Parents Are Throwing Their High Schoolers Bed Parties After College Acceptances

I was recently scrolling through TikTok, as one does, when I paused on a video from a mom in Long Island.

“OK, two words for you,” says creator Melinda Long (@mommylong8). “Bed. Parties.”

“If you don’t know what they are, I am in the thick of it.”

So, what is a bed party?

“High school senior moms, especially of the girls, you know what I’m talking about,” she continues.

“They get accepted into college, they decide to go, and their friends — really their moms — ... throw a huge bed party. It means that you buy a blanket for the college you’re going to, streamers, balloons, everybody brings a gift, and it’s over the top insanity. All so they can get their picture for the ’Gram or TikTok. ... It’s all about the ’Gram.”

Long also notes that these parties are meant to be a surprise, but it seems the kids not only know it’s going to happen but expect it to. She herself has given in to her daughter’s various requests for balloons, cakes, treats, and more.

“Are we nuts?!” she asks. “They got accepted into college! My daughter is going to the University of Miami, a $90,000 a year college and now we’ve got to have a couple grand for a bed party?! ... Are we nuts?!”

Honestly? Yeah, that feels a little nuts to me.

Of course, I then went down a TikTok rabbit hole to see this trend in action, and I absolutely was not prepared.

The New York Times reports that this relatively new trend first took off in the South but became more popular nationwide due to a combination of social media and the pandemic. That second bit actually makes a lot of sense to me: social distancing cancelled a lot of graduations and graduation parties, so I can see families desperate to make up for lackluster milestones with something unique that would wow on social media.

But, like, now that we’re all out and about and mingling again, can we leave the big flashy bed parties in the past?

While some people in Long’s comments were as baffled by this concept as I was, most were very strongly “Team Bed Party” so I might just be the party-pooper here.

“They are so fun!” one wrote.

“I can’t wait to do this for my future daughters!” wrote another.

And even if Long thought the idea was kind of nuts, she found the experience to be a lot of fun and went all out...

Early decision and early action letters have already gone out, so we’ve already seen the beginning of Bed Party Season 2025, but regular decision tends to happen sometime between March and April, so if you see a teen’s bed lavishly furnished with thousands of dollars in clothes, snacks, and decor, now you know what that’s all about.

And if that’s your thing, maybe throw one for your college-bound kiddo. I hope you all have a great time! Just please don’t tell my kids about this. Please?