Let's Make Memories! Fun Icebreaker Activities Recommended for High School Farewell Parties
Fun farewell party activities to enjoy with your class or grade before graduation.
Since it’s to commemorate graduation, you’ll want to try something a little different—activities that will make lasting memories.
In this article, we’ll introduce perfect, memory-making recreation ideas for a high school graduation farewell party that will get everyone excited.
It’s the last time, so let’s go big and have fun!
We’ve gathered ideas that you might not usually think of, moving activities with surprises, and games everyone can enjoy.
Use these as inspiration and have a wonderful time!
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[Let’s Make Memories!] Fun Activities Recommended for High School Farewell Parties (21–30)
Paper Cup Tower
Here’s a game that gets both participants and spectators excited: the Paper Cup Tower.
Haven’t you played it at least once? The rules are very simple—stack paper cups into a tower, and if you knock it over, it’s game over.
The tricky part is placing each cup carefully so it doesn’t fall, while keeping up the pace to smoothly pass the turn to the next person.
It keeps viewers on the edge of their seats and makes them want to cheer.
If you get not only the participants but also the audience involved and have more people take part, it’ll get even more exciting!
theater
Putting on a play for a high school farewell party will make for a wonderful memory.
When you stage the play, decide on a theme and content in advance.
Themes like gratitude, memorable moments from school life, or looking toward the future are recommended.
Once you know the number of participants, assign roles, rehearse, and discuss improvements and highlights together as you refine the performance.
It’s best to secure dates when everyone can gather and proceed with a plan ahead of time.
On the day of the performance, I’m sure you’ll present a lovely play that strengthens your bonds with your friends.
Tongue Twister Challenge
A tongue twister is a tricky phrase you say quickly that makes you feel like you might bite your tongue.
Classics include “Nama-mugi, nama-gome, nama-tamago” and “Ao-makigami, aka-makigami, ki-makigami.” It’s impressive if you can say a tongue twister without stumbling even once, but since everyone knows the classics, some people worry it won’t be very exciting even if they nail it.
In those moments, funny tongue twisters are recommended.
Think up and perform lines that make people chuckle when they imagine the situation behind the tongue twister.
It’s also a good idea to write the tongue twister on a flip card and show it—this makes the joke easier to understand and serves as a safety net in case you don’t deliver it perfectly.
Arm Wrestling Tournament
How about arm wrestling as an idea that requires no preparation or practice and is guaranteed to get everyone excited? Everyone knows arm wrestling: two people face each other, rest one elbow on the table, clasp hands, and start.
The winner is the one who pushes the opponent’s arm down.
It’s so simple and universally known that it’s bound to be a hit! You could make it a team competition where the next challenger steps in each time someone loses.
You could also split men and women into separate brackets, or if you mix genders, introduce handicaps to even things out.
standing buffet
A party that proceeds with everyone standing rather than sitting in chairs has the advantages of fitting more people since you don’t need chairs, and making it easy to move around.
If you’re serving food, have everyone go to where it’s set out and help themselves—this can prompt conversation and encourage movement.
With a relaxed, stand-up atmosphere, people can tune into the vibe of the room, and conversations will likely warm up gradually.
Simply removing the act of standing up from a chair also makes it easier to transition smoothly into activities or performances.
Pedometer Game
It’s a game where you attach a pedometer somewhere on your body and move around, and the person with the highest count within the time limit wins.
Pedometers normally count the number of steps you take, but since you can’t actually walk in the game, you’ll need to march in place or move your body to rack up more counts.
How you move will change depending on where you attach the pedometer, so if everyone places it in different spots, each person’s movements will have their own flair—and that should make it more entertaining for the spectators, too.
Memory game
The memory game is similar to a memory-based shiritori.
Participants take turns naming one sheet of construction paper from those set on the table, each a different color.
However, when responding, they must recite all previously named colors starting from the first one.
In other words, if the first player names “blue,” the second player points to the blue sheet before naming another color.
As the game progresses, the list of colors grows, putting everyone’s memory to the test.
Anyone who gets the order wrong is out, and the person who continues without making a mistake until the end wins.
You can enjoy this game with items other than construction paper as well—try using mementos or photos of the participants.
Showcasing doodles in a textbook
The perfect way to make your final high school memories is a textbook doodle contest.
Share the secret sketches or manga-style illustrations you’ve drawn in the textbooks of your least favorite subjects.
Those little masterpieces you created unconsciously during class will brighten your graduation memories with laughter.
It’s even said that doodling can improve concentration, so your playful spirit at school may have left unexpected achievements behind.
Why not use this unique idea for a farewell party everyone will remember?
Memories Survey
How about conducting a memory survey as a prompt for episode-talks like you often see on variety shows? Beforehand, collect responses about memorable moments from everyone’s school life, then present them in front of the group.
From there, ask more questions to people who seem to have funny or interesting stories.
You can enjoy looking back on nostalgic moments and laugh-out-loud episodes together.
If you record the session on video, it would likely be a hit to watch again at a reunion!
paper tower
The paper tower used for team building is a perfect activity for strengthening bonds within a class or an entire grade.
Using only paper, teams compete to see how high they can build their tower.
As long as no tools are used, cutting and folding the paper is allowed.
After a few minutes of strategy discussion within each team, they begin constructing the tower.
Be sure to set a time limit for building.
The team that creates the tallest paper tower within the time limit wins.
It’s great to do within a single class, but if you form teams with students from different classes in the same grade, it can deepen connections across the grade as well.
Before graduation, take this chance to reaffirm everyone’s bonds.
