<p>We plan to get S a watch. He will need it for his work since carrying cell ph. in pocket will not be allowed.</p>
<p>I would love to buy our son a wonderful watch to replace the one I gave him in 8th grade...but fear we simply can't afford to do anything but help him with setting up in a new city. Private college for four years was much harder than we anticipated ....and second son starts college in August. I do have some indulgent cool second hand furnishings etc purchases for his first place set aside, and sort of wonder when I think about how my parents never even asked if I had a mattress when I moved to a big city after graduation. They were unconcerned entirely with my furnishings etc.</p>
<p>We gave D money towards a new computer. After 4 years of hard use in college, her old one was shot. This past Christmas, I unrolled her diploma and got it framed. I had saved her acceptance letter and put the acceptance letter, the diploma, and the cover of the commencement program in the same frame. It looks great and D was so touched.</p>
<p>Great thought mansfield. It brings the whole college episode to a close.</p>
<p>Daughter got what was promised as a senior in High School if she was able to cover a substantial amount of her expenses with scholarship. She did and we paid for Lasik eye surgery three months after graduation. Since she has worn glasses or contacts since 4th grade and is very nearly blind without them, she says it was the best gift ever!</p>
<p>Oh, and we paid for her college ring.</p>
<p>cool, zixxa!</p>
<p>When my nephew graduated with a BS in psychology (prior to moving on to a PhD program), his parents gave him a book that was supposedly the seminal work in his particular area of interest (cognitive science/linguistics). It was an out-of-print book that they tracked down through a rare book store. My nephew was thrilled.</p>
<p>My parents are getting me a flat screen tv and a blackberry. It sounds like a lot, but I really havent gotten any rewards for my achievements so far. My parents gave up giving me $5 for each A in third grade, they knew they would go broke. Plus, these things can be useful in college.</p>
<p>edit: whoops, I just realized this was for college grad, not hs grad!!</p>
<p>^Can I be adopted by your parents? I don't eat much...</p>
<p>^Yeah, I'm pretty sure that most college grads would like that flat screen tv and blackberry too! Congrats collegebound_91!</p>
<p>I was the fifth of six kids and my dad and mom worked hard to put us all through private school. We got scholarships and worked many jobs, but it was a group effort to get us each through school. The night before my graduation from college we went to dinner with my roommates and their parents. About half way through dinner one of the fathers pulled out a set of car keys and presented them to his daughter with great ceremony. The second father then followed up with a set of keys for his daughter. My father looked very pleased with himself as he handed me a little box beautifully wrapped. I opened it up to find a receipt from the burser's office marked "Paid in Full".
He had made the final payment that morning and had even paid my $3.10 in library fines. He always said it was one of the proudest moments of his life.</p>
<p>Really, lololu, a college degree without any debt to them is the best present we would give our kids.</p>
<p>Gift one: All our kids will graduate loan free from UG</p>
<p>Gift two: upon graduation, the family car that was new at 16/17 and is now 8 years old, will be put in their name along with the 1st insurance premium paid. Not a fancy new car, but they have had a safe car to drive all along, they get a reasonable car now, and we know the maintenance history</p>
<p>Gift three: some amount of cash to help them get set up in their next endeavor</p>
<p>All practical, but useful and big enough to feel like a real gift</p>
<p>We plan to buy a our son a new laptop, to replace the one we gave him for HS graduation. (He is headed straight to grad school.) Also, this book-- Amazon.com:</a> Mahalia Mouse Goes to College: Book and CD: John Lithgow, Igor Oleynikov: Books, which is based on the 2005 commencement speech at his college. (The campus is recognizable in some of the pictures.)</p>
<p>we're with modadunn - we got D1 a strand of pearls for graduation. But we knew it was something she's wanted for several years.</p>