Graduation present ideas? - Page 3

Quote:

Originally Posted by hope2 

If they are going away to college this one is a favorite of mine...

Hammer
screwdriver with changable tips
tack it, putty stuff
nails

Another good one...

2 cup glass measuring cup
Set of 2 or 4 Corelle ware plates, bowls
small mixing bowl
silicone spatula

Teachers often get invited to so many.. If you have any teacher friends ask them what their standard gift is. Usually they are cleaver and inexpencive

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybygrace 


These are great ideas - and the best part is that you can get them all at the $1 store! One of the best gifts I got when I graduated was a giant tub of stuff to use in my dorm (scale it down if you need to):
-- laundry soap (here's where samples come in handy), fabric softener, quarters, hangers, spot cleaner
-- towel/washcloth (wash before giving to make it fluffy), plastic shower caddy, cheap flip flops (for "shower shoes"), shampoo, conditioner, body soap, loofah
-- snacks! granola bars, little debbie snacks, cookies, candy, gatorade/water, peanut butter, crackers, etc
-- first aid kit: bandaids, neosporin, tylenol, day/night cold medicine, cough drops, cold/hot packs, ace bandage, tums (put all in a small box - they have really cute decorative ones at the dollar store)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maman1 

These are all great ideas, thank you! It's tough with one of them because her parents will think of *every*thing for her, I can guarantee it. I like the care package style ideas! Maybe I could do something funny, like wrap up a care package like an emergency kit and label it: "Open When Facing Your First Final Exam." Or your first midterm or something... Or labeling a chocolate bar: "Four-Hour Lecture? Use This as Needed." etc.

This is a great thread for this time of year.  I love all the suggestions above, having two already in college.  They definitely could have used some tools and first aid supplies.  I'm thinking of putting a care package together for when we move N into her dorm this year.  Great idea!

Any one have any other ideas??

A 6 qt. crockpot with take-a-way lid, a crockpot cookbook and a gift card to the grocery store...  I did this for a friend of the family..  He sold meatball sandwiches(a hot dog roll with 2 meatballs and sauce, he said he paid $40 for all of the ingredients and made a couple hundred dollars each weekend) for $2.50 every Friday and Saturday night..  He is 25 now and thanks me everytime he sees me.. 

I took a hundred one dollar bills and taped them end to end to make one HUGE "strand".  I then rolled them up, put them in a box with a slit in the top, and just had one dollar peeking through.  When my son opened it, I told him the one dollar was all I could afford right now...but when he went to pull it out, it just kept coming and coming and coming.  It was HILARIOUS.  We did it at a restaurant, and everyone there was watching and clapping for him when he finally got to the end.  It was the highlight of graduation, and considering some other rough areas of life right now, I am SO glad I did something fun and different for him. 

This one you have to plan ahead for...but for those with little ones.

My son was in Kindergarten this year and I bought the Dr. Seuss book "Oh, the places you'll go" and had his teacher sign it on the sly.  I'm going to do this with all his teachers and then give it to him when he graduates highschool.
 

For those that are headed off to college I write a list of all the things they will need when they get there and then purchase all of the office supply needs that they probably don't have (pencil sharpener, hole punch, tape dispenser, stapler, etc).  I did this for my niece last year and was able to spend next to nothing on a big box of stuff.  I recycled all my printer cartridges at Staples and used the rewards to buy sale items.  It took some time to gather everything, but it was inexpensive.

Monogrammed towels is another great idea.  I received several as graduation gifts and loved them.

Well, my great-nephew dropped out of his alternative high school about 2 weeks ago, so I figure he was told he didn't get the grades to graduate, so he moved out of my sisters' home & moved in w/ the deadbeat dad who never paid a dime in child support (we had to take the boy from him via police escort when he was 12).  So much for that.

I got an invitation for the graduation of my cousin's grandson. I would not recognize this kid if he bit me. I have not seen him in years, and then only at annual family parties, which we have not had in years. I don't know if I should send $20 because I did for his cousins some years ago, or just forget it.

My best friends' daughter is graduating from the gifted program & has received a full scholarship to MSU - room, board, $1000/term for expenses, plus a research assistant position in the physics department. She had to take a special test to get that award & I think it goes to only around 15 kids or so. We're very proud of her (we are called aunt/uncle to her), so we're going to give her around $250-300.  Her parents have 2 more kids to put thru college & don't have extra funds as my friend is a SAHM, so we want her to have some $ for whatever comes up.