What do most people gift? What is customary? What is cool? What is different?
Have you seen anything new that you thought was the perfect gift?
My son and niece are both graduating, and I teach high school, so I am very familiar with this topic! I agree with everyone about cash. If you want to give a gift card instead, The Container Store is a fun one. I'm going to go broke this May between my son, niece, and son's close friends!
When my boys graduated most people gave money. The closest family members gave meaningful gifts (a Bible from Grandma, a family crest, etc). Someone gave monogrammed towels (they never got mistaken for someone else's in the dorm!) Someone else gave a bike for riding around campus.
Two clever ladies put together a laundry basket with all the laundry supplies he would need, and with written instructions. Someone else put together a little box of medicine cabinet supplies and tips (band-aids, neosporin, tylenol, thermometer, all the things you get from mom wh3n you're at home, plus a handy guide about when to go to the dr, when to call 911, etc ).
His dorm allowed refrigerators, microwaves and coffee makers, so he got those as gifts.
So much depends on what they're doing after graduation. I hope some of these gifts give you some ideas for your graduates.
Cash in a card is the perfect gift for someone graduating! $50 would be appreciated. I guess it depends on your budget.
Cash is always the right size and color.
CASH $$$$ that is what they love.
For friends of the family, I give them $50 cash. I gave my niece $100.
Gift cards and cash - not super imaginative, but that's what they all seem to ask for
If going to college, gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond.
I think they usually like cash. For kids I don't know super well, I usually give a check in the amount of the grad year (e.g. $20.16). They think it's kind of fun. For kids who are closer (like your niece or your best friend's son), I would give more - you could do twice the grad year ($40.32) and see if they figure it out, or explain it, your choice. If they are going to college, and if you have time, you could get them something from the college bookstore - tee shirts and dorm pants are popular. If the access to the dorms is through a card that is scanned, you can get one of those wallets thats holds the card - the bookstore will have them in abundance. You could also give a plain gift card for the college bookstore so they can buy what they need when they get there.
We typically give $50 if it's someone we are close with, friend wise. For my family, I will give more...but my oldest niece/nephew that we are close with is 6, so we have some time to plan :).
Close family (niece or nephew) $100 cash. Family friends get a monogrammed gift (towels, canvas weekender bags, makeup bags). I order from Etsy vendors, never been disappointed. When my older daughter graduated, I ordered some cute seersucker shorts monogrammed for her closest friends. Considering we have been in the same school district her entire life, that was a lot of friends! It was personal and unique, the girls loved them!
