What did your graduate gift other graduates?

[powellrj]

My kids only gave gifts to their really close friends. They went to the other parties gift less. It was the same with adults. Many just gave cards with $5. Honestly, nothing was expected, they were just happy people came and didn’t expect anything.

 

[HopperFan]

I like the Starbucks idea, that's cute!

I've done these before from me as well, but I cut a piece of plastic and cover the card and use a color tape around it ... write something more like "In Case of Emergency, Break Glass". There are always those late study/paper nights that they need a break & coffee but don't have the cash for a good one.

I've found those smaller denomination gift cards in multi-packs so it was easy to have a group of them ready to go.

 

[Mom2apirate&princess]

We live in Hawaii and when my ds graduated the kids gave each other leis. By the end of the night you could barely see the kids faces with all of the leis everyone was giving each other. My daughter will graduate in two years and her and her friends make them themselves so it will be even cheaper.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

If I'm invited I take a gift. If it's just my son invited I don't know what he will do. He has a job with his own money but I'm 99.9% positive he won't get anything. We are throwing a graduation party for him next month and I don't expect any of his friends to bring a gift. He is inviting 15 kids but we have 120 family and friends coming too.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

I used to work at a big box store and we'd frequently get grads in giving gifts this time of year. Most of them got a water bottle and filled it with their friend's favorite candy!

For the BFFs- One of my BFFs graduated the year after I did. I got her a nicer laundry basket from Target and then went to the dollar store and got her some things she might need in a dorm- paper towels, tissues, school supplies, plates and cups, that kind of thing, then grabbed a grad balloon while I was there and tied it on top. It was a hit. Probably cost me about $30 to put it all together

 

[wendow]

I used to work at a big box store and we'd frequently get grads in giving gifts this time of year. Most of them got a water bottle and filled it with their friend's favorite candy!

For the BFFs- One of my BFFs graduated the year after I did. I got her a nicer laundry basket from Target and then went to the dollar store and got her some things she might need in a dorm- paper towels, tissues, school supplies, plates and cups, that kind of thing, then grabbed a grad balloon while I was there and tied it on top. It was a hit. Probably cost me about $30 to put it all together

Great ideas! Thank you!

 

[wendow]

If I'm invited I take a gift. If it's just my son invited I don't know what he will do. He has a job with his own money but I'm 99.9% positive he won't get anything. We are throwing a graduation party for him next month and I don't expect any of his friends to bring a gift. He is inviting 15 kids but we have 120 family and friends coming too.

You sound a bit like us. We have a mix of parties we are all invited to and ones just my dd is invited too. As well as a rather large (100+) party of our own. I also do not expect any of my dd's friends to bring a gift. In many cases, we just invited the friend but a parent appears to be coming too based on the rsvp.

I think I'm either going to just do a $10 starbucks or school water bottle w/candy for everyone but the BFF's. My dd does not have a job with her own income (other than babysitting) so I'll be the one buying all these gifts.

 

[crisi]

Keep in mind where they will be going to college.

My daughter will walk through commencement, get up the next morning and head off to be a camp counselor for the Summer (she's missing all the grad parties - she'll get together with a few friends before she leaves), then she comes home and will fly to college a few days later, with not very much luggage, where her and her TBD roommate will live in a very tiny room. So she definitely doesn't need anything to pack and take with her to college - we will be buying pretty much everything she needs locally the day before move in day.

But she would probably enjoy pictures - especially from old friends where she doesn't have a copy of them together at their sixth birthday party. Her and her best friend are exchanging 5x7 senior pictures to take to school with them.

 

[JenBush]

When I graduated high school I gave my 4 best friends a cute little gift that was about $15 and my parents gave them each about $50.

For any other friends parties I went to I gave $5 Starbucks gift cards and a nice note saying something about how much I enjoyed being their friend. One really cute idea my friend gave me was a framed picture of us together. She got the picture frame from dollar tree so the gift was not expensive, but I love it and I still have it today years later.

 

[amalone1013]

Here's what I did when graduating:

Level 3 friend - I went to a couple like this with friends, just stopped by, Dollar Store card that said congratulations and a pack of cards as an inside joke - a group of us used to play cards in band class the people outside of the card playing group didn't get anything but my lovely presence.

Level 2 friend - I went to these by myself/with friends, and each got a nice card from the Dollar Store with a nice message, a (cheaper) frame with a photo of us/the group, and a pack of cards for most of them, because they were part of that group.

Level 1 friend is BFF - I had 2, and our parents all knew each other well from over the years, so we went to these parties together. I know my parents gave cash to them, and their parents to me, but I don't remember how much. I got a gift for them too, probably a photo frame with a picture of us. And wrote a long message in a card.

ETA: above post made me think, the level 2 friends' frames were from Dollar Tree, and I added some rhinestones to them for a couple bucks, so like less than $10 for 5 or 6 frames. I still have rhinestones left!