Lou Dearstyne of Massapequa Park, N.Y., could have taken the less frightening way out and thrown his daughter, Meghan, a high school graduation party. Instead, he jumped out of a plane with her.
"I get a little uneasy cleaning out the gutters at the house, let alone going up 10,000 feet," says Dearstyne, 51, who works in the finance department for a credit card company. But skydiving with Dad was what Meghan wanted to mark her graduation from Massapequa High School in 2016.
Long Island is the home of the big bash to celebrate teenage milestones, whether it's upcoming June graduations, a Sweet 16, a quinceanera or a bar/bat mitzvah. But such festivities aren't the right choice for every family. Other families have feted their children by taking family and friends for lunch at Oheka Castle, to a Yankees game, to a Broadway show, or on a trip to Mystic, Connecticut, the Bahamas or Israel.
