<p>I know there have been threads about gifts but I'm looking for something a little different..those little touches that make a celebratory occasion a little more special.</p>
<p>Before my girls left for college, I read several threads on this topic for freshman drop off which resulted in me writing messages in sharpie on the inside of their pillowcases which they both discovered after I'd left. I also created a calendar with photos of high school friends, family, etc. that I pulled out during move in for their new room.</p>
<p>My D who's graduating asked if we could buy mini bottles of champagne to which we'll add congratulatory notes to hand out to her friends the day of their graduation...at her high school graduation, we custom made candy bar wrappers with wishes for a sweet future and gave candy bars to her friends from our family.</p>
<p>So, I'm looking for these kinds of touches for my D and her friends that aren't expensive but enable us to communicate our pride and joy in their accomplishment and add a little something extra to the day.</p>
<p>There are many, many personalization websites for everything from chocolate bars as mentioned, to tee shirts, to glasses, to fortune cookies. Just do a search for the type of item and price range and you’ll have more to choose from than you’ll know what to do with.</p>
<p>I’m planning to have a personalized “yearbook” made with pictures I’ve been accumulating during his college years (including some downloaded from Facebook)–some of the online photo companies make very nice ones.</p>
<p>My daughter refuses to have anything to do with graduation! She has loved many aspects of her college years but hates any kind of “pomp and circumstance” and does not want to sit through endless hours of her college congratulating itself, as she puts it. She is not going to walk. I am so used to my kids (my son walked, but my other daughter is a similar skeptic) that this post is from another planet! Maybe she’ll allow me to take her out to eat after the last day of classes.</p>
<p>compmom, my son is the same way! He will go to his departmental cocktail receptions but refuses to sit through graduation and to pay for a cap and gown.</p>
<p>As for gifts, I am giving him a big check. I can’t imagine giving all his various friends and roommates gifts. Its a sweet gesture though. </p>
<p>I think my son and his friends are counting the days and feel like they have already left, so to speak. Onward!</p>
<p>FWIW, I can’t remember if I went through my college graduation or not.</p>
<p>All of you are much more creative…and energetic, than I will ever be. We are looking at out first college graduation a year from now. I’m thinking we will only gift our daughter, and not her friends. She, on the other hand, may do something special for her close friends.</p>
<p>Back in the day, I had several friends from Hawaii at my west coast liberal arts college and many of their parents gave us gorgeous leis for the ceremony itself…maybe something like that (either personal b/c of an ethnic/geo connection or just leis b/c they’re cool) :)</p>
<p>How about a picture frame with a group photo of your D and her friends? D still displays several photos of ‘the girls’ from her college years - one in cowboy hats at a concert, one from a Spring Break trip, one at a football game, and one at graduation.</p>
<p>Hunt–have you had success using photos downloaded from Facebook? I ask b/c FB compresses the files when users upload so that a photo that was 8MB in iPhoto will only be 50 or 80 KB when downloaded from FB. I would have thought that you would have resolution issues when you go to print, unless the photo were simply used as a thumbnail in a collage or mosaic.</p>
<p>I would be interested in knowing if you have had any luck with this as a friend hopes to do the same for her D and I am supposed to be helping her.</p>
<p>I do agree that the on-line companies’ finished products are excellent. I have had great luck with My Publisher (elegant presentation) and also used Shutterfly for a more whimsical look. I think they have all started copying each other now so you can probably find elegant and whimsical at the same company. If you haven’t already, add yourself to these companies’ email lists and you will receive all kinds of coupons and promos.</p>
<p>Wow, I feel like a slacker. Next month, all we’d planned on doing for the friends is taking the whole gang out to dinner. We have a very special gift for D, but nothing for her buddies.</p>
<p>The best part of daughter’s graduation weekend was the huge family and friends picnic that we had one of the afternoons. It was pot luck and in a local park. It was so memorable because it was full of love and very relaxed. I think that was far more fabulous than any gifts or things that would no doubt be left behind in the hustle and bustle of that time. Easy to plan and relatively inexpensive for everyone.</p>
<p>We took son’s friends out to any meal they were available for. We also spent most of a day moving his girlfriend to her next year’s apt, loaded our car to bursting, drove them to Detroit to visit with another friend and then drove back to VT, stopping at Niagara Falls because DGF had never seen them. Additional gifts wouldn’t have happened, but I feel we did our part in the celebration.</p>
<p>I think it would be nice to organize a meal or get together with you D’s friends and their families. My D1’s graduation was on Mother’s Day, so she and her friends organized a brunch in their apartment for all the families. It gave us a chance to congratulate all the girls.</p>
<p>I also like the idea of giving all the friends a framed picture of the group.</p>
Some of the FB pictures are higher resolution–make sure you download them from the album, and not just from the page-the resolution seems to be different. Also, you might have to use some of them as small pictures (i.e., part of a collage page) if the resolution is low.</p>
<p>When D1 graduated we hosted a brunch between Baccalaureate and commencement ceremonies at her apartment for her friends and family members. Her fiance’s family then hosted a graduation party at their local home for family and friends after all of the campus events. We gave D1 a graduation gift but only an invite to the parties for her friends.</p>
<p>D2 will graduate in May. She does not want a party so instead we will celebrate with a nice dinner out. No special gifts for friends.</p>
<p>We’re holding an Open House in the local hotel. We wanted to just do roommates and their families for dinner but it got out of hand so we’re opening it up to good friends and their families also. We’ll have a bar and finger food. Would love to have a slide show of the kids over the 4 years but I don’t think that’s going to happen - it would take too much cooperation from the kids!</p>
<p>We rented a lake house by the campus and hosted a barbecue for D1’s friends and their parents. The event was catered, so we didn’t have to do much. D1 was the one who sent out the invite and found the caterer. We were going to limit to D1’s closest friends, but it also got a bit out of control. There were over 100+ people. We got lucky with the weather. It was a beautiful evening. Many people said they were stopping by on their way some where. Most of them ended up staying until wee hours when drinks were gone. Very fond memories of the event. We plan to do the same for D2 when she graduates, which reminds me that I would need to rent a house soon.</p>
<p>There was a woman in my law school class from Hawaii and she had a beautiful, fragrant lei at graduation. At the time, I had never seen a “real” (fresh) lei.</p>