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Dear NACGAP,
What a thoughtful friend you are! I'm sure any party would warm your friend's heart - it doesn't have to be a fancy affair, just pizzas and chips at somebody's house, renting a movie together, or some such regular get-together would be nice for your friend, since that's the kind of thing she'll probably miss doing with you when she moves. Then make it totally special for her, by doing some of the following...
When you invite the other guests (besides your friend who's leaving the school), provide them with some questions about your BFF (this is easy to do by email). Include fill-in-the-blanks for them to complete, such as:
-"I will miss (your BFF's name) when she leaves our school, because..."
-"My favorite memory of (BFF's name) is..."
-"If I could give (BFF's name) an award, what I'd nominate her for is... because.... "
-"Ways I hope we'll stay in touch are... "
Have the guests write/print out their answers and read them out to your friend on the day of the party. Then give them to her to keep as a memento, or even paste them into a scrapbook for her, as a special gift. If you have a digital camera that takes movies, you can also record each guest as they deliver the message to your guest of honor, and then present him/her with the movie as a souvenir of the going-away party.
Plan a "This is your life" or "Spotlight" segment during the party. Gather old photos, movies, school pictures, artwork, and so on. Make a presentation chronicling the years you've all spent with your friend, and the great memories that you've shared. You could even decorate a special chair for your friend to sit in during the presentation, as the guest of honor.
Bring a digital camera, or even a disposable camera, and take a picture of your BFF with each person who comes to the party. Chip in to buy a photo album where she can keep the pictures (if they're the printing kind), so she can flip through it and remember all her great friends at her old school, after she's gone on to the new one.
Buy a school tee-shirt or sweatshirt (from your current school) for your friend, and have everyone at the party sign the back of it in permanent (laundry) marker.
Give your friend an address book filled with everyone's email addresses and phone numbers, so she can easily keep in touch.
Plan a regular way to stay in touch after she's gone to the other school. You could plan a monthly lunch together (say, on the first Saturday of every month), make a regular DVD party date at your house, or some other ongoing, dependable event when you can all get together.
