As the countdown to graduation begins for my oldest, I am suddenly OVERWHELMED by all of the things I need to take care of. There are approximately 5,000,000 details to cover in the two months or so left of school. Where will he live? Who will he room with? What does he need when he gets there? Does he know how to change the oil, fix a flat tire, and pump his own gas? (We live in Oregon...they pump our gas for us). Oh, and how are we going to pay for all of this?

I tend to create extreme overwhelm in my head if I don't write things down.

Lists really help me see that it isn't quite as bad as I thought. (Usually anyway). Once I can start knocking some things off the list, I am empowered and less overwhelmed. If you are reading this and have a senior, or soon to be senior, I am making us both a list and giving suggestions for ways to simplify all the details. I get to do this three more times for my next three kids, so I will hopefully be a graduation NINJA by the time my youngest graduates.

Senior Year Graduation Checklist:

Senior Pictures (re-sized and sent to yearbook committee in October).

Graduation Party (decide on time/date/food/who to invite).

Prom Dress/Tux & Prom Pictures

Senior Recognition Night with Video

Grad Party Invites (close friends and family).

Order Cap and Gown (and when you get it, be sure and hang it up to avoid wrinkles and ironing).

Graduation Thank you cards for counselors, teachers, friends and family.

Plan Family Pictures (really, this isn't a shameless plug...this is the last chance for family pictures in this stage of life and also if you want to send out family Christmas cards, there may not be time to get a family photo at Thanksgiving).

Purchase necessities (I need to make a list of this too. I will do that in a future Senior Graduation checklist post!)

College Class Registration

Housing and Roommates

Take care of 529's/college savings/FAFSA

portland oregon senior portrait photographer

This post is sponsored by Best Invites, who compensated me for my honest opinions about their products. All opinions are my own!

With less than a month to spare before graduation, the next step on my list of things to do is send out Graduation Party Invites.

I am REALLY picky when it comes to cards and announcements. I like the picture to be the focus (surprised? ha!), and hate a ton of distracting colors or design elements. I really love for the colors in the image to flow well with the image itself. I recently discovered an awesome online card company called Basic Invite. They are one of very few websites that offer almost unlimited color options and give you instant previews. This allows you to match your colors to your image almost exactly without the use of PhotoShop or other complicated and expensive software. Each element on the card is completely customizable so you can alter even the finest details to your preference. I LOVE THIS!!

As an added benefit, something I have not seen other websites allow for, you can order a printed sample of your actual invitation to see exactly how it will look and feel before you place your final order. I can't tell you how many cards I have designed over the years that I thought looked perfect on the screen, but after ordering 200 of them I get them in hand and find something totally off that I didn't see on my computer. It is devastating. I love how Basic Invite solves this problem.

Finally, Basic Invite offers over 40 different colors of peel and stick envelopes (yay! for not having to lick all of those dang envelopes!); advanced address collecting services; and gold, silver and rose gold foil card options as well.

There are hundreds of beautiful card options to choose and customize to your specific taste and style.

The best part is, they are offering a 15% off discount for those of you who are down to the wire like me on ordering your cards. Use Coupon code: 15FF51 to get 15% off your order!

WOOHOO for saving a few bucks. Wish the college registration fees and housing were this easy and affordable.

Do you have any tips or tricks or things I forgot to include for senior year? Please tell me in the comments below. I would LOVE to hear your ideas and suggestions!