<p>My BIL asked me what type of gift he should buy for his graduating S this past spring…i didn’t have any good ideas, i said perhaps money…Others in the family have various opinions,but money won out…Don’t know how much, but am wondering what the CC’ers think about gifts for college grads, and if money, how much…Fwiw, they paid for his entire college costs at a good private…</p>
<p>A car, if he does not have one yet. Since they paid for his entire college costs at a good private, they may be able to afford it.</p>
<p>A car? Wow… I was thinking a small cash stipend of 500-1000 bucks… Guess I am to cheap. ;)</p>
<p>We just had our first college grad this spring. Decided to go stupid/sentimental since we funded his education (and we still have two more to go!). He got a pair of sunglasses and a copy of Timbuk3’s “My future’s so bright. . .”</p>
<p>On a slightly more serious note, the traditional hs graduation present for males in my family is a Tiffany’s silver engraved belt buckle. Something memorable/lasting can be > $$s, IMHO.</p>
<p>DH gave our daughter, the photographer, her “own website” - ie he purchased her name as a domain name. She’s putting up professional links and some of her photos. It was really inexpensive.</p>
<p>A nice frame for the diploma they just bought :D.</p>
<p>A lot of parents feel that paying for a kid’s education is enough of a gift. In my case, daughter got a (very modest) necklace from Tiffany as a keepsake… and then we paid for her first/last month’s rent at a new apartment she was leasing the following fall.</p>
<p>We gave our son $500 and his grandparents gave him $1000. I gave him a frame for his diploma and made a hard cover “photo” book of his life starting with high school graduation and through college years ending with photos from his graduation with thanks and some help from his facebook, college and hometown friends.</p>
<p>We are paying the stafford loan payments. It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the costs we had while the kids were IN college. They are very grateful for this ongoing gift.</p>
<p>My older child will graduate next spring and I think we will give her the cash equivalent to the balance in her 529 that was not used.</p>
<p>Though I am the last one to consider graduation gifts as a requirement, I do think it’s nice to give them something that will service them in their professional endeavors. For her undergrad degree she got just that…her undergrad degree( paid for). For her graduate degree which she alone funded, we gave her a couture Valentino gown ($700–used of course) for her graduate recital. It’s now her favorite formal concert wear.</p>
<p>Lots of good insight, i hope it continues…will have a college grad in 2 years, and another in 4. ;)</p>
<p>A hug followed by, “We’re so proud of you. Congratulations! You’re a college graduate and debt free.”</p>
<p>Resume paper and haircut voucher.</p>
<p>If schedules permit, a family trip would be nice.</p>
<p>MD Mom-can I ask why those funds were not used? If she got scholarships part of the 529 provisions allows you to take funds out of the 529 equal to the scholarship amount in the year in which the scholarship was awarded without penalty. If that is your situation, you might want to take out what you can now.</p>
<p>Had no idea about that, SteveMA. We will probably transfer the 529 to her little brother because his expenses will be a bit more than DD’s. Thank you for the tip.</p>
<p>If the student will not be living at home, I recommend a book: “Where’s Mom Now That I Need Her?” A great book on how to live on your own. Tells you how to grocery shop (how to tell if fruits/veggies are ripe, for example), has tons of recipes, gives guidelines and tips for laundry, minor home repairs, cleaning, and basic first aid. Very frugal/economy minded.</p>
<p>There are other good “life-skills” books as well.</p>
<p>I think I’m going to get that book for BOTH of my kids for Christmas!!</p>
<p>We’ll frame the diploma, if I can find where he packed it. He doesn’t need money.</p>