<p>@MaryJay80 - really wanting that Irish Coffee!!!</p>
<p>Exactly what I was thinking @overtheedge -
</p>
<p>@Maryjay - full tuition is still pretty impressive. Maybe you can buy him a vespa, lol. </p>
<p>@ordinarylives - We too are planning on the grad party before the actual graduation because of too many summer commitments. We’ve always given either $ or a gift card in response to an announcement. Yet, graduation etiquette says an announcement is not a solicitation of a gift. Still, not sure how many we’ll send out. Spygirl did not like the packaged announcements put out by Jostens so we’re doing our own.</p>
<p>@2018dad - I think something like this: Join us in congratulating 2018dads girl on being Valdictorian… is perfectly fine. </p>
<p>I like the idea of a neighborhood party - we will have 3 grads on our little street & another just around the corner. Could be a great excuse for a block party, maybe the week after all the other festivities.</p>
<p>We had a party for S11 mid summer- a Graduation/ College Send Off event. It was much more relaxed and well attended. Plan to do the same for S14.</p>
<p>I use Costco photo cards for Graduation/ Thank you notes. 50 for $14.99. More for fancier versions.</p>
<p>We gave our oldest luggage (ll bean) when she graduated and I think I’ll stick with that for the next three as well!</p>
<p>Ok hang on a sec. Graduation announcements? I have never even herd of these. Is this a regional thing?</p>
<p>@Mrspepper- waiting for Smith College and possibly Mount Holyoke. D is our only child so this is all new to us. It’s more than a little nerve-wracking.</p>
<p>We will only send announcements to our family and perhaps one or two friends. We did order the ones from his school - in the smallest quantity we could.
My son’s grade school class is extremely close. It was a Catholic parochial school, but I’ve never seen anything like his class. They went to at least nine different high schools, but still are great friends. A bunch of the parents have rented a hall and we are having one big grad party for this group and their parents and sibs. The party is after my son’s graduation, but before some of the others. We are all looking forward to the evening. </p>
<p>We will probably have a smaller family-only party with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, since that tends to be what our family does. We are a tiny family, so this isn’t a big production. </p>
<p>@staceyneil I though announcements were EVERYWHERE since it gives printing companies one more way to make money. They are like college announcements - not necessarily invitations, since many graduations require tickets. </p>
<p>I agree @spritle ! I can’t keep up with this thing.</p>
<p>@minnymom
Costco sells graduation announcements ? I did not know that. Thank you. </p>
<p>My theory is that anyone who needs to know my kid is graduating, knows already. Any I have ever received tend to be for some kid I barely know and I feel like they are asking for a monetary gift. I do like the photo card from Costco idea though…maybe I can think of some way to work that in. </p>
<p>I like Agentninetynine’s idea for recognizing valedictorian.
We’re waiting on Rice news, too, or, rather I am. I think our S took me at my word when I told him he could apply, but probably wouldn’t get in. I doubt he even knows that today is the day the emails go out. So I’m thinking of tactful ways of asking him if he’s checked his email today.</p>
<p>I use the announcements for the oodles of out of state relatives I have who I cant invite to the party. Also, the older relatives who think the party invite without the formal announcement just isn’t proper. It’s just the way my family is. I don’t know that grad announcements are regional. They certainly aren’t a new thing. I had them when I graduated from high school in 1983. </p>
<p>His graduation is May 30th and the party will be May 31st so my dad can be here for both events (he lives in Florida). It worked out nicely when it did that way with Barnardgirl. My dad’s gift to them is their laptop for college. My gift is the party. They get to keep the contents of the envelopes they receive at the party. That’s more than I could give them directly! </p>
<p>edited. I feel like I’m jinxing D if I report here before all’s said and done! </p>
<p>We are planning for a party as well. It’s a get together more than anything and D can keep the gift money as well. I’m from California and we always receive graduation announcements from relatives. Granted, most of my wife’s relatives attended private HS so they send these very formal announcements with tissue and ribbons with gold and formal fonts.</p>
<p>Sorry, @staceyneil - was that a favorite for your D?</p>
<p>Anyone waiting for UVA? It comes out tonight. So does Virginia Tech, and I have to think JMU will be with them. Going to be an emotional night for Virginia kids, and a lot of others. I hate this roller coaster for them. (OK, not too fond of it for us, either).</p>
<p>@89wahoo - my nephew applied to mostly lottery schools- 3 safeties and 13 lottery! I tried to gently steer them towards a few matches with no luck…He is qualified but so are so many others…</p>
<p>Good look everyone waiting for news tonight!</p>
<p>It sounds like it will be an emotional night. Luckily, your friends on CC will be right there with you for celebration or support! :)</p>
<p>I really wish I had learned of the Costco option, or had thought to customize D’s announcements, before I paid out of the wazoo for a handful of Josten’s announcements. </p>
<p>I’m waiting on pins and needles for all of you! Such excitement on this thread right now!!</p>
<p>DS has received all of his results, with mixed FA packages. We leave tomorrow night for our train trip to Michigan - can’t wait!! But, brrrrrr, it’s going to be cold! Just when it’s starting to look like Spring at home! Snow forecasted for Tuesday! Anxious for the job fair that just happens to be coinciding with our trip for the co-op mandatory school. That may make up his mind if he lands a job with a company in his field! </p>
<p>We’ll probably do a laptop for DS for graduation. I told DS the same thing @MaryJay did - would buy him a new car for full ride. Right now, only one school fits the bill and it’s number 5 on his list of 5.</p>
<p>We ordered the announcements from the school so they would be uniform with the others from his school, but I will also order a picture announcement from Walgreens or Shutterfly to insert in the envelope. We’ll mail to family and long-time friends that don’t have seniors.</p>
<p>I have received a couple of mailings about grad announcements from Shutterfly/Tiny Prints, convincing me they are buying a mailing list from someone. Our HS sells individual announcements (with the gold foil shield look) for $1.50 each. I just don’t recall receiving any from friends and my son is the first in our extended family to graduate, so I can’t decide how I should handle this. </p>
<p>I liked the idea upthread of a $500 dorm shopping trip, but shopping together might be painful for both of us! </p>