<p>How much do you think is too much for high school graduation gifts? It's rediculous what i hear nowadays. Some getting new cars, etc. So what is your opinion on this?</p>
<p>My parents bought me a laptop for college. I had never had my own computer, but I needed one for college. I thought it was a great gift: useful and tough for a student to buy on his/her own. They did the same with my older sister. </p>
<p>Of course, if buying a computer for your son/daughter is a financial hardship, then by all means choose a gift that is within the range of what you are comfortable spending.</p>
<p>Got D a digital SLR camera.
Laptop for 16th birthday.</p>
<p>Car does seem over the top.</p>
<p>I think a new car is way over the top. It can be a poor investment and impractical as well if the student heads off to college 3 months later and ends up leaving the car at home taking up space and depreciating.</p>
<p>I think a trip to Europe as a gift is over the top as well but I think a planned family European vacation that happens to take place after graduation is fine, especially since I did this after my older D graduated. It was a convenient but not a gift and involved the whole family.</p>
<p>IMO, more appropriate gifts include a laptop that can be used in college, luggage, some personal gift that they'll still have 20 years later, etc. but I'm the practical type.</p>
<p>When my son graduated from eighth grade he asked me "what am I getting" my answer: "you get to go to high school". High school graduation: "you get to go to college". You get my drift.</p>
<p>^^^ Wait till next he finds he 'gets to find a job'! :)</p>
<p>Although I, too, think a new car is ridiculous, I think it's really personal. A lot of people might think our gift was over the top: DS is a musician (by avocation, not major; he is studying Engineering) and we got him a new instrument (cost in the 4-figures). He had earned major merit $$ for college and we felt especially flush and generous with that in mind. </p>
<p>BTW, DH plans to give S a car for college graduation - a hand-me-down of the car DH currently drives. Will be, let's see, 12 years old at the time. But DH thinks it's a classic. I'm staying out of it ;).</p>
<p>I can't remember what we got DD for HS graduation - but I think it was a contribution towards her laptop; that and a "no-loan" college education. She was very happy! (And she is contributing to her education by earning money in the summers and during the school year - but she will graduate without school loans....) What more could a kid want? ;)</p>
<p>Good Hartford Courant article:</p>
<p>Grad Gifts Don't Have To Require Home Equity Loans
May 4, 2006
By SUSAN CAMPBELL, Courant Staff Writer </p>
<p>Your son or daughter is graduating from college? That's easy. Just write a check - a big, fat one. Or take a special trip. Or help toward that first apartment.</p>
<p>But what if you don't want to be predictable? And what of the other young adults in your life, the ones for whom you don't want to break the bank? What's a good way to commemorate a graduation milestone - high school or college - without 1.) going to the poorhouse or 2.) looking like a cheapskate.</p>
<p>Sure, money is always a good bet. But when Wesleyan University sophomore Emily Marshall was a junior at her California high school, her mother, Kate, started to plan how the family could remember the event with something other than material goods. The family - including Emily's father, David - had already published several journal-type books on subjects ranging from writing an autobiography to maintaining loving relationships to caring for pets. And that would prove to be the best idea yet.</p>
<p>"We wanted something to be meaningful," said Kate Marshall. "In college, there are so many positive separations. But in high school, it feels like a bigger break, a bigger separation."</p>
<p>So the Marshalls - Emily and Kate - sat down to create a journal of advice and memories from the family. The way Kate Marshall saw it, graduates could then read the journal - filled out by family members - in private without feeling inundated with unsolicited advice. The result, "Words To Live By: A Journal of Wisdom for Someone You Love" (Broadway, $13.95), is a blank book with suggestions for parents and loved ones to insert their own advice. Some pages suggest how to be a good friend. Other pages are more practical, such as how to buy car insurance. </p>
<p>Kate Marshall said that such a creative, personalized gift helps stop graduation creep, where parents start by celebrating sixth-grade graduation, move on to eighth-, and with each successive event try to top themselves with bigger and more outlandish gifts.</p>
<p>With that in mind, Jacqueline Whitmore, author of "Business Class: Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work" (St. Martin's Press, $19.95), suggests treating high school graduation as something important, but not on the level of completing college. </p>
<p>A gift of $25 to $50 in cash, or as a gift card, is sufficient, she said; the amount "greatly depends on your relationship with the graduate or his parents." For the college grad, anything up to $150 is appropriate, she said.</p>
<p>"Most grads appreciate the money over a gift since it doesn't expire, it always fits and it will never be returned to you," said Whitmore.</p>
<p>If you are close to the grad, a more personal gift can accompany the cash or gift card, Whitmore said: "For example, if a grad collects something or needs or wants something for his new apartment or car, then a gift would be appreciated."</p>
<p>Some other ideas, from the College Confidential online forum:</p>
<p>For a high school senior, write a fake check equal to the amount of college tuition. That is, of course, the best high school graduation gift, a free trip to four more years of schooling (and it's a nice reminder to the grad that they're not quite finished).</p>
<p>"Oh, the Places You'll Go," the classic Dr. Seuss book: "You'll be on your way up! You'll be seeing great sights! You'll join the high fliers who soar to high heights." (One hopes.)</p>
<p>For the crafty: a homemade quilt made from the graduate's old clothing.</p>
<p>For the craft-impaired: a photo album filled with school memories.</p>
<p>A duffel bag (laundry doesn't just walk itself to the washing machine).</p>
<p>A basket of school supplies (glue stick, stapler, pens).</p>
<p>A basket of tools (for hanging shelves, etc., in the new place, be it dorm or apartment).</p>
<p>Stamped post cards addressed to family members.</p>
<p>Susan Campbell is at <a href="mailto:scampbell@courant.com">scampbell@courant.com</a> or 860-241-6454.</p>
<p>Son got a good, not expensive, set of earphones to use with his computer- made the summer much quieter! His aunt has given the same gift to everyone- a small address book filled in with phone, address, birthday for the relatives on both sides.</p>
<p>My daughter's high school graduation gift from me was a fancy restaurant meal with assorted guests of her choosing. </p>
<p>And also my promise to pay 4 years of tuition and housing at the college she had chosen, as well as a variety of related expenses, such as airfare to get to the campus, etc.</p>
<p>I just don't think that those of us who have budgetary constraints can or should be expected to splurge on the graduation gift, with college expenses looming. If the grandparents want to send a nice check -- great -- but parents pretty much have their hands full with college costs.</p>
<p>We gave each of our kids a new wheeled suitcase - with a note that we wished them happy travels - but they always have the opportunity to come back home. </p>
<p>Note: The suitcases were just big enough to pack for a week. ;)</p>
<p>
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Although I, too, think a new car is ridiculous, I think it's really personal.
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<p>It is a personal decision what or whether you give your child a gift for graduation. We had very valid, well thought out, personal reasons for getting our D.......yep, you guessed it: a car.</p>
<p>Yes, I think luggage is a great choice. My parents gave me a set of luggage for Christmas senior year, and it's great. I used it all going to college, and I'll use it when I come home for holidays, and whenever I travel for a very long time. If your kid doesn't have luggage, he or she is going to need it! It's super useful, important to have, and isn't something most students would think about needing.</p>
<p>dude, you're about to pay for their overpriced, elitist educations. give them a pat on the back. and then give a car to someone who needs it.</p>
<p>Get something your child will need in college and you will end up buying them anyway:
- laptop
- luggage
- camera
- go with to the bank and help open a checking acct (check to see which bank services the community where the college is); </p>
<p>Let your child buy their own car........
If your child lives away at college, most can't park a car there anyway.</p>