Update--Graduation gift for your own kid...

[HeWillSoar]

What did you do or are you going to do?  I know it varies widely but maybe you can give me some ideas.  My son will be living at home while going to the university that is close to our house.  We are paying for his college so I think that is a pretty good gift right there.   When I mentioned to my friends about getting him a suit, I could tell they thought that was a bad idea.  I know it's probably not very exciting but will he need a suit for college?  At least it's not a suit case, like my mom got for me.

Edited May 12, 2017 by HeWillSoar

[Guest]

When the boys graduated from high school, we bought them their own laptop computers as a graduation gift.  They were intended to be used when they launched off to college.

 

When they graduate from college, our gift to them is that they will be debt-free.  I think that's a HUGE graduation gift and not to be underestimated.

[iamonlyone]

Would luggage be helpful? I know he will be living at home, but do you anticipate any travels (study abroad, spring break trips, ski trips, etc.)? If he has a laptop, maybe a really nice laptop case or even a backpack/laptop case?

[Kassia]

A laptop is a great idea.  We gave our boys luggage because they were going away for college, but it's still nice to have a set anyway.  For college graduation we give cash.  

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2017 by Erica H

[Night Elf]

I gave cash to my oldest dd and ds. For my youngest dd, I told her I'd buy everything she needed for dorm living. That was a lot more expensive than just giving cash.

 

FWIW, my dd had no need to dress formal at all during her first year at school. She didn't pledge a sorority and there was no other occasion that would have called for super nice clothing.

[J-rap]

We got our son a nice camera because he was going traveling for a year.  We got our next two daughters a kind of mini-laptop...I don't even think they're made anymore!  They were going abroad for a year too and wanted something very compact.  We got our youngest an iPad mini.  I can't remember what we got child #4.

[gardenmom5]

Suit depends on the college and major.

 

What works varies by student. What does your son think?

 

We've done luggage to laptops. They had suits, but we did get them nicer ones.

[Miss Peregrine]

We threw a party.

[Kassia]

I forgot to mention that I think a suit is a good idea.  He will need it eventually when he interviews for jobs, internships, co-ops, etc.  

 

ETA - OTOH, maybe not if he won't need it soon if he's still growing...

Edited May 1, 2017 by Erica H

[Joyofsixreboot]

Mine is getting a smartphone. A step up from her Dino slider phone.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[Jaz]

My son didn't want to attend prom or have a party, so we bought him a very used car and gave him $400 cash. He'll be living at home doing a CC to University program. 

[Loowit]

We got her a laptop a couple months ago because she needed it for an animation class and we told her that is was an early graduation present.  She is planning to major in animation in college.  I would like to do something a little closer to her graduation too.  I was planning to take DD on a trip just the two of us, but I am not sure that is going to happen now with a lot of impending medical expenses.  I still have just over a year to think about idea.

[Guest]

Give something that feeds a creative interest. 

 

Friends got their son a good camera; it has opened up to him a world of friendships, travel, and expression, even while he is studying hard in a rigorous college degree program.  

 

We got our son a turntable; he is now a *very annoying* audiophile.  The music is great...the constant and endless detailing of how one track was laid down one way for THIS album and another way for THAT album, given they were using different (knows name of) strings on the lead guitar....yikes.

 

 

:0)

 

 

[Tap]

Each gradute will get $500

 

Ds22 was supposed to pick out a digital keyboard for his room when he graduated. We were looking on Craigslist so he could get something decent for that price.  He was super busy that summer and never got around to it. Eventually, he decided to just take the cash and applied it to his tuition bill.

 

 

DD18 will get hers in a month or so.  She will likely use it for a trip with her girl friends.

 

 

Edited May 2, 2017 by Tap

[TravelingChris]

Our oldest got a laptop and a Boy Scout Venture trip to Barcelona and nearby areas (we were living in Belgium and they used Ryan Air).  Second one may also have gotten a laptop and no trip because we were moving in a month.  Third one just got a trip to Jackson Hole Wyoming with her church group seniors.  The reason the third did not get a laptop was that she already had gotten one the previous August when she started dual enrollment. 

[Ali in OR]

I'm using every gift giving opportunity between now and when dd goes to college fall 2018 to set her up with the big things she needs--not sure exactly which gift falls on which event but between now and then she has two birthdays, 1 Christmas, and graduation and she will be getting at some point a real suitcase (both girls really want the ones with wheels that don't tip over), a laptop, and a new phone. Dorm stuff or a grad trip sound great too.

