You must first create your guests list so that you know how many guests to plan for. Once you have determined your guests list, it will be easier to start looking for a venue that can accommodate your guests count.
Check out travel magazines and search the internet for ideas and inspiration about the culture, famous destinations, and natural features of the places they’ve been visiting. Look for old maps, postcards, or other materials you can re-purpose. For returning college students, look for pennants or flags, as well as and other decorations, in the school colors of their new university. Incorporate the college’s mascot or motto into invitations or banners. If the university has a fight song, play it as your guest arrives. [4] X Research source If your guest of honor is a military service member returning home from deployment, patriotic decorations are an easy and impactful choice. Red, white, and blue balloons, banners, and tableware, American flags, and patriotic music can all help express your pride and appreciation for their service.
Incorporate your guest’s favorite things about your hometown or state into your decorations. You might wish to include local sports teams’ colors or logos, nearby attractions, or regional features like beaches, mountains, forests, or lakes.
Offer local beers or regional wines from your hometown or state to welcome your guest back home. Or, provide drinks that commemorate the places they’ve visited: tea from Japan or England, wine from France or South America, beer from Australia. Consider mixing up a festive bowl of punch (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), especially if your guest has been visiting a tropical locale.
To commemorate your guest of honor’s return home, serve local or regional specialties, whether that’s New York-style pizza or Cincinnati chili, Tex-Mex or crab cakes. Offer a few dishes from the locations your guest has been visiting, if you can. Don’t try to prepare new-to-you dishes that are complex or challenging: keep it simple, or have it catered.
Encourage them to share their selfies and other party pictures by creating a hashtag for the party on social media, or create a group or shareable photo album online.
Maps, globes, and printed photographs with messages would all make appropriate mementos for the honoree’s return home.
