Just received an invite to a high school graduation party at a banquet hall. Invitation says no boxed gifts please.
What would you give instead? Invite also says “dress to Impress/”
- You would give them cash or a check.
- Dress to impress means wear something professional.
I’ve never seen an invitation that says “no boxed gifts.” Leis, flowers or a gift card would work as well.
Why didn’t the host simply include the bank account routing info for electronic deposit.
Translation = “Show me the money”
Never heard of that before. How tacky!
I find the dress to impress thing more problematic than the no box gift. I completely understand wanting cash instead of boxed gifts. (Really, I’ve never touched half of the crap I got as a high school senior. Sorry, it’s just a waste of space.)
Give them a cash, check, or gift card (or nothing at all- you’re not required to give a gift).
Business-like attire I’d suppose.
I’d give my regrets. A high school graduation party at a banquet hall? Is it for one kid or the whole school?
One could choose to interpret “no boxed gifts” as “no gifts.”
The whole thing sounds like a fiasco.
We’ve been to a lot of grad parties–many at restaurants. None of them had instructions about no boxed gifts and dress to impress. I’d probably ask the graduate for clarification (or his folks).
Yes, I’d ask for clarification, just for the sheer entertainment value of reading the tackiness of the instructions delineated more explicitly.
I don’t think the lack of a box means you can’t bring a gift other than money. Bring it in a gift bag. Or give the kid a small gift certificate. And dress to impress, for hs kids, means dress for a special party, not the mall or the movies.
Wow, banquet hall and no boxed gifts…why not a link to a " Go Fund Me " since that seems like the goal.
OT, GMT love the new avatar!
I swear that our society becomes tacky and tackier all the time. Whatever happened to being gracious?
Large HS grad parties are not unusual here. Invitations specifying type of gifts (or even mentioning gifts) or what clothing to wear is new to me.
It is possible that the grad will be attending a school far from home and will be buying dorm items online or where he/she will attend school.
I still think that this is tacky, though.
I don’t think the box is the issue, Lookingforward, though one can ask.
My brother would have done well stating the such for his wedding since his apartment was/is the size of most studios without any room to spare. They use their oven as closet space. Very tiny and giving him any gift that takes up space can cause challenges and usually results in his giving them away. They had about 60 guests at the wedding and if they each gave gifts, or even half of them, that go in medium or large boxes, I don’t think they could fit them in the apartment without compromising needed space. Not to mention it’s a 5th floor walk up.
I tend to give gift cards for high school graduations anyways. What to give these kids anyways, not knowing what they already have, and most in middle/ upper middle and higher income families have all they need and have specific wants they pick out themselves. Everything is electronic these days. I have some gifts I need to give for college graduations, and, frankly, I’m stumped. Old standbys like a framed photo have become superflous with the electronic age.
Put your gift in a gift bag, and be done with it.
Or make a donation to charity in the student’s name.
Either that, or just give a nice card with a nice note. I mean really, they said no boxed gifts, which could also be interpreted as NO gifts.
I would call the parents and ask…you will get a feel for what they really want.
When folks ask me for money, they get a lot less than if they just left me to decide.
Ok, this is what I have found out. Child is going to the in state school which is about 1/2 hour from home but living on campus. They live in an affluent area and well to do… About 300 or more guests have been invited and the event is formal like a wedding. I am wondering if I need to buy daughter a formal gown for this occasion. Families are invited and a close friend said “write a check.” (minimum $50 to $100 or more. Close friend is giving a laptop. Sounds like a wedding but it is a high school graduation celebration. It is only March but the occasion is in June. It seems tihis is typical for their circle of friends to celebrate in this manner. Invitation was a formal evite.
Could it be that the hall has some kind of security policy? Is that too far-fetched? 
I think this is over the top. Get the kid a $20 gift card to his campus bookstore.
300 people at a graduation party?
Are they having a pony and a photographer? If not, I would decline the invite
When I threw graduation parties for my kids, I made the party for the graduates and their families, not just for my kid, and asked people not to bring gifts. I am not so offended by the “dress to impress” because it is more for the kids, not directed at parents. I had my kid’s high school graduation party at a hotel’s garden. It wasn’t more expensive than if I had it catered. For us it was a way to thank some of those parents who had hosted many parties (pre-prom, post-prom) through out high school, which we never did. I don’t think we should be so quick to judge people when they decide to something a little bit nicer.
I am just thinking that if this event is that formal then attending will be very costly if we have to buy formal attire and write a check. I can’t afford to give such expensive gifts. This year we know so many kids graduating so there are going to be a lot of celebrations and I need to budget carefully. Also mother just celebrated child’s birthday about a month ago where there were at least 50 kids and she had the food catered so I just gave her a nice gift.
I don’t know what excuse I can make since she is inviting us at least two months before the occasion and we have known the family for years. When our child graduated she just went out to dinner with all her school friends and every paid for their own. There was no gift exchange.