<p>I am looking for good gift ideas for the friends of my son. I know several parents from marching band, and they have already started talking about when their child’s grad party is and that we should put it on our calendar. What would be a good gift for me to bring? Is cash always best? We will be buying for boys and girls. I would love to bring a great gift.</p>
<p>I assume this is graduation from high school you are talking about?</p>
<p>If you know what college they will be attending, I always like to give a gift or gift card from the bookstore of that college. Otherwise, I give a check.</p>
<p>Yes, graduation from high school.</p>
<p>A couple of years ago I got bath sheets for my son’s friends. I got white, nice quality ones, then had their initials embroidered on them in the future college’s colors. They are all using them still (I hear) two years later. Practical…but they liked the college colors. )I was going to get the towels in college colors, but TOO MUCH RED!!! All I could envision was their pink clothes after they did their own laundry in college!)</p>
<p>We gave $10 dollar gift cards to one of the following: Bed Bath and Beyond, Barnes and Noble (many college bookstores use it), Amazon (you can get ANYTHING from Amazon and that includes used text books), Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts, the school bookstore.</p>
<p>If you give cash, I like the idea to use the grad year – $20.11. :)</p>
<p>Umbrellas and sunglasses–then they’re ready for anything. I’ve also given guidebooks to the city they’ll be in.</p>
<p>IMO, what kids want most is spending-money. So I always give cash, but package it in a little “college survival kit” personalized it for the kid and where they are headed. e.g.</p>
<p>For friend’s son, headed to UCSD: “meal plan” (can of Mountain Dew), “dorm plan” (eyeshade and ear plugs), “protection” (sunscreen), “pizza fund” (cash).</p>
<p>For neighbor’s daughter, headed to MIT: “meal plan” (chocolate bar), “dorm plan” (eyeshade and earplugs), “protection” (cheap bling-y paste engagement ring, in jewelry box labeled “nerd repellant”), “Toscanini fund” (cash).</p>
<p>I agree they want spending money. I would give either cash or gift cards to businesses that are local to their campus. The $20.11 is a cute idea.</p>
<p>If you want a good gift - the Tervis Tumbler can be monogrammed or personalized, comes in different colors and you can buy a lid for them. They have a website</p>
<p>I gave a toy train & a $100 gift card for my daughter’s best friend. The idea was she use the money to travel from her school in Connecticut to my daughter’s school in Boston. She loved it.</p>
<p>For girls, a small leather wallet with room just for college ID and a few bills, ideally with key chain attachment. They will have the essentials without having to lug around a purse, esp. for parties. It’s even better if you can find one in the college color. I second the towels recommendation, with monograms. You can monogram in the same color as the towel if you don’t want it to be too obvious. But it helps them keep track of their stuff.</p>
<p>Cash and a frisbee!
Or, a book such as “The Naked Roommate”, “Been There, Should’ve Done That” or another guide to college life.
Or, a guidebook to the city or area where he or she is going.</p>
<p>for girls I gave a pink 39 pc toolbox (Amazon) for about $ 20 and they all loved it
for boys- I gave them a tie in the school’s colors- boring but they were very happy with it</p>
<p>For my son’s friends whom I knew very well I bought “Congrats Grad” mugs or glass, and picked up rolls of coins at the bank, twenty dollars in quarters, as emergency or laundry money. I’m not particularly creative or craftsy, but these went over well. And I included a heart felt note from me.</p>
<p>For some of my son’s friends I got them “dinner and a movie” (gift cards to In-n-Out + movie tickets). For a family friend I gave a box with Sudafed, Tylenol, ibuprofen, bandages, Neosporin, hydrocortisone cream, Imodium, Maalox, etc… with directions on when to use what.</p>
<p>I gave my son’s male friends a college tie from their college.</p>
<p>I gave the females a gift card to a local eating establishment in their college town.</p>
<p>Interesting ones S received:
-bath sheet with his name embroidered (in college colors)
-flip flops from his college bookstore (that Mom got from 25 different colleges!)
-pesos (as he was heading to Mexico on grad trip–yes, I know, bad parents, but he survived)
- Monster headphones (from a Very Generous parent)</p>
<p>Since we gave a lot (48 I think!) of gifts, I had to keep the cost down. And as 90% were going out of state, we gave 3 x 5 state flags for dorm decor…
For a few special friends, they also got a pillow made with a tee shirt from their colleges…</p>
<p>We always gave a check – 20.11. The kids ALWAYS got it, but more then one parent asked me why I wrote the check for such a strange amount. OHHHH! </p>
<p>I’ll tell you one thing NOT to give. Do not give “Oh, The Places You’ll Go”, by Dr. Suess. I process book donations for our local library and every summer we get ten or twelve brand new copies of this book donated. I guess everyone thinks it is a great present and grads get two or more copies. We can’t give them away.</p>
<p>the past 2 years, I’ve given soft, cozy fleece throws with their name and school embroidered on them. The kids seem to love them. Since S is graduating this year, I’m getting them for all of his closest friends.</p>