<p>You all are a great resource. I'm looking for some great ideas for daughter's graduation as well friend presents. Any 08 parents out there, what where some of your student's favorite gifts? Thanks!</p>
<p>For one of my D’s college graduation gifts, I just made a “family” recipe book, with Shutterfly-a compilation of relative’s treasured recipes, in hard bound book, complete with photos to complement the recipes. Of course, any of these personal photo books would be lovely.</p>
<p>A really great and useful as well as humorous book for friends for graduation is “The Naked Roommate” written by a recent college student. I plan on getting it for my daughter as it presents all kinds of situations that can and do occur along with great advice on dealing with the situations.</p>
<p>I usually give friends gift cards to Barnes & Noble and tell them to get themselves a great escape reading book for the summer. You may not have the time to read a lot for pleasure once school starts.</p>
<p>For your kid, a laptop is the best gift. (You’ll end up buying it anyway…)</p>
<p>I usually wait till later in the summer and use the college student discount to buy a laptop. I remember that posters have said that you can get the same kind of deals with a little searching, so maybe it wouldn’t matter.</p>
<p>Not sure what to give D for graduation. Her older sister got a digital camera and an mp3 player when she graduated from high school. Of course, the senior in hs already has these toys…</p>
<p>For friend’s daughters I gave Vera Bradley totes (not sure they are still popular). For the boys, I gave either gift cards or cash.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/496709-graduation-gifts-help.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/496709-graduation-gifts-help.html</a></p>
<p>That thread will be useful to you. It’s a couple pages back.</p>
<p>I’m way past this stage, but one of my favorite gifts for friends is a poster hanger. you can usually buy them at art museums. They are made to hang posters without having to frame them in glass. They look much better than taping a poster on the wall and do less damage.</p>
<p>iPod docker/speaker
Picture frame/board
Restaurant gift card
Sweatshirt with college logo
Cash</p>
<p>Anything special for the female college graduate? My daughter really wants her own pearls as she has mine right now. Of course, I received mine as a wedding gift from my parents. I was not a jewelry person, so I had very little; my daughter has more jewelry that I will ever own!</p>
<p>I would like to get her a piece that is very special and it will most likely be a joint gift from parents as well as both sets of grandparents. My daughter is sentimental and would like something that she can say she received from her parents for graduation, hence a piece of jewelry. Unfortunately her computer is on its last leg and her father told her he would buy the next one. As she wants a Macbook Pro, that alone is a big expense, to add jewelry to that is way more than I wanted to spend. I am hoping that she will get gift money and will buy the computer herself, which she thought she was going to have to do anyway.</p>
<p>Is there a way to convince my husband that his little princess does not need everything she ask for? Just last night she was showing me a dress online and ask if she could get it. I mentioned that I thought she had a couple of similar dresses, and since she didn’t know what kind of job, if any she would have after graduation, that maybe a new summer casual dress wasn’t a good idea. Dad pipes in and says, “I think you need a new dress.” The look I gave him was not enough to get him to change his mind. My daughter is going to have to marry some very rich man to keep her happy!!</p>
<p>We will get D a laptop for graduation. She may get it before graduation or after. Doesn’t have to be on the day. That is what we did for S as well 3 years ago and he got his mid July but that was the grad present. We will also spring for a grad party so that’s it for her ;)</p>
<p>For friends in the past we’ve done a variety of things. Build-a-bear with grad gown, Target gift cards, Bed Bath and Beyond gift cards are all ideas we have used in the past. Not sure what I’m going to do this year. I’m closer to D’s friends than I was to S’s friends.</p>
<p>There’s a great thread from last year but I’m not sure how to find the link. I especially loved the idea of a tool kit and apparently you can get one in pink for girls; how cute and useful! Also, giving friends of your kid checks for $20.09. Same price as a gift card and cuter. I might wind up doing a t-shirt pillow as a memory item.</p>
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<p>We’ve told ours that not only will she have to marry a rich man to support her but that she’ll have to have a high paying job herself!</p>
<p>snowball,</p>
<p>I understand your dilemma, but, honestly, the “little princess” will probably need the computer much more then she’ll need the pearls in the near future…</p>
<p>For friends kids I find that they usually like iTunes cards.</p>
<p>If the grad is going to college in a new city, a great gift is a local guidebook. My son got one when he graduated and it was very useful. I particularly liked giving the Eyewitness Travel Guides.</p>
<p>For jewelry lover-get a charm bracelet or necklace & have family members add meaningful charms. We got D a 3 stone ring instead of HS ring - it was a past, present, future and also from mom, dad, brother- to remember who she could always count on if times got tough.</p>
<p>We are getting D her class ring. Since it’s pretty pricey, we’re telling family that a contribution to the ring fund would make a great gift from them as well.</p>
<p>Another idea we pondered, until Grandma offered to pick up the tab, was a gift card from Ikea for dorm room furnishings.</p>
<p>For friends, I agree: You just can’t miss with iTunes cards.</p>
<p>“Oh … the Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss is a really fun book for graduates. It’s always on display at the big booksellers during grauation time of year. Last year I gave it to a friend’s daughter with a check for $20.08. This year it’d be $20.09. Silly -> yes fun -> Yes</p>
<p>We gave our d a laptop. Kind of a standard grad gift, but needed & wanted. Useful for college too!</p>