 

[goldberry]

We are helping a good deal with college.  We are also having a party.  DH wants to get her a bicycle for campus as her official gift, but I just talked to her some today and she confirmed she isn't expecting anything official, the college money is plenty.  We will probably still get the bicycle because she is our only and we are suckers.

 

 

[StephanieZ]

Our general principle: one "need" and one "wish".

 

Kiddo 1: She got a nice new computer of her choice (about $1000 or so) for college. My mom was still living, and she bought her a $1000 camera (kid's wish) as well, so we pretty much called it "done". 

 

Kiddo 2: He'll get a nice new computer for college, and also a $1000 budget towards another guitar (fun thing, not for school, guitarists collect guitars, lol), or if he chooses otherwise, some other "fun" thing. He's getting $1000 towards a computer from his college scholarship, which might end up totally paying for his computer, so that sort of evens out the kiddo 1 vs kiddo 2 spending . . . plus, Mom passed away just after Kiddo1 graduated, so ... anyway, whatever, that's what we're doing and all seem to feel great about it. 

 

We also throw a big party ($1000 or so all told) and bring in family/friends/etc. 

 

That's all we do for graduations. Kids seem to be happy, so we're happy. We foot all the bills for college, shopping for college, etc, so we don't feel any need or wish to spend a lot more on graduation stuff. Also, we don't expect/demand them to work for $$ during the summer after graduation, so we're footing summer bills, too, within reason.

 

(We pretty much keep supporting them 100% while they are in college, so it's not like we're buying them a car for high school graduation and saying "see ya!". If that were the case, I'd feel like a much larger graduation gift was in order to help them on their way . . . but since they're staying on the family dole for a few more years, we're not buying extravagant gifts, lol)

[katilac]

My dd got a laptop/tablet hybrid and a party. If her old computer had still had some use left in it, we would have just waited on that part.  

 

I would probably put the money to the side for an 'as needed or wanted' gift, rather than buying something he may or may not use. dd did not really have room for any hobby type gifts, nor the time to use them. 

 

The suit is not a bad idea at all, depending on his major and the likelihood of getting a job or internship fairly early on, but I'd probably hesitate to get it now when he might not wear it for a year or two. It is fun to have actual gifts, so I'd probably cut out an advertisement for suits to wrap up. Or maybe an issue of GQ. You guys can always decide to use the money on something else later. 

 

 

[Rebel Yell]

For high school, we have a graduation party.

 

For Diamond's associate degree, we took her and a friend out to a nice dinner. We also paid for her passport, as she did not have one. The card said something like "We can't give you the world, but we can give you the tools to blah blah something sappy..."

[Okra]

We gave a laptop.

[AK_Mom4]

Oldest kid didn't need anything, so we threw him a small party. About $200 total.

 

Kid #2 and kid #3 got laptops their senior years in high school that were good enough to carry them on to college. We took them out to a nice family dinner. About $150 each.

[HeWillSoar]

He is going into the computer science program.  He's a gamer so the type of laptops/desktops he would want would cost a lot more than I think we are going to spend.  He has one he bought himself  but it's probably a couple years old.  Maybe we'll just wait on the suit until he needs one. Someone mentioned a laptop bag--that could work along with some other things inside maybe.  We're also having a small party. 

[MomsintheGarden]

We don't do anything specifically for a graduation present, but we pour ourselves into helping our newly minted college student(s) that year get ready for school. That includes helping them obtain technology, clothing, shoes, linens, textbooks, etc., often by scouring yard sales, thrift stores, and ebay long before. We also hand-hold them through at least the first two semesters of class selection and help them move in.

 

We try to give college essentials for birthdays and Christmas gifts in the junior and senior years of high school to spread out the expense.

[iamonlyone]

He is going into the computer science program.  He's a gamer so the type of laptops/desktops he would want would cost a lot more than I think we are going to spend.  He has one he bought himself  but it's probably a couple years old.  Maybe we'll just wait on the suit until he needs one. Someone mentioned a laptop bag--that could work along with some other things inside maybe.  We're also having a small party. 

 

For laptop bags (briefcase or backpack style) my husband who travels a lot with his computer really likes Timbuk2 and Tom Bihn. He also likes Red Oxx for luggage, but their laptop bags might be too bulky for daily college use. BTW all of these companies have really good repair/replacement policies that my husband has successfully used.

