<p>What's everyone getting their student for a gift? Is a palm pilot or IPOD a good idea? Any ideas?</p>
<p>They really like Ipods. If your student dosn't have one, that is great. I bought my son a palm pilot and after using it a month he didn't warm up to it so I sold it on ebay.</p>
<p>My high school graduate got a new trumpet. However, my college graduate son thought an IPOD sounded like a great idea for him!
When HE graduated from high school, he got a cell phone and contract--but most high school kids now already have those.</p>
<p>I would love an IPod .... but for me Id rather have a digital cam</p>
<p>My dad gave me an iPod last year, and I've been so happy to have it. Makes the plane trips to the east coast for school a heck of a lot more fun, y'know? Digicams are also good :-P</p>
<p>On the other hand, my mom, who doesn't really believe in 'material' gifts, bought tickets for us to go hear one of my favorite performers play solo with the SF symphony, and took me out to dinner at a REALLY nice restaurant in our area. That was also an amazing graduation gift, but of a very different sort than the one my dad gave me. If you think your kid is the kind of kid who might appreciate this sort of non-material gift, do some sneaky asking and see if there's some sort of really nice classy thing he/she might like to go out and do with you that might be too expensive for just an everyday outing but that might make a really nice graduation gift.</p>
<p>It's just a thought :-P</p>
<p>Our music major kid HAD all the instruments...His graduation gift was a very expensive, lightweight, backpack instrument case that holds three instruments.</p>
<p>I am giving my D her laptop.</p>
<p>My parents are buying me a space-saving, all-in-one er.. printer/scanner/faxer/copier.. </p>
<p><em>happy tears</em> I won't have to lug my old thing to college. </p>
<p>(I saved up to buy my own laptop, but that's not a bad idea either. ;) )</p>
<p>Our son really wants a tv tuner for his computer. It creates a sort of free tivo situation. (Don't ask me--I don't know--he's the one who's going to set US up once we're living in our RV!) Anyway, when he said he really wished he could afford it, we agreed it would make a great graduation present.</p>
<p>That and some kind of light bulb inside a plastic cube thingy. </p>
<p>I love my geek! (See thinkgeek.com for the t-shirt!)</p>
<p>Last year we got our oldest a second acoustic guitar to have at school because he's 1600 miles away, and lugging one back and forth was not cost effective. Second son is contemplating a nice bike. </p>
<p>Let me add here that we have folks near each school who have offered to store items over the summer....I wouldn't recommend anything bulky otherwise.</p>
<p>We are getting our S a laptop, but have not totally counted that as a graduation present, as it is more of a necessity. Since he is going to Duke, we are getting him a tent and a good sleeping bag!!</p>
<p>We are also doing the laptop for a grad gift, but doesn any one have good ideas for G'rents gifts in the $200-$500 range? It should be something that you can point to and think of them:</p>
<p>A} Nice SLR camera for real photo buffs
B} Good digital camera
C} Jewelry for girls
D} Ipod
E} Trip tickets for somewhere over the summer</p>
<p>Any other bright ideas out there?</p>
<p>The grandparents here gave DS money for entertainment in Boston...a very welcome gift. DS would have liked a small printer, an IPod (or equivalent), or a PDA. If your dorm doesn't have one, how about a small fridge?</p>