Gifts For The Grad

According to Time magazine, Americans spend almost $5 billion on graduation gifts every year. Yes, that's a "b."

Whoa.

I suddenly don't feel so bad about the shopping list I'm carrying around. Graduation is ten days away, and we're invited to a small handful of parties. My own soon-to-be grad declined a party of her own, but we've found a very special  — perfect, actually — gift for her. 

(Sorry, I can't go into it here ... it's a surprise. But, I'll post a picture after the big day.)

For those of you still looking, here are half a dozen Hollywood-inspired graduation gift ideas.

My Beautiful Laundrette
Choose a cute clothes hamper or laundry bag, then fill it with detergent pods, stain stick, fabric softener, a roll of quarters, and a copy of Linda Cobb's Talking Dirty Laundry with the Queen of Clean.

Million Dollar Baby
Time estimates that cash accounts for 58% of the $5 billion spent. Money is practical — and appreciated — and it doesn't have to be boring. Slip it in a CD jewel case with a favorite disc or, if you're crafty, make an origami money menagerie.

House of Cards
Here's a nice way to make the money idea a little less mercenary. Contact the college your graduate will be going to and order an ID holder. Then, fill it with handy gift cards for online or local retailers: Amazon, Target, Starbucks.

Splash
A cozy fleece blanket is a great idea for studying on chilly nights. But, even cooler is a cozy fleece blanket that doubles as a mermaid tail! (I wish I'd found these when my daughter was three years old.) You can see and/or order one here.

Chocolat
Send them something sweet every four weeks. Sign them up for a 3-, 6- or 12-month Chocolate-of-the-Month subscription. (Some freshmen might prefer a more alcoholic version of this gift, but we really don't want to encourage that, do we?)

Home for the Holidays
This is a good idea if you're concerned your daughter may experience a little homesickness. Find a nice luggage set (something that nests is probably a good idea for storage), and attach a roundtrip ticket for Thanksgiving.

The best thing about this last idea is that it's a gift for the mom as well as the grad. And super useful too. After all, Thanksgiving will be here very soon.

But, not soon enough for me.
 
 
If you've enjoyed this post, I invite you to order the book Lovin' the Alien here.