[Guest]

Forty two years ago, I got a beautiful guitar for my high school graduation, birthday and Christmas.  Forty years ago, my sister got a stereo for the same set of events.

 

I still have and play my guitar.  :0)

 

I also got a sterling letter opener from a family friend for high school graduation.  I still use it every day.  

 

I was just wondering:   what would be a gift that would be a really long-lasting memento?  Everything seems to be so....disposable or something.  Even a good camera...likely outdated in 10 years.  The lens, maybe not.  Hmm.  Maybe an event.  An experience kind of thing.  

 

Just noodling.  Carry on.

 

[DawnM]

We got my son a laptop, a very nice one for gaming since he was going to be studying game design.

[Sarah CB]

We bought dd a Pyrrha talisman necklace. It says, in Latin, "May the Lord Bless You and Keep You". 

 

https://pyrrha.com/products/safe-from-harm 

[Guest]

We bought dd a Pyrrha talisman necklace. It says, in Latin, "May the Lord Bless You and Keep You". 

 

https://pyrrha.com/products/safe-from-harm 

Oh!  I got my son a sterling ID bracelet, which has MTLBYAKY engraved on the back.   Initials of the same thing...  Isn't that funny?  

[lllll]

nm

Edited May 7, 2017 by _ -_-

[AK_Mom4]

For laptop bags (briefcase or backpack style) my husband who travels a lot with his computer really likes Timbuk2 and Tom Bihn. He also likes Red Oxx for luggage, but their laptop bags might be too bulky for daily college use. BTW all of these companies have really good repair/replacement policies that my husband has successfully used.

My work gave me a new Timbuktu backpack style laptop bag. It's small. And it holds SOOOOOO much! It's honestly my favorite bag right now and fits under every airplane seat and slides into the overhead above suitcases where bigger backpacks won't fit.

[Scarlett]

I love the idea of a letter opener...and the guitar.

 

My mom bought me a cedar chest. It still sits by my bed.

[TheReader]

I made mine a quilt, and will do that for the others when they graduate. 

 

We threw him a reception/party at our house after the graduation, as well. 

 

And we got him a laptop, but that may have been for Christmas, not for graduation, I don't remember now. 

[HeWillSoar]

My work gave me a new Timbuktu backpack style laptop bag. It's small. And it holds SOOOOOO much! It's honestly my favorite bag right now and fits under every airplane seat and slides into the overhead above suitcases where bigger backpacks won't fit.

 

Looking on Amazon and that looks nice.  The backpack type looks like something a young college kid would use and the price is not bad.  Maybe I can add things to the inside like a hoodie from the school and a gas card.  He's not very sentimental so that might be the best thing.

 

[elegantlion]

I bought mine a passport then added a nice cover, a t-shirt for his new school, and wrote a heartfelt speech about his future. He got a nice camera before his trip to Japan last summer.

 

Our budget was pretty tiny for graduation.

[jubilee]

This is on my wishlist for myself. Here is a blog post of HS grad gift. http://blogs.saddlebackleather.com/blog/how-a-saddleback-leather-graduation-gift-opens-doors/?utm_source=Master+List&utm_campaign=c75c2199ea-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_04_17_Graduation_Gifts&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_066599646b-c75c2199ea-142623953

 

 

Jubilee

[HeWillSoar]

I bought mine a passport then added a nice cover, a t-shirt for his new school, and wrote a heartfelt speech about his future. He got a nice camera before his trip to Japan last summer.

 

Our budget was pretty tiny for graduation.

 

Oooh a passport!

[TechWife]

We too, our son to London, England. It wasn't terribly expensive because we used frequent flyer miles and hotel points. We also gave him an Eddie Bauer messenger bag w/laptop section.

[Frances]

We gave our son the promise of a plane ticket to anywhere at anytime. He ended up using it to go to Europe for a three week backpacking trip with friends after his junior year in college. The experience had a pretty profound effect on him and led to some scholarship applications that definitely changed the course of his studies and career.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Frances

[lewelma]

Mine is getting a violin.  We are pooling all money from all relatives (ds agrees) to get him a really good one.

[bettyandbob]

0 student loans.

[Sarah CB]

Oh!  I got my son a sterling ID bracelet, which has MTLBYAKY engraved on the back.   Initials of the same thing...  Isn't that funny?  

