<p>I’m seriously stumped. I have no idea what to get our DD who just graduated from HS. She got a laptop for Christmas, jewelry for her birthday, passport from her Grandparents. She is going on 3 trips this summer.</p>
<p>We don’t just want to give her cash, but we just don’t know what to do.</p>
<p>Any ideas? What did you give your daughter or son for graduation?</p>
<p>Daughter got the computer. Son got an expensive instrument case. Sorry.</p>
<p>The best gift I’ve ever given either kid…I took a wallet, and got 6 or 7 gift cards and put them in the wallet. You could do that for things your daughter will be able to use in her college town. Starbucks, campus bookstore, pizza place, nail spa, iTunes card…and get a nice wallet to put it all in.</p>
<p>There is some great light weight luggage on the market now.</p>
<p>I got my son a Jambox. It’s a portable wireless speaker that plays an Iphone, Ipod etc. The cost is about $170. Check it out on Amazon. My other two kids, 25 and 23, both suggested it.</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Jawbone JAMBOX Wireless Bluetooth Speaker - Grey Hex - Retail Packaging: Cell Phones & Accessories](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Jawbone-JAMBOX-Wireless-Bluetooth-Speaker/dp/B004E10KFG/ref=sr_1_4?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1372388762&sr=1-4&keywords=jambox]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Jawbone-JAMBOX-Wireless-Bluetooth-Speaker/dp/B004E10KFG/ref=sr_1_4?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1372388762&sr=1-4&keywords=jambox)</p>
<p>Somewhat like Thumper1’s idea. For my D1 I waited until she went to college in the fall for her gift (told her she would get something after schools started). I went around her college town and picked up gift certificates ($10-$25-ish) to restaurants, bookstores, movie theaters, ice cream places, etc. that were walking distance from campus. I bought a box of notecards and wrote a month on the front of each envelope. Put a gift card and wote a short little note in each. Mailed her the envelopes (all at once) and told her to open on the first of the month over the year. Tried to make it enough so she could take a friend or roommate along for most of them. I had to research ahead of time and get the addresses of places, and went after I dropped her off (gave me something to do besides cry as I drove away from campus, too…). I got this idea from someone out here on CC, so just passing it on. My D loved it!</p>
<p>For S1 we paid half the airfare for him to go on a trip to Mexico with a friend’s family.
For S2, we bought him a new cell phone and a stereo system for his truck (that he took to college).</p>
<p>We gave our daughter a T-Shirt Quilt made from all the shirts she had accumulated over the years from various activities. It’s really awesome and she loves it!</p>
<p>[Too</a> Cool T-Shirt Quilts](<a href=“http://www.toocooltshirtquilts.com/]Too”>http://www.toocooltshirtquilts.com/)</p>
<p>Any chance that she is into music? Instruments tend to be expensive, relevant to college life and education and therefore a wonderful graduation gift.</p>
<p>For high school graduation?
I gave both my girls an " important " piece of jewelry. One was a silver bracket my mother had given me when I turned 18, the other was a silver locket & chain my husband gave me when he entered recovery.</p>
<p>the jambox is cool. If you go to their website you can do custom color combos–like school colors (maybe to where she’s going?)</p>
<p>My parents got me a set of noise cancelling headphones for all the flights I’d be taking whenever I’d visit them since I was across the country. :)</p>
<p>How about a nice camera to document those 3 trips?</p>
<p>I love the quilt idea. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I have not kept the amount of t-shirts required- 30-40. </p>
<p>I am going to start saving for my son who is in middle school now.</p>
<p>At a loss for my daughter though!. She loves clothes clothes & jewelry. I like the gift card idea.</p>
<p>
What kind of trips? If you’re paying, then can’t they be considered the grad gift?</p>
<p>Dipali, you can get by with fewer t-shirts if you put strips of fabric between the blocks.</p>
<p>Ive been saving the tee shirts with a quilt in mind but thats as far as Ive ever gotten.
Thanks for the link- I love it!</p>
<p>OP since you mentioned you will be taking a loan for her school in the fall, and since she has already gotten some very nice things, I would try and give her something practical and relatively inexpensive.</p>
<p>One of my traditional donations at school auctions is a trunk filled with things for their gap/freshman year. Electric tea kettle, mattress pad, magnet picture frames- let your imagination run wild! ( there are also lists on CC of suggestions)
The trunk is lockable and can be used for seating and storage in her dorm room.</p>
<p>Id also 2nd the instrument idea.
My daughter has both an acoustic guitar & a ukelele, which is more popular on college campuses than Tiny Tim could have dreamed.
Its relatively inexpensive, very portable and an ice breaker- fun & easy to play.
[Jake</a> Shimabukuro Rocked the Ukulele Before It Was Cool | Mother Jones](<a href=“http://www.motherjones.com/mixed-media/2013/04/jake-shimabukuro-ukulele-lady-gaga]Jake”>Jake Shimabukuro Rocked the Ukulele Before It Was Cool – Mother Jones)</p>
<p>My daughter loved the nice leather handbag that I let her pick out. She used throughout college. Now, my youngest is hoping for a similar HS graduation gift.</p>
<p>A pearl necklace, a nice coach or dooney or longchamps bag, a camera, (I like the gift card and the headphone ideas).</p>
<p>We got our 2011 grad, a son, a smartphone and are covering the data plan while he’s in college. It’s a luxury he certainly didn’t ‘need’ but certainly is nice to check email during the day as many professors communicate that way or via pages on university websites.</p>
<p>I admit smartphones are very useful.</p>
<p>My oldest didn’t even have a cell phone until she was a senior in college- but you are right blueiguana, especially if you don’t carry a laptop or tablet around with you, a smartphone can save your bacon when the prof emails updates on assignments or other changes.</p>
<p>With the ability to store documents in the cloud, and the same applications on your phone as on your laptop, you can access work without going back to your dorm.</p>
<p>However- if that isn’t in the budget, an ipod touch can use the wireless network on campus in almost the same way.</p>