College Graduation Gift Ideas

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Spring College Life

Your son or daughter is finally graduating! Celebrate your student’s four (or more) years of hard work with these graduation gifts. These practical and fun gifts are a great way to show your pride in your college graduate!

Technology

• Laptop: After four years of use, your student’s laptop might need to be replaced
• Pay for 6 months of internet/cable to help your student get started.
• DVD player or TV
• Tablet: These can be a great tool for showing off a resume or portfolio!
• Helmet Cam: For active students or just for fun, these can be a surprising but enjoyable gift!

Apartment

• Basic cooking utensils such as pots and pans or grown-up dishes and silverware
• Making sure to keep the size of the size of the apartment in mind: Bookshelves, a dresser, a couch, or a bed
• Curtains, lamps, and art can go a long way in making an empty apartment look like a home.
• A vacuum, microwave, toaster or iron and ironing board

Low on cost but highly meaningful

• Put together a cookbook of some of your student’s favorite recipes, plus some quick, easy meals she can make on the run. Include a basket with the spices or even jarred sauces your student will need for the recipes.
• Set your student up with a file box that already has folders for her important documents. Include places for health care forms, records and bills; tax information; financial records; and housing documents such as the lease, maintenance requests, and any other correspondence with her landlord. This is a great time for your student to learn how to organize and manage her important documents, and your guidance will be especially helpful.
• Get a frame with multiple openings, and fill it with photos from your student’s life. Photos can brighten your student’s day when she’s feeling far from home.

Miscellaneous

• A briefcase, nice pens, and a business card holder
• Professional clothes for interviews or work: Looking sharp can help your student feel more confident! (Give your student a gift card or gift her a shopping trip; it’s important for your student to be there to try things on and pick out what she likes.)
• A good quality rolling suitcase in a unique color or pattern. (Black, dark blue, and dark green suitcases are hard to spot. Try bright colors or bold patterns to make bag claim easier.)
• An experience: cooking classes, a ski pass, surf lessons or a gym membership are out-of-the-ordinary gifts that can help your student make friends in her new area.

Need more ideas? Find 50 Grad Gift Ideas here. Do you have a high school graduate too?  Click here.