<p>In college I received a silver or pewter mug (stein) engraved with my initials as a gift of appreciation for a position I held. Over the years, I’ve used it to drink from, hold pencils and pens, as a paperweight. I still have it and with a little polish, it still looks great. </p>
<p>These are in the price range too. <a href=“http://www.steins.com/page/steins/CTGY/eng[/url]”>http://www.steins.com/page/steins/CTGY/eng</a></p>
<p>My younger son would go for that dragon handle.</p>
<p>I recommend a no iron expensive white or blue dress shirt. The Wall Street Journal likes Jos Banks’ no irons…and my son likes the slim fit one…you can’t have too many high end shirts especially those treated to never need ironing when you yank them out of the dryer in time. My son has his first job last summer which required him to wear a blazer daily. They cost about 75 dollars and are seldom on sale. (think about A. How often a boy would iron and B. the money to dry clean a shirt…and the upcharge for the no iron shirts starts to make sense.)
Leather dress belts are alse expensive but useful.
A good dress blazer for a young man that expands him past the Navy Blue one every boy has is a good investment…Gift Cert works.<br>
Also REI gift certificates allow purchase of say a Thorlo mattress that reduces to nothing in size but makes for 1.5 inch mattress in no time</p>
<p>Last good idea …we are crazy about the Natural light desk lamps…much better to study by light from those sunlight bulbs instead of green florescent.</p>
<p>One last idea…Ipod Shuffle…support your graduate’s physical fitness companion…great thing for runners.</p>
<p>a dress watch</p>
<p>I was about to ask DMD where she got the money clip. Then I realized that my S still uses a velcro wallet I got at Marshalls some 7 years ago. What do most young men use, wallet or $ clip?</p>
<p>Either one would be a good gift.</p>
<p>I like the ideas of the leatherman, pocket knife, engraved money clip, or pewter stein. While cuff links are nice, I’m not sure how many young men will use those. An engraved pen is also nice though I’d worry it would get lost compared to the other items.</p>
<p>A couple of other ideas are a keepsake box you might put on a dresser, an engraved pocket watch, an engraved desk clock.</p>
<p>My son loves his pen he received as a gift for graduation. You can get a very nice one in your price range, or find a discounter and get a Monte Blanc or Waterman; very classy!</p>
<p>I believe Mont Blanc will engrave their pens for free.</p>
<p>Sorry I hadn’t read through the entire thread, but I second soozievt/snowball/acinva’s idea!</p>
<p>How about a special coin (not one to be spent,lol)? I still have an 1864 silver dollar that my father gave me when I was very young. We bought proof coins for each of our son’s for their first birthday to commerate the year of each one’s birth.</p>