable for the enviroment. If its hot, some chilled water, if its cold a nice thermos of soup. If its a bright sunny day, a good hat and sunglasses, and sunscreen.
- Is it inside? Its going to be warm. Again, a beverage is appropriate.
- Seating. Good gods, the seating. If its outside in an arena, a good, comfy butt pillow is a lifesaver. Those cement bleachers suuuuuck to sit on, and the individual chairs aren’t any better. A good 2 inches of foam between you and your seat is great.
- If its many people, like over 200, try to come up with a game for you and whomever is attending with you. Guess name pronunci
Crud. Missed the edit. Audience games - Guess name pronunciations, guess how many steps they’ll take, guess who will act up and do a backflip, etc. It helps kill boredom.
This ended up happening. But it really didn’t end up being a big deal to my daughter and her friends, as they were far more focused on their social circles. I’d say maybe 20% of the girls got flowers.