Graduation season is (finally!) here. When someone graduates, you want that person to get off to a great start for the next chapter of their life.
We found a great mix of fun and practical graduation gifts to help you send good wishes to a family member or a friend who is graduating.
Food for Thought
Blue Apron gift card
Blue Apron is a creative alternative to your usual grocery store gift card. This is a great gift for young entrepreneurs, especially if they’re college grads or high school grads who are moving into a place that has a kitchen where they can cook.
How does Blue Apron work? Blue Apron brings the ingredients for a meal, along with cooking instructions, right to your door. They also send the right portion size, based on the number of people noted in the order. Other similar services include Hello Fresh, Home Chef and Freshly.
Keurig or other single-serving coffee maker
A fast, single-serving coffee maker can feel like a lifesaver, especially if you have an 8 a.m. class or a job/meeting that requires you to start at, or shortly after, dawn.
Make Yourself at Home
Portable Photo Printer
A portable photo printer allows you to print photos from social media accounts, smartphones, and tablets. This is a great gift to help a recent grad easily decorate their dorm room or home office with memories.
Tool Kit
The struggle is real when it comes to keeping everything working in your first apartment. A tool kit literally gives your grad the tools they need to handle almost anything that suddenly breaks or leaks in their new home.
On the Go
Apple iPad or other kind of tablet
A tablet is a great, less expensive alternative to a laptop. Tablets are also more portable than laptops, letting you easily surf the web and use streaming sites, like Netflix or Hulu, at home or on the go.
Kindle or other type of e-reader
Learning is a lifelong process that doesn’t stop after graduating from high school or college. Spark and grow a recent grad’s curiosity by getting them a Kindle. E-readers like a Kindle make it really convenient to read books in self-help, professional development, fiction and other genres.
A Stainless Steel Tumbler
Starting college or a career can keep you away from home for most of the day. A tumbler will make sure you have hot coffee, or cool water, for hours to keep you going during busy days.
Other Great Gift Ideas
Amazon Prime Membership
An annual Amazon Prime membership lets you enjoy free two-day shipping and access to the Prime Now app – which has free two-hour delivery on thousands of items. You also get access to Amazon Prime Video, Prime Music, the Kindle Lending Library, Prime Reading, Prime Audible Channels, unlimited photo storage, and more.
College merchandise
For high school grads going to college, a few T-shirts and sweatshirts with the college name or logo can come in handy for attending athletic events and tail-gating or any other event where the student wants to show pride in their new institution. And a sweatshirt is perfect for those seasonal transition days when the mornings are chilly but the student doesn’t want to wear a coat and take the huge risk of seeming uncool.
Gift Cards
One of the great things about giving gift cards is that they can be for fun or practical uses. Here’s a list of some gift card ideas:
For Variety: Visa gift card, Amazon gift card, Amazon Prime membership, Walmart gift card, or Target gift card
School books: Amazon gift card
Coffee: Starbucks gift card
Music and Entertainment: Netflix gift card, Hulu gift card, iTunes gift card, Spotify gift card, Disney+ gift card, Sling gift card, or StubHub gift card
Travel and Transportation: Uber gift card, Lyft gift pass, Airlines gift card
Tech: Best Buy gift card
You now have a great list of gift ideas help your favorite graduate. And if you’re graduating, feel free to also use this list to drop some hints for your parents and others who are celebrating with you.
Photo by Pang Yuhao on Unsplash