<p>Here's my dilemma:</p>
<p>I will be having a double graduation/birthday party for my 2 daughters. I've invited our family friends as well as my daughter's friends to stop by for an open house.</p>
<p>The issue is that there are many families whose children also graduated but are not having a party. What do I do as far as gifts? Do I give them their gift before my party or do I wait until after wards. (If I give it before, I feel as tho I am asking for the same for my kids, and if I wait until I get their gift I feel as tho it looks like I am waiting to see what they give first).</p>
<p>What would be proper and, by the way, what is the amount that is usually given for high school and college graduations?</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Can you make your party a “No gifts please. Only the pleasure of your attendance is necessary” party and then no one feels obligated to give each other gifts?</p>
<p>Agree w/GT. My friends and I who have seniors at ds’s school aren’t exchanging gifts. Some people will bring gifts anyway. Then, if you just really feel like you want to give gifts to your child’s friends, you can do it and they in no way would feel like your gift was contingent on a gift from them.</p>
<p>I * just * went shopping for graduation gifts today for two open house parties that I’m attending. To be frank, I don’t know the gals that well, but we’ve all done it. We’ve graduated together and I’m proud of what we’ve all accomplished. I spent about $40 on little things (think earrings, a giftcard, a keychain, etc.); I tried to get things I thought they would all get good use out of. It’s the thought that counts!
Give the gifts during each respective party or mail out giftcards/checks (at about $20-25 each, that seems to be the trend) for said children who are not having parties. I think this whole gift-giving process is just about seeing your daughter’s peers happy and to revel in this milestone. It’s closure so that we may all move on to what the next stage of life has in store for us!</p>
<p>Some of these are kids who are no longer in touch with my kids, but we the parents are VERY close.</p>
<p>Been there and doing that. Just purchased the last gifts today. </p>
<p>For the children of my closest friends, I am spending between 25 and 50, for a few of my son’s friends who had parties he took $15 Target gift cards BUT he seemed to be the exception. Around here, unless the kids are best friends, they don’t seem to take gifts to each others parties unless the parents are included as well.</p>
<p>Last year, we announced geek_son’s party as a “no gift” party, but many people gave token gifts anyway – mostly in the form of gift cards I hope he’ll get around to spending this summer. We gave Visa gift cards in the amount of $20.09… there weren’t very many to give, so the amount was not back-breaking for us. The significance of the number made the students smile in recognition. :)</p>
<p>D’s friends agreed not to exchange gifts (they were all broke anyway). I gave cash to her 3 best friends as they have been very close since elementary school and we are friends with all of their parents.</p>
<p>Our invites are “no gifts please”, however our closest (adult) friends tend to drop off a card anyway when they arrive with $20 - $50. Parties are constant with the 200 kids in the graduating class and the kids typically don’t give the other kids gifts.</p>