<p>For HS we gave my nephew a nice Starbuck’s card and a hand-drawn map done by his cousins that illustrated all the Starbuck’s locations in and around his campus. The coffee was practical but the hand drawn map was priceless.</p>
<p>Love the quilt ideas! My mom is a quilter (I am not) and I think I’ll suggest that as a gift from her for our D.</p>
<p>She had a great one for our S: When he was in early elementary he saw my mom pick up a plant that was sitting in a tall barrel-like planter and drop in a bunch of change from her wallet. She told him she would add to it off and on and that it would be for his graduation from HS…he checked the levels whenever he visited! About 6 of us spent an entire day counting and rolling coins! I can’t remember the total count but it was a few hundred dollars and a memorable gift.</p>
<p>For my DD’s HS graduation last spring, our neighbors gave her a gift card to her college bookstore. It was great - she bought her first college sweatshirt with it and use the left over amount towards books.</p>
<p>For some of her close friends I bought Target gift cards in the amount of $20.10 - their graduation year. I think I might have gotten that idea from another post on CC. ;)</p>
<p>I am so greatful to ALL who replied.ALL the ideas are fabulous,I will sit with my DH & hopefuly he can help to make a final decision.The blessing is we still have plenty of time.
God Bless!!</p>
<p>We gave S a Skagel watch that looked great & was on-sale at Costco for $15; unfortunately, it didn’t fit! Have not figured out what to get him now–maybe we’ll buy him a housewarming gift for his new lodgings when we help him move in for his 1st full-time job in the near future. Have not figured out what to give D for her graduation–maybe something related to her field of cinema–will see next spring what her plans are. Maybe she’ll get a housewarming-type gift too.</p>
<p>I did a similar thing to paying3tuitions for S’s HS graduation. I gave him a fixed budget for having a group of friends of his choosing to dinner at a restaurant of his choosing sans parent. </p>
<p>He still mentions how much he appreciated that since everyone else was only having get-togethers packed with extended family. I actually got a call from a friend of his to thank ME saying that was a really cool way for the group to get to say farewell as HS came to an end.</p>
<p>For college, I’m taking him to white water raft the Taos Box before he heads off to work in Taipei. I guess this “gift” is as much for me as it is for him.</p>
<p>For girls, gold coin jewelry is nice and you can buy a coin for the year of graduation.</p>
<p>
Sounds like us LOL. We gave him a trip to Belize to dive the Blus Hole and explore caves in the inner jungle. My wife went with him and of course it was as much for her as for him.</p>
<p>We also gave him an incredible watch, but I found out that while <em>he</em> is a watch wearer (and always has been), he is one of the few college-age people who do. The cell phone is the new watch!</p>
<p>We’re not really original:
For our kids:
HS grad: laptop or smart phone
College grad: Girl - jewelry (custom made with stones in school colors by our jeweler friend), Boy - down payment on car (or class ring if its “that” kind of school)</p>
<p>For everyone else’s kids:
Cash</p>
<p>Got my brother the fancy frame for his Masters degreee; he’s got it in his office now. </p>
<p>I crochet scarves in the colleges’ colors for kids I know who are finishing h.s. I have between when they decide which one to attend, and when they leave in Aug – it is quite a race. For super special relatives, an afghan in same. A smallish one—more like a throw than a blanket to cover the whole bed. The idea is to put over shoulders when sitting in bed studying.</p>
<p>Oddly, might our S and D’s be giving us a gift in appreciation for all we did to help them reach this day…</p>
<p>I’m not a materialistic person nor are either S or D-- so having spent bazillions to pay tuition and drop cash their way often-- not sure any more expensive items are appropriate for our family.<br>
A gift of the heart seems fitting-- I think our family would enjoy a special visit to a place the family remembers fondly of a vacation many many years ago. A couple of places still are spoken about as “remember when…” and returning would be really great.<br>
Giving a car or other such items seems uneventful-- the car will not remain a cherished item as it rusts or falls apart. A watch used to fit the bill- but this generation doesn’t wear watches.</p>
<p>An engraved piece of jewelery with a well meaning and sentimental quote on the back seems ideal.</p>
<p>My HS senior will be getting a smart phone. I agree with blueiguana – very convenient, but not necessary, so it’s a nice gift. I may steal JRZmom’s scarf idea for my daughter’s friends (though with knitting rather than crochet). My kids already have scarves in several Hogwarts house colors!</p>
<p>This has turned out to be the favorite and most used HS graduation present my daughter received from very close family friends. Extremely useful in a variety of settings at college: noisy dorm, plane trips home, bus rides, library, etc. For when your iPod earphones just aren’t enough.
The Bose are extraordinary but pricey. Sony makes good ones, also.</p>
<p>Our present to our college graduate: a start on her workday wardrobe. Much of her college clothing would NOT cut it in the business world! :eek:</p>
<p>I think our S will get a nice backpack (for backpacking). They can last for decades, so it seems like a good investment.</p>