Committing to college is a big deal and a matter to be celebrated. As many colleges have a mass of sports and spirit, people love to represent their school merchandise, or “merch.” With all of the excitement around commitments, bed parties have become a common event to honor the senior graduate and add to their stock of new merch.
Pascack Valley has seen a growth in bed parties this school year.
Seniors Leah Levant and Jenna Lomanto explained why they decided to have a bed party.
“All my friends were doing it, and I was like, it’s a good way not to have to spend money to get free stuff,” Lomanto said. “It’s also fun to take pictures with [the decorated bed].”
Levant explained that the free merch is important to her because “I’m going to a big 10 so you need a lot of stuff for game day and spirit.”
The element of surprise makes bed parties different from a regular celebration. Typically, the person’s room is decorated by and filled with friends. When the recipient gets home, if all goes as planned, they will be surprised to see everyone there when they get to their room. However, senior Luke Dargan finds it difficult to catch his friends off-guard.
“I feel like a lot of people are never surprised,” Dargan said. “As the day gets closer, they kind of get a clue of when it’s coming. Or the day of, something is revealed.”
He explains that only two of the bed parties he had attended thus far were successful surprises. He believes that the element of surprise relies on the guests, parents, and organizers.
“I think communication is definitely key to determining a date that the person wouldn’t be expecting,” Dargan said. “A friend usually takes them out to eat or they’re at work [before], so when they come home, they probably wouldn’t be expecting a party.”
While bed parties are a fun way to celebrate your commitment with your friends, they are not for everybody. Levant explained how she loved the bedspread but she didn’t love the idea of people being in her room.
“If you don’t like the idea of people being in your room and buying you things you [don’t have] control [of], don’t [have a bed party],” Levant said.
Lomanto had a different experience and shared how the bed party “was fun to celebrate going to college; it’s all about you.”
According to Dargan, he will have attended about 16 bed parties after this spring and has organized six of them.
Dargan explains that he starts by working with his friends’ parent to pick a date and time for the event. Then, he makes a group chat to invite their friends, typically chosen by the honoree. He explains that the combination of school friends, work friends, family friends, and camp friends is usually about 20 people, depending on the person.
“This year, it’s been really popular for some of the people to make a list of things they wanted, like a wish list,” Dargan said.
After Dargan forwards the wishlist to the group chat, guests can sign up for items they will be buying or find their own present. Occasionally, Dargan has people drop their gifts off at his house beforehand so he could “set up a little bit earlier with the parents or a few friends.”
While most people make a list, Lomanto said if she were to redo her party she would not have made a list so it was a complete surprise.
Dargan enjoys organizing bed parties for many reasons.
“I really do enjoy setting them up, and I feel like I make them look pretty, whether it’s folding clothes or adding layers of food and accessories,” Dargan said. “It’s kind of a craft, and I’m a big perfectionist, so it usually looks pretty good.”
Besides the gift of organization, Dargan always tries to find a unique gift when attending a bed party. He finds that people often appreciate non-clothing items like tumbler cups, beach towels, or keychains. Dargan also does his research to incorporate school sayings.
“For a [University of] South Carolina bed party, I got a shirt that didn’t just say South Carolina; it said “Saturdays are for the sandstorm,” which is their football ritual, so I feel like that was definitely a cute, unique gift,” Dargan said.
Dargan recommends looking on Amazon for more utilitarian items and Etsy for more trendy, customizable college gear.
As a “universal organizer” of sorts, Dargan expressed contentment with his role.
“It definitely is a lot of work, but I think the end result is super rewarding, and I get to see my best friends happy with their beds and how they turned out,” Dargan said. “I think the reward is worth the time that it takes to plan and the stress that comes along with it.”
