what were some of the BEST grad gifts your grad received that were budget friendly

[Grumpy's Gal]

It's graduation time of year -- so I'm asking now while it's fresh in your minds.

Next year I need about 20 small grad gifts for kids we know -- and it has to be on a budget. I'm hoping to get some ideas now so I can start stocking up as needed.

What were some of the best gifts your grads received that were budget friendly?

thanks very much!!

 

[Eastern]

How much do you want to spend per gift?

 

[Swimalie]

I'm interested in this as well. I, an adult, swim with teenagers and so far have been invited to 2 grad parties. I want to find a gift for the kids who invite me as I've swam with them for several years and they are like my kids to me.

 

[leahjade]

I used to work with a lot of young adults and was invited to a lot of grad parties over the years. Almost unanimously they said they would much rather have cash than anything else! Even if you can only afford $10, it's better than buying knick knack junk that kids don't have room to move into their dorms anyway.

 

[Magic2000]

I would think a gift card to McDonald's, Taco Bell, Star Bucks, etc would be greatly appreciated by any student heading off to college. My kids LOVE getting gift cards!!

You can get some bath & body works soaps (check out Walgreens - they put theirs on sale quite often) and give the little poofy thing. I try to find the college "colors" - for a friend of my DD, I gave a yellow poofy with the purple bottle of soap for her school colors of purple/gold. I've even thrown in a couple of the character washcloths that you wet them and they unfold to a washcloth. You can get those at the dollar stores.

Or a bag of favorite snacks that they can take along to college - candy, chips, gum, beef jerky, etc. You could buy a big bag of individually wrapped candy, big bag of the individual bags of chips, gum, box of the individual instant oatmeal or grits, then divide up all the stuff into little "baskets" of goodies.

 

[AndreaDM]

My daughter received a first aid kit, something we never thought of but was great for her to take to college! You can find them at Walmart for around $10.

DH employs a lot of high school and college kids so gets a lot of party invitations. We usually don't attend but give the kid a card with a fast food gift card from $10-$20 depending on how long the kid has worked there.

 

[HM]

Multitool or Swiss Army Knife, Large Tote Bag (like LLBean or Land's End)

 

[ragtopday]

Gift cards are a great idea or how about a roll of quarters for laundry?

 

[maggiew]

I've given the Dr. Seuss book, "Oh the places you will go"

Maggie

 

[Eastern]

I think $10 in a card is nice (I never give gift cards; they are too easy to misplace). A bag of assorted candy/snacks (jolly ranchers, gummies, etc) would also work for my sons' friends.

 

[csharpwv]

A Crucifix to hang in my college apartment - I still have it, it hangs in our home now.

An uncirculated roll of gold $1.00 coin - I still have the roll today. They come in a roll of 25 - so for $25 you give a really unique gift!

If they are going away for college - a very heavy duty laundry bag. We bought a Vera Bradley one for one of my wife's nieces and she absolutely fell in love with it! We got a great deal on it at the Vera Bradley outlet in Orlando... we were definitely looking ahead though... we bought it during their after Thanksgiving sale last year to give this spring. HAHA

Finally, a GPS - if they are going away for college - this could be a definitely GREAT gift. It will help them find everything from gas stations, to restaurants, and it will definitely help them find 'home' a little more often

 

[Promomx2]

I give gift cards and then get a packet of washclothes, separate each one, roll it up, tie with a ribbon to make it look like a diploma.

 

[mom2rose&john]

Toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner with washcloth and towel in a caddy. Get coupons from friends and utilize the rewards at drug stores. Pantene for the females and Axe for the males. I am not sure what your budget is but I would say this could be about $15-20 each.

If that is not within the budget then a $10 gift card to a Fast Food restaurant would be my next choice.

Or, microwave popcorn, gum and assorted candy would also be cute.

 

[ekmom]

My son received a nice water bottle in his college colors filled with candy. He graduated in 2007 and used the water bottle every day until it broke a few weeks ago.

Quarters for laundry might not be a good idea, some colleges now use swipe cards instead.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

My DD is friends with almost all seniors ( she's a junior). So I had a ton of gifts to buy and didn't want to spend a fortune.

I made them up "tool kits" for their dorms.

Flashlight with extra batteries
doorstop
white board with dry erase markers
duct tape
scotch tape
masking tape
scissors
screwdrivers in multiple sizes
ziploc bags in multiple sizes
ziploc containers
first aid supplies

I put it all into a plastic tote that they can reuse to put just about anything in. Alot of the items I got at the dollar store, and other items I used coupons on or bought on sale...so each gift ended up running me around $20.

 

[stitchfan18]

When I graduated from HS I really appreciated the GC's (especially target or walmart - it cost a ton to get my dorm set up with everything I needed!) I also got a really great dorm kit in one of those foldable cloth style baskets. It had a picture frame with a picture of me with the person I received the gift from, a beach towel (I went to school in florida,) and some school supplies (pens, pencils, sticky notes, note pad, etc.) I think you could make dorm or study kits pretty cheap at the dollar store.

 

[MSSANDRA]

DS graduated last year and got almost all cash. It varied from 20.00 to 100.00. I have a lot of graduates this year and everyone gets gift cards. Most 25.00. I did some restaurants, some chain clothes stores, a few lowes, and a few movies depending in what each kid likes.

 

[Princess Nancy]

I am writing checks for $20.12