Menu
It's Life

10 Meaningful gifts for your recent Graduate

It’s graduation time! I remember I didn’t graduate from high school until June these days the graduation in GA are earlier like before Memorial Day. I want to say to all the grads…congrats! I remember my high school my mom had just gotten out of the hospital with another round of cancer like she literally was released that morning and then came to the graduation in a wheel chair. I didn’t walk across the stage for my college graduation because I just didn’t feel like it lol. Just give me my degree and call it a day so I missed out on that. I know when I graduated there were certain gifts that I would have loved to have.

10 Meaningful gifts for your recent Graduate

Money – Give me the money honey. I am always big on the money. It’s bad because I don’t even read the cards I go straight for the money lol. I am honest y’all

Premium LinkedIn Account – So I don’t use LinkedIn myself since I own my own business but when I was looking for jobs that was my go-to place. I was able to contact people and I set up a lot of my interviews through LinkedIn. I even use it for my blog to reach out to PR contacts. Don’t sleep on this and it’s a nice gift to give a new grad

Gym Membership – The Freshman pounds that I put on when I went to college…..whew. I went from 98 pounds to 120…okay I know it wasn’t that much but now I weight over 200….yeah kids….life…A new grad should not only look good but they should feel good and nothing says feel good like a nice workout to get your mind right

Wardrobe Stylist – This is an odd one but great for that grad who needs to step up their wardrobe for the new work field they may go into. I myself need to hire one because all I do is wear sweats all day every day and I have some nice clothes but putting the entire look together causes me great pains

Books – I received some books when I graduated from high school that I read during the summer. Give the gift of reading and maybe even pay for a kindle membership or something. I think 10 books to start them off that will help them succeed can be a great gift idea. You can do hard copies or do them through Kindle. I prefer kindle myself I know there are some old school heads who can’t stand reading on a tablet but I am embracing the new technology and I love that I can highlight certain parts of the book and come back to it for future references easier

Photo memories – A recent grad I know got a gift that made him cry. His Aunt got him a book done with all the photos from the time he was a baby up until a Feb of this year. The book had photos of him with his Aunt and various activities that they did throughout the year. He actually cried y’all. A great gift to give if you have a lot of photos of a recent grad.

Gift cards – This one is a no brainer but don’t just get any gift card. Do gift cards for places that are useful. Starbucks, Dunkin Donut, Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc. Places that they can go and get things while in college. Don’t just buy them an old navy card….unless they just love Old Navy be thoughtful and get them a card to a place they will want to use while moving into a dorm or moving out of the dorm and into their own apartment

Life Planner – Now I must admit I am not a huge fan of planners. I bought one and didn’t even use it. I need someone to come up with a planner that I can use online. I need one with all the stickers….online so update my google calendar with pretty stuff and I will be good. For those who love to write things down a great planner is a nice gift to give

A tablet – I am in love with the surface pro and would like one for myself. I am going to deal though with the Dell I have. A new grad can’t be caught without something they can get on and a phone won’t always do the trick especially when sending resumes and stuff you don’t want to mistype anything

And the biggest gift of all…..

Family Time!

Family time is precious. Take it from a person who has lost 75% of her family. There is nothing nothing nothing that can take the place of family time with your recent grad. Take a trip somewhere you’ve never been, create a new memory for them to hold on to. Take loads of pictures or better yet hire a photographer to follow you around (yeah you can do that now at some places lol who knew) make memories and then cherish those good times because grads are going into this real world and it’s cutthroat and sometimes they should be able to let their hair down and live a little before they enter into the working world. If you don’t have money for a grand trip try a sports game or take them somewhere fun in your hometown. Better yet have a themed party at your house just for them with close friends and family. A nice quiet evening playing a board game works to!

My son graduated from elementary school so I took him to Hibachi to celebrate him and I think I will do that for every major milestone just him and I out to eat at his favorite place. What will you give your recent grad? What are some gifts that you got?

10 Meaningful gifts for your recent Graduate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

28 Comments

  • EG III
    June 9, 2017 at 4:17 pm

    Great list. I’ve been struggling with this decision actually. I’ve finally come to the point where I’m leaning toward stock or the gift of travel.

    Reply
  • Tosha
    June 9, 2017 at 5:46 pm

    The premium LinkedIn account is absolutely gold. It enables you to cut through the red tape and get in touch with the right people. In this tough economy, I think a lot of grads will love seeing that gift.

    Reply
  • Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle
    June 9, 2017 at 10:01 pm

    A gift card and a life planner are two incredibly relevant gifts to give to recent graduates. They’ll need all the financial and planning help they can get!

    Reply
  • Marcie W.
    June 9, 2017 at 10:08 pm

    Not only do I love all of these gift ideas, I appreciate how practical they seem to be as well. I think the gym membership suggestion is especially awesome!

    Reply
  • Bill Sweeney
    June 9, 2017 at 10:14 pm

    A tablet sounds like a great gift for a recent graduate. It’s perfect for work and play, and a recent graduate is going to be doing a lot of both (hopefully).

