With graduation season officially upon us, it’s time to congratulate all you seniors out there who have worked your butts off for your diplomas and titles. It’s time to celebrate your achievements and invite everyone else in on your happiness. Here are ten reasons to make a graduation announcement!

1. Friends and family will want to celebrate the milestone.

Graduating high school or college is a huge achievement, especially if you are a first generation graduate. Your friends and family will be proud of you and will want to celebrate. As they blow up the balloons and eat the cake with your face on it, why don’t you make it rain with some grad announcements that will make them go wild.

2. It’s tradition.

Sending graduation announcements is a long-standing tradition, dating way back before the internet (gasp). In a time when people couldn’t snap a selfie during the ceremony and post it to Facebook with #graduated and #weout, nicely printed announcements were sent by mail to the friends and family you wanted to inform. They probably came with the lifeless studio shots of people sitting on a stool in their cap and gown smiling awkwardly, so maybe a little evolution isn’t a bad thing.

3. You can inform the distant-but-still-important friends and family.

This is the perfect opportunity to let your Great Aunt Marge know that you still love her and want to keep her in your life, even if you press reject every time she calls you and later claim you were busy. For family and friends who can’t attend the actual graduation, this is a great way to make them feel like they are still included in the celebration.

4. Your family will want to brag about you.

Just like most parents and other family members, they will want any excuse to show you off to their friends. Waving around your grad announcement or sticking it proudly on their fridge next to your baby pictures will make them extremely happy. Even if it doesn’t seem like much to you, they will think it’s the world.

5. It’s considered a keepsake.

In tune with save the dates and wedding invitations, holiday cards, and birth announcements, graduation announcements are valued as physical memories. Even if you don’t think much of it now, try to picture digging it out of an old box in 50 years along with your wedding announcement and the pictures of your kids. Trust me, you’ll be happy you have it.

6. You can thank the people who helped you get to where you are today.

If there were high school teachers that inspired your career choice, religious mentors who encouraged you to work hard, family members who supported you in your darkest times, or anyone who got you to where you are today, what better way to say thank you than a graduation announcement saying “Hey – this is because of you.”

 

7. It can include an invitation to a graduation party.

If you’re into that kind of thing, a lot of people take advantage of the excitement and throw an actual party. A huge gathering of friends, family, teachers, and the neighborhood are not only memorable for everyone involved, but they give you the opportunity to celebrate your butt off. Sometimes being in the spotlight is fun, especially when you get gifts.

8. Graduation announcements lead to gifts.

I don’t mean to be crude, but often when you send out a graduation announcement, you get cash or other gifts in return as a little “congratulations” from your friends and family. Even if you don’t get money, personalized cards flow into the mail, and all the good words can make anyone feel happy. If you do end up getting cash, it’s nice to have it to help pay for new work clothes, a new apartment, or everything else that’s needed for graduate school or a job in the real world.

9. They open the door for job opportunities.

Sometimes graduation announcements can lead to job or internship opportunities. If you write on your announcement that you just graduated with a degree in physical therapy, maybe Uncle Tim has a good friend looking for a PT in their company. It never hurts to try.

10. Use it to celebrate your own achievement.

No one knows better than you do how much work went into graduating. Remember all those late night study sessions, group projects, 10 page essays, and assignments due at 11:59 PM? Use this opportunity to celebrate the fact that you survived all that, and brag about it in a non show-boaty way. Hire a nice photographer (*cough* me *cough*) and treat yourself to an awesome photoshoot; be happy about the beautiful photos you receive and feel good about yourself and everything you’ve done. You deserve to celebrate because you’re graduating!

(Bonus: this is my high school graduation announcement from last year! I took all these photos myself to capture my goofy personality, and I proudly sent it family and friends around the world. I’m incredibly happy I did, because it now hangs proudly not only in my house, but in the houses of my family and the classrooms of my favorite teachers. It’s such a great physical memory, and I can’t wait to do it again for my college graduation!)

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