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Top 5 Gifts for High School Graduates

black silhouette of graduates in cap and gowns

Graduation season is here! College commencements have already taken place, but there are numerous high school graduations coming up, which means buying gifts for the graduates in your life. Need some help figuring out what to get them? Here are our picks of the top 5 gifts for graduates:

  1. Money – This is probably the easiest and most popular gift given during graduation season. You can pair it with a heartfelt card and message and give your graduate the option to choose how best to spend the money. Here’s the downside, you don’t know how they are going to spend it. Although many times the hope is that it helps with their education expenses, it could also be going towards buying a car or something else not at all related to their educational plans. If this is of concern to you, you may want to consider another gift option.
  2. Gift Cards – If giving cash is a little too open-ended of an option for you, consider giving your graduate a gift card. They may need to furnish a dorm room, they’ll now have food expenses, gas expenses, and more. Consider giving a gift card to help them cover some of these expenses that they’ll incur as they transition to college life.
  3. Books – Before you say “what graduate is going to want a book?”, think about how much their life will be changing – especially if they are going off to college far away from home. A personal finance book can help them learn how to effectively manage their finances, which in many cases will be entirely new to them. As they venture away from home they’ll also have to start cooking for themselves, so what about a handy cookbook with a variety of easy to make recipes? Not only will they learn new skills, but cooking will also help keep them from living off of instant saimin or eating out every day.
  4. Care Package Coupons – This is a more unusual gift option, but could be really great for a graduate you are close to. These care package coupons basically are coupons for items that they can redeem after they’ve already gone away to school. Maybe they would like some snack items from home, maybe they need paper towels, school supplies, etc. Whatever it may be, create some coupons specific for certain items that they can easily mail back to you when in need. When you receive it you send back a care package, which is also a great time to slip some words of encouragement in with their items. This gift option definitely is unique!
  5. Words of Encouragement – Whether these words are written in a card or made into wall art, this can be great motivation and encouragement for a graduate moving on to a new phase in their life. If they are having a particularly rough day they can look back at those words you wrote in your card, or look at that wall art to remind them what they are working towards. While this is a simpler gift option, it is heartfelt and can be a gift that keeps on giving.

These gift options are just a few among many. Take some time to let the graduate in your life know how proud you are of their accomplishments!