- College bed parties are a growing trend, with families spending thousands on celebrations.
- The trend became popular during COVID as a substitute for in-person celebrations and has grown.
- BI spoke with various small business owners and consumers about the party trend.
Gone are the days of wearing a college hoodie and snapping a selfie while posing with an acceptance letter.
Today, for young women in particular, college commitments call for an actual event known as a college bed party. This celebration involves decorating a student's bedroom with the colors, logos, and items that represent the college or university they've committed to — and sharing those images on social media.
The trend gained traction during COVID as a logical workaround for in-person celebrations. But instead of fading post-pandemic, it's only gotten bigger and bolder. Families are shelling out hundreds, even thousands of dollars, on the bed party craze, and small business owners riding the wave of this growing niche are here for it.
Business Insider spoke with a mom who spent about $2,000 hosting a bed party for her daughter; a college student whose mom relied on DIY projects and discounted merchandise for her celebration; and two young entrepreneurs who've turned lucrative side-hustles into six-figure businesses selling custom items for these parties.
Each response has been edited for length and clarity.
Allie Cohen sells over 1,000 blankets each year to high school graduates and bed party clients
Allie Cohen, 26, lives in Philadelphia. She is the founder of Creative Jawns, an online business specializing in college-themed blankets, which are often used as the centerpiece for bed parties.
When I was accepted to the University of Pittsburgh in 2016, I didn't have a bed party. I hadn't even heard of bed parties. All I got was a hug and a T-shirt with the name of my school on it.
Now, I design and sell college blankets for $88 each. I intentionally do not use school logos on my blankets so that I'm not infringing on any copyright, and every year I sell over 1,000 of them. Mine is just one of the 20 or 30 items people buy for their bed party. Most retail for around the same amount, so if you do the math, that's a lot of money.
During my senior year of college in 2019, I started doing digital artwork, making phone backgrounds, and selling them for a few bucks. It was just a hobby, and I had no intention of turning it into a business. Then I graduated in 2020, right when COVID hit.
I figured since I'd already made a little money from my designs, why not see if I could turn it into something bigger?
That summer, I hustled hard creating new designs focused on dorm room art, and eventually turned my side project into a full-time job the following year.
I saw a huge demand for college products and bed party merch. Since I already had a built-in audience of college kids from my dorm room art, I started designing custom college blankets. Today, I have a six-figure business, and my blankets are what I'm best known for.
Last December, I collaborated with Sunshine Sweets, a candy and gift concierge, to launch a $300 bed party box. The box includes my signature 50x60 blanket and other college-themed items.
New products are hitting the market all the time, so I'm very grateful that my blankets have been a mainstay since 2020.
Melinda Long spent about $2,000 on her daughter's bed party
Melinda Long, 48, of Lloyd Harbor, NY, spared no expense for her daughter Sienna's recent bed party, which celebrated her early decision to attend the University of Miami.
I love a good party, so when my oldest daughter, Sienna, was accepted to the University of Miami via early decision, a bed party felt like a fun way to celebrate all her hard work.
It took me about 30 hours to plan and source everything, and two hours to set it up the day of the party. Sienna loves the attention, so I knew I could really go all out for her. I spent around $2,000 altogether.
Thanks to social media, it's easy to find and buy all of the necessities: the branded blanket, the bling Champagne bottle, and a Dotcake covered in sprinkles in the school colors.
I went the extra mile with marquee letters and boxes of personalized balloons and even bought a $200 inflatable mascot and some blow-up palm trees. My mom lives in Florida, and my son already goes to the University of Miami, so we bought everything we could get our hands on.
Did I have to spend that much? No, you could easily do this on any budget, but I just went for it and did it how I wanted to do it. One thing is for sure: there's definitely money to be made in this business.
This year, Sienna has already been to at least 15 bed parties and probably has 15 to go. It adds up because you buy a gift for each one you attend.
Rachel's bed party decorations came to just over $500
Rachel, 20, from Easton, PA, had a more streamlined bed party in 2022, relying on DIY projects and practical merch on sale. BI is withholding her last name for privacy reasons.
When I got accepted to Coastal Carolina in 2022, I hinted to my mom that I wanted a bed party. She made some of the stuff herself, bought other items on sale, and spent an estimated $550.
I didn't have an actual bed party, however, two of my best friends came over to see it and take pictures. Later that year, when I finished high school, I had an actual graduation party.
I know some people say bed parties are excessive, but my mom always said her love language is gift giving, and she likes to celebrate the good things in life. She didn't mind doing it because she knew I'd use the stuff for my dorm room, on game days, and Teal Tuesdays — a weekly campus spirit day where students and faculty are encouraged to wear the school colors. Honestly, I've used it all so much in the last three years at school.
Alex Posner pivoted from a career in medicine to baking college-themed cakes, a popular bed party item
Alex Posner, 25, planned on becoming a doctor before creating The Dotcakes brand. Her busiest season is during spring graduations.
A lot of people think bed parties began during COVID, but I was going to them in high school in 2017.
I didn't want to spend $80 on a gift for a bed party I was attending, so when I saw a sprinkle cake on Tumblr, I thought, why not make one in school colors? I had zero baking experience, but in my family, we have what we refer to as the "I can do it" gene, so I did it.
Back then, it was, dare I say, simple. The people I knew would go to Party City and Target and buy Gatorade and bags of chips in their school colors. That changed once I started making calls. Friends and friends of friends started reaching out and asking me to make them a cake. Suddenly, the people around me couldn't have a party without a Dotcake.
I opened my shop in Westbury, NY, in 2019, and in 2024, we moved it to Roslyn, NY. My mom ran the business while I was in college at the University of Texas, Austin.
At the time, I planned on becoming a doctor, but when I came home, business was booming. I had to make a decision — med school or cake. I figured there would be plenty of other doctors out there, but there was only one Dotcakes, so I stuck with the business.
Today, this business fully supports my life and my staff's, and has only gotten bigger, allowing us to create an entire Dot product line.
Some of our designs take 15 minutes while others take five hours and range from $55 to $300. We make 40 orders a day, 5 days a week, during our busy season — That's 200 orders. Forty percent of that is college-related.
Besides posting on Instagram, I haven't done an ounce of marketing. It's all word of mouth.
I'm lucky I have a bakery that doesn't rely solely on college-related orders. However, I do hope bed parties become a permanent niche market because I can see more companies tapping into this as time goes on.