 

That is funny! And it sounds really nice. I've been wondering what to do for my boys - I want to do something similar, but somehow I can't see them wearing necklaces. Maybe an ID bracelet. 

[G5052]

When DS graduated from high school, he got a new cell phone, and we took a family trip to the Caribbean.

 

He's graduating from the community college in a few weeks, and we're going to replace the cell phone and buy a laptop, but I'll going to let him pick.

 

DD already has a good cell phone. For her graduation trip, she and I are going to a play in an area that has a lot of shopping. We'll stay two nights. She's getting a leather coat and several smaller gifts.

 

Mine live at home for college, and we pay the tuition. They are expected to get a part-time job to pay for books and gas.

[wintermom]

Ask the student what they'd like and would have the greatest impact - in a career and/or student career way?  It might be a musical instrument bump-up for a student in music. It could be a car (or partial payment of onw) if this would really help the youth get jobs or get to certain classes. It might be a great piece of equipment for whatever they are specializing in.

 

The luggage my parents gave me wasn't horrible, but for me in sport studies a really good backpack and/or Gortex jacket would have been a better option. 

Edited May 2, 2017 by wintermom

[Pippen]

Our kids all got the same dollar amount to put towards a laptop. 

 

I wouldn't get a suit until he needs it. Neither of mine have needed one in college, although one likely will when he nears graduation and it's time for interviews. 

 

 

[lllll]

nm

Edited May 7, 2017 by _ -_-

[G5052]

We waited to get the dress clothes (suits, etc.) until our dc saw the need for them.  For 4 of them, that was when they began getting awards involving ceremonies in college.  

 

At the local community college, a sport coat and khakis have been fine for DS. He has a nice white shirt and red tie. That's what he's going to wear next week when he gets the faculty-nominated award for being the outstanding business graduate. But we live in a semi-rural, horsey area outside of a major metropolitan area. It's very common to see people in their riding gear with mud on their boots at the post office and grocery store. So it's a mix of classy and not.

 

When he goes to business school in a more urban area in the fall, I'm figuring it will be time for a suit. He also grew a little bit in the first year of college, but none since then.

[Angie in VA]

Our first born will graduate debt-free from college later this month. Debt-free b/c of big scholarship money, some help from us, and her working for the rest of it.

 

For years my mantra was, "I feel absolutely ZERO obligation to buy smartphones for my children!" I still stand by that, but we just bought our girl an iPhone. I wanted it to be a surprise, but we wanted her to pick it out. We were going to get a refurbished, older model, but we ended up getting a brand new, older model. She is over the moon, never imagining she'd have a smartphone, much less an iPhone, until she got FT employment. (She hopes to go to grad school this fall.) Now, we'll keep her on our plan until she graduates from grad school or gets a job, whichever comes first. 

 

We gave it to her early b/c she could use it for student teaching. She has. Everyday. (Music ed major, so she uses the tuner app, the metronome app, plays videos through the rooms' sound system for the kids to hear, etc.) Oh, and it's loads of fun too. ;) Moral of the story: Never say never. (And it was all my idea.) She thanks us every day. It is so much easier for group texts and she's a Mac girl, so it's just the perfect gift. She is a good girl, so it was fun spoiling her w/ such a big gift. 

 

Now, my 2nd born is going off to college this fall, and I feel ZERO obligation to provide him w/ a phone or laptop. DH thinks he should have a phone. (History of phone issues w/ this child. And computer issues too. Nuff said.) Turns out he needs a laptop for one class he'll take, or I'd say, "Computer lab. Enjoy!" He might use our laptop for that class, that semester only.

 

We're going to nationals for speech & debate, so that will probably be his gift. That's all he wants anyway. 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2017 by Angie in VA

[Luckymama]

D will be getting luggage from us as her high school graduation present. She needs sturdy yet lightweight stuff for the overseas travel beginning with this year! (For those who don't read the college board, she'll be taking a gap year to study in Taiwan via Rotary :) )

 

College graduation--a car. We gave ds our 10yo Corolla. We're looking for something similar for older d for <$4K.

[Angie in VA]

My work gave me a new Timbuktu backpack style laptop bag. It's small. And it holds SOOOOOO much! It's honestly my favorite bag right now and fits under every airplane seat and slides into the overhead above suitcases where bigger backpacks won't fit.

 

Oooooh! That sounds great. Link, please?