Myra Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Okay.....Let's here all you creative ideas for high school graduation gifts. I need one for a friend's daughter heading off to college next year. Creative ideas? Ideas for different price ranges? Help! Myra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornflower Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Last year I gave a graduate a gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond so she could decorate her dorm room. I also gave her a photo album that she could fill with memories. She loved it. Cornflower Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 (edited) What is the friend's daughter planning to major in? One thing I'd love to give my daughter as a graduation gift is this watch. My daughter is planning on majoring in the Classics, and the watch comes with the clock face in these languages: Chinese, French, Gaelic, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Polish, and Spanish. Cost is $39.95 plus $10.95 shipping and handling. (I find that last part painful.) Signals also has some fun t-shirts and sweatshirts. I'll confess though that we are pretty low budget as regards giving graduation gifts -- to family members, we give a $20.00 gift card; to friends this year, we're giving $10.00 Borders gift cards. The Borders gift cards could be used for a paperback, towards a CD or movie, or for refreshments in the cafe. If some of the graduating friends were nearby, I'd consider giving them a copy of The Synonym Finder which is a great thesaurus. Regards, Kareni Edited June 1, 2009 by Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Mimobots, very fun flash drives. Google them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Inspirational reading, perhaps The Last Lecture? Or a great pen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle in MO Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I like giving items from their college (if they're going) or new town (if they're moving away for a job). Things like a gift card to a local (non-national chain) restaurant, t-shirt from the local sports team, college blanket/throw, gift card to a live theatre. Have fun choosing the gift! Chelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth in OH Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Brita filtered water pitcher for the dorm fridge. BPA free water bottle (stainless Kleen Kanteen or the like). These can be filled with wrapped candies for a little fun! Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Brita filtered water pitcher for the dorm fridge. BPA free water bottle (stainless Kleen Kanteen or the like). These can be filled with wrapped candies for a little fun! Beth Going with the water theme ;), my step-mother's standard gift, back in the olden days, was a hot-pot, one of those do-hickeys that boils water, along with tea bags, a mug, or, for coffee drinkers, a cone and filters and beans. Thing is, students these days spend hundreds of dollars a month on fancy coffee drinks. At the college where I work, we have a point system for meals, and many, if not most, students run out before the end of the year. Usually it's because they're buying a $4 mocha every day. Maybe it's easier to get cheap coffee or tea nowadays and the hot-pot gift would not be as relevant, but in this economy, I know my son will appreciate one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice H Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I printed out this post from Gwen in VA and will present it in a binder or folder as part of a gift bag we're assembling for a friend. This list of what to pack seems like a winner to me. Not everything is necessary for all students, but it's a good checklist from which to narrow things down. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=473994&highlight=packing+college#post473994 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest goanimate Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Hi Myra, This is something really cute you could do as a gift...make an animated photo slideshow. GoAnimate.com has teamed up with It's Happy Bunny to make an animated photo slideshow that you can upload your own pictures into, from your computer or from Facebook/Flickr. Share all your favorite memories with the graduate in the slideshow or use a bunch of embarrassing photos to roast the graduate :) . Check it out! http://goanimate.com/movie/0o0MdJBb-3mY/1 Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 It was a combined birthday and graduation family party, so I also managed to find him an elderly, extremely cheap windsurfer at a yard sale (his birthday present) and we got him a new life jacket and foul weather gear. Hopefully he will make the sailing team and get to use them. I suppose you could call the new backpack (he wore out his old one!!) a graduation gift, also. This is a fun thread GRIN. -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenda in MA Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Maybe it's easier to get cheap coffee or tea nowadays and the hot-pot gift would not be as relevant, but in this economy, I know my son will appreciate one. One note -- several of the schools we toured last spring said that any kind of coffee maker/hot pot had to have an automatic shut-off, or it wasn't allowed. I haven't shopped for one recently, but I know the one I used to have did not have an auto shut off. Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 I'm hijacking this thread --- our hs friend is headed off to the Airforce Academy. What would be appropriate to get her? Carole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole M Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 One note -- several of the schools we toured last spring said that any kind of coffee maker/hot pot had to have an automatic shut-off, or it wasn't allowed. I haven't shopped for one recently, but I know the one I used to have did not have an auto shut off. Brenda I recently had to replace the one in my office, and I could only find hotpots with the auto-shut off. And that is great! Once, when I was working, I kept hearing this clicking sound and could not figure out what it was. I had forgotten about the pot and all the water had boiled out. It was very hot! Also, I remembered that my grandmother made "dorm booties" for all us cousins before we went to college. So if you knit, these are a nifty gift. Here's a pattern: http://www.tropicalyarns.com/index.cfm?PID=22&ProdID=307 My grandmother's pattern is similar, but not exactly the same. And it's written on the back of a mimeographed 1973 school calendar -- she was a teacher. I plan to knit warm mittens for a friend's son, who is off to Lawrence next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stayatworkdad Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 Going with the water theme ;), my step-mother's standard gift, back in the olden days, was a hot-pot, one of those do-hickeys that boils water, along with tea bags, a mug, or, for coffee drinkers, a cone and filters and beans. Thing is, students these days spend hundreds of dollars a month on fancy coffee drinks. At the college where I work, we have a point system for meals, and many, if not most, students run out before the end of the year. Usually it's because they're buying a $4 mocha every day. Maybe it's easier to get cheap coffee or tea nowadays and the hot-pot gift would not be as relevant, but in this economy, I know my son will appreciate one. I really like the kanteens. This site has the kleen kanteens and they have a coupon for WTM folks. www.silvercreekoutdoor.com They have some other colors that I haven't seen before like purple, tres cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda in NM Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 My nephew (Yale boy) loves the Swiss Army computer backpack I got him three years ago--it's been to England and it's now in Washington DC (where he's an intern with the local senator). My son has inherited my original (which is about 10 years old and still looks good), and I have a new one! Woo hoo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet in WA Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 One of the best gifts our sons received was a small tote filled with useful tools and supplies: Hammer, pliers, scissors, can opener, stapler, tape dispenser, etc. I don't think our sons appreciated it as much when they received it as they did later when they took it to school with them. I appreciated it because I knew how much time the giver took to select all the goodies in the tote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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