    Reply
  • Kelly Hutchinson
    June 9, 2017 at 10:24 pm

    My daughter just graduated from high school. I have been trying to decide what to get her. I think she could use a new tablet for college this fall.

    Reply
  • Sarah Bailey
    June 9, 2017 at 10:47 pm

    This is such a great post, my other halves sister is graduating and I’ve been thinking about what we should get her!

    Reply
  • Mitch
    June 10, 2017 at 3:26 am

    These are great gift ideas! I wish my middle school graduate to be was working harder, than I would want to buy him a gift. Maybe I will show hi this list and say study for your Regents and you can take your pick!

    Reply
  • Travel Blogger
    June 10, 2017 at 3:30 am

    Great list! I would never have thought about the premium LinkedIn account and wardrobe stylist, but those are really good ideas for kids embarking on the next part of their journey. Thanks!

    Reply
  • Jeanine
    June 10, 2017 at 3:17 pm

    Wonderful gift ideas! My oldest is graduating from grade 8 this year, and I need to get him something special to celebrate!

    Reply
  • Louise Bishop
    June 10, 2017 at 5:49 pm

    Very good ideas! My kids have a few years before I have to think about this.

    Reply
  • Theresa
    June 10, 2017 at 7:29 pm

    These are all perfect ideas. My daughter graduated yesterday and we still haven’t settled on a gift yet. D’oh!

    Reply
  • Natasha
    June 10, 2017 at 11:19 pm

    I am all about the money and gift cards too. Especially before shipping off to college, those gift cards came in handy!

    Reply
  • Dawn McAlexander
    June 11, 2017 at 2:01 am

    I think books are always a great idea. There is nothing like reading a good book. If I had gotten books when I graduated, I would have loved it.

    Reply
  • Stacie
    June 11, 2017 at 5:00 pm

    Good ideas Kita! I have two graduates and they would love any of these gifts.

    Reply
  • Kirstin Fuller
    June 12, 2017 at 12:01 am

    Great gift list! I love the gift card idea. Ones to Walmart and Wawa/gas if they’re taking a car to college or have one already.

    Reply
  • Tess
    June 12, 2017 at 12:20 am

    Very good ideas. It was hard for us to choose a gift when my kids graduated.

    Reply
  • Amanda Love
    June 12, 2017 at 6:47 am

    It would be nice to give them things that they can use especially since they’re about to start a new chapter in their lives! These are all awesome ideas!

    Reply
  • Carol Cassara
    June 12, 2017 at 7:22 am

    This is definitely a good list of gifts for fresh grads! I like the planner, it will allow them to organize their plans better.

    Reply
  • Elle (CleverlyChanging)
    June 12, 2017 at 12:38 pm

    One more gift I would add is professional attire. Any grad could use a nice professional suit.

    Reply
  • My Teen Guide
    June 12, 2017 at 3:40 pm

    This is a great list. However, if I were to choose a gift for a graduate, it would be something that would last forever in their memories or something that would help them to start a new life. Paying for a trip abroad would be nice, or money in the form of bonds, stocks, or time deposit should they decide to go into business.

    Reply
  • Annemarie LeBlanc
    June 12, 2017 at 5:26 pm

    I think a gift of travel would be the best gift idea of a college graduate. It would not only give them the chance to learn of other cultures but traveling alone or with small group would teach them how to be responsible for themselves. They’ll have great memories of the trip too, and would be talking about it for years to come.

    Reply
  • Shannon Gurnee
    June 12, 2017 at 5:52 pm

    These are some great gift ideas for the graduate! I know I would have appreciated any of these gift ideas when I graduated from high school and college! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  • Daria
    June 12, 2017 at 6:57 pm

    Awesome post and great ideas! Normally, money in the hand was always a great gift to give graduates, but the list has definitely evolved into other meaningful and useful items. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  • Felecia Monique
    June 13, 2017 at 1:35 am

    If you need a wardrobe stylist I’m here!! But also, these gifts are really nice and efficient.

    Reply
  • Angela Milnes
    June 14, 2017 at 7:28 am

    A wardrobe stylist sounds amazing and of course a new tablet. I could do with both of those! I know they would have been fab when I graduated too!

    Reply
  • […] you have worked so hard to achieve. Be proud of yourself. Graduating from high school is fun but graduating from college……its a different story because now you have to put in the real world work. Here is my financial […]

    Reply
  • Tom Biehn
    August 16, 2019 at 12:38 pm

    Great list of gifts. It will help the ones who are looking for meaningful gifts for their recent grads. However when you are talking about meaningful gifts then, gifting a classy diploma frame to recent graduates of their college and university degree will be one of the most meaningful gifts. It will reflect your appreciation for a recent grad or alumni and will be a constant reminder of one of their biggest achievements

    Reply

Leave a Reply

error: what are you doing? tsk tsk tsk