<p>Relatives are starting to ask what they can get my son for graduation and I don't know what to tell them. Any good ideas out there? We will be getting him a laptop, but I need less expensive suggestions for others (maybe gifts ranging anywhere from $30-$100). I have asked my son and he just says "money", but I don't think all the relatives want to do that.</p>
<p>Maybe the suggestion of a gift card for either Amazon.com or the campus bookstore would seem more palatable to the relatives than cash?</p>
<p>I second the gift card idea. I’ll be graduating this year also, and money is my first choice of gift too. In my family, some relatives are against giving money but completely fine with giving gift cards.</p>
<p>I think we’re going to suggest Target, Best Buy or Bed Bath & Beyond gift cards. The graduates will have to purchase things to set up their dorms and Target & BB&B do a good job with having a nice selection. If he needs to buy electronics then Best Buy usually has all bases covered.</p>
<p>DH told our D that we’ll buy her an iTouch for her graduation; I had that planned all along ;)</p>
<p>As far as giving… we gave S1’s male friends “skeletool” made by swiss army but much cooler looking and the girls got cute umbrellas from jcrew.</p>
<p>Although I did consider buying them each a big box of condoms but S1 said he would kill me!</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions. I like the gift cards for dorm room essentials. I don’t think I’ll suggest the condom idea to the grandparents (although, if I did, I’m sure I would be the talk of the next family gathering). I was thinking of a large duffle bag and/or a good large suitcase. I remember when I went to college, oh so long ago, I had a big black trunk. I’m guessing that’s not cool anymore.</p>
<p>A friend of mine had a clever idea when her daughter needed to give gifts to friends at graduation parties. It was a gift card to their favorite store in the amount of their graduation year,example … Amazon $20.10 or if it is for a very special person, perhaps they can move the decimal place…</p>
<p>Ha ha on the condoms! True story: a good friend of ours (the mom) took her son to Costco to load up on essentials before taking him to school for the fall semester. Typical stuff: gatorade, water, shampoo, etc. He slyly put the Costco sized package of condoms in the cart. His mom, a good Catholic who enrolled her kids in Catholic HS from which he graduated, did not find it amusing. The rest of us though had a field day with that story. Needless to say, she made him put them back :)</p>
<p>I will buy a Kindle or a Nook…not sure yet. Anyone experiencing problems with the Kindle or the Nook?
For kid’s friends BestBuy gifts cards.</p>
<p>For friends…we have gotten gift cards to pizza places near their college campuses. That way…they could have an evening pizza on us when they got to college. It took a little research but it was doable.</p>
<p>We’ve also given useful things like Xlong twin sheets, and towels.</p>
<p>My roommate got a little booklet that some friends and relatives pooled together to make that had gift cards from a bunch of different stores and restaurants in the city she was going to be going to school in. That has been so awesome, we got to go out and try a bunch of things we’d never have done if she hadn’t had the cards. Gift cards for dorm stuff are always cool, too. I would also consider amazon gift cards. I have purchased a LOT of extras, and textbooks for that matter, on amazon since my parents moved me in and I’ve been on my own to outfit my dorm.</p>
<p>A suitcase is also a good choice. I have my boyfriend’s at the moment because I keep needing one and don’t have one. I’ve been using trash bags to move around. My birthday isn’t even until July and I’ve already spread the word that I want luggage.</p>
<p>If the student is going far away, a few family members could pitch in to each buy a piece of luggage and make a set - something flexible but lasting. (In my family, everyone gets a set of luggage from the matriarch, my grandmother, upon high school graduation.) In my family, graduations have “themes” in the student’s favorite color. Guests then bring - sometimes in addition to a monetary gift - a small decoration in those colors (usually decorations for a home, but in my sister and my case, for a dorm room).</p>
<p>I suggest gift cards to the college campus bookstore. The credit can be used for merchandise or books. THe bookstore is most likely online.</p>
<p>Greenery-I have a kindle and i LOVE It…PM me with any questions</p>
<p>I say money. It can be spent anywhere! You can convince your kid to use it to pay for books or something fun at the end of the summer. </p>
<p>From my parents I’ve already gotten my gift: 2 tickets to see Conan O’Brien in DC!</p>
<p>Kindle is nice. OP wants to spend $30 - 100 though.
We have a kindle. It works nicely, esp. it has advantage when you travel or wait in a doc.'s office. Some navigations take time to get used to. Never experienced any serious problem.</p>
<p>Last year son got some great gifts for graduation… </p>
<p>Monogrammed Towels - Two different people so that was a done.
Monogrammed Fleece throw/blanket for his bed (Basic Navy which was also a school color)
Gift Cards to school book store and two different local pizza places
School Sweatshirt (which was really nice considering he never bought one during the visit)
And the ever popular, Cash.</p>
<p>PS… my sisters LOVE their kindles and a friend of mine got her son one for his 18th birthday and he really likes it.</p>
<p>My boys loved the cash and the relatives didn’t mind sending it…easy for them.
It makes it not weird if you tell them some of the things the kids want/need to spend the money on that only the kid can pick out.</p>
<p>I’m so jealous! Our relatives don’t even send a nice card.</p>