Graduation Gift Ideas

It is that time of year! The most wonderful month of a high school senior's life - graduation!

The projects are turned in, senior trips are enjoyed, the finals are complete, the cap and gown is pinned into place, and the graduation gifts start rolling in! Let me tell you, the entire month of May the year that I graduated from high school was BY FAR the BEST month of my entire high school career. 

Great for the graduate. Less great for the person who has to come up with a creative gift idea on the cheap.

Here are six different gift ideas. Everyone is going to either give them a 2013 graduation frame/photo album or money. Since everyone has those covered, why not get them something useful? 

1. Mattress pad - Those college mattresses are tough, like miserable tough. Like wake up with a kink in your neck every day tough. While the typical college student gets "used to it," it would really go a long way to get a good night's sleep every night. 
2. Blanket - Think of those cheap seasonal flannel blankets that you can get at Kohls for $5 by the end of the Christmas season. They are great for cold nights when you can't control the thermostat, quick naps, comfort studying on the floor on you bed in your friend's room. Pair with a bag of candy and you have a great (and affordable) gift.
3. Electric Hot pot - Not all colleges or dorms offer the convenience of a kitchen, or they do not come with appliances. A hot pot is great because it heats
   
   liquid in about two minutes flat. Many meals of ramen noodles, Mac & cheese, soups of all varieties, even tea and hot chocolate were made in that hot pot. It was easy to clean and store. You can usually find these for about $10 at Walmart or Target, but they can be hard to find because they are rarely in stock (usually sold out or called by other names by region). 
4. Flatware & Utensils - this is my go-to gift every year. Think plates, bowls, cups, plastic or metal utensils. I have bought this for almost every graduate since I graduated from college. At the end of the summer season, stock up on plastic picnic items when they go on clearance. If you buy them during graduation season, this would cost a fortune, but stores all but give the picnic-ware away at the end of the season. They usually come in packs of four in fun colors, so you can purchase gifts for four people for $10-15. Give each graduate one (even two) of each item. I like to throw in a package of coordinating party napkins and a small bottle of dish soap (CVS often has this for $0.99, combined with a $0.99 coupon = FREE!). And know you now
   
   why this is my favorite gift. :) 
5. Carry-on suitcase or overnight bag - These kids are going to have a lot of overnight trips in their near future. Traveling home for the weekend, visiting friends, going on a college trip. They will already have the big suitcases, but not always the smaller bags for shorter trips. I personally like the oversized beach bags (not the mesh or light-weight kind though). It's so easy to toss all of your overnight things into the beach bag and you are ready to go. They also store easily. Again this would be an easy end-of-season clearance item to get really cheap. Bonus ideas: luggage tags. For girls, a nice makeup case set. They will have to tote that stuff around, you know. 
6. Gift cards - this will always make my list of gifts because they are so wonderful. Walmart & Target are obvious choices because they carry almost everything. But Amazon would be a good option as well. Your graduate will probably end up buying some used books for many of their classes from Amazon. Another good option is Shutterfly. The books are fun to make and awesome to have, but the price tag can be daunting when the alternative is store photos on your hard drive. But a gift card coupled with Shutterfly's never ending sales would make a photo book an amazing graduation gift. 

Quick note from a graduate, there are a few gifts you want to avoid. Journals, photo albums, frames, and anything graduation related. Why? Because when July rolls around, you no longer think of yourself as a graduate but as a freshman. And everybody else, who isn't creative with their gifts, is going to buy the standard dated graduation gift. 

Oh... And money is always a great gift! 

Have fun shopping!