<p>I hope you have your hotel reservations Different campuses had different levels of celebration, but basically we treated all the family willing to attend and had some meals with champagne toasts. It meant a whole lot to some of the much younger family members to see the graduation. I was surprised.</p>
<p>Ours went straight to grad school. We took them on a “big” trip during their free time the summer after graduation. We paid for the move and very inexpensive & basic furnishing of their grad school apartments. We bought each of them a decent piece of art for the walls.</p>
<p>Every time we took care of some new expense, we said “Happy Graduation” :)</p>
<p>For my son, I had a silver money clip made with his initials. He still uses it. My daughter got a different piece of silver jewelry that she never wears.</p>
<p>D graduated two years ago. H, S, and I went to graduation (9 hours away), as did in laws (5-6 hours away). We spent a couple nice days together. We paid her apartment rent through the end of her lease (3 months after graduation). After that, she was on her own.</p>
<p>DH went to S1’s graduation and then took S and a friend out for dinner. I was still in the hospital and not able to travel. Once the docs felt I was out of the woods, they said it was OK for DH to go. S2 stayed here and spent time with me in the hospital.</p>
<p>S didn’t want a party anyway. He left a few days later for Scotland for his fiancee’s graduation and spent most of the summer in Scotland and England w/her and her family. (We used frequent flyer tickets for his plane fare, but he paid for everything else.)</p>
<p>My parents and brother came to my Commencement, and in the evening we went out to dinner at Blue Ginger, Ming Tsai’s most excellent restaurant, which is in Wellesley. My graduation gift was the promise of a new iPhone–paid out (ha!) when it was released, which was like 4 months later. </p>
<p>My best friend’s family also went to dinner at Blue Ginger (we were like two tables away from each other!) and her graduation gift was a REALLY nice class ring made at a jeweler in town. Every time I see it I admire it but I know about what it cost and it cost more than I could have or would have convinced my parents to pay–c’est la vie. Maybe I’ll buy myself one someday.</p>
<p>Well, apparently D and her best friends have already planned a brunch for the parents to say "thank you " to us. Boy do you know your kids are growing up when they have planned a surprise thank you brunch! :eek: She only told me so I wouldn’t plan a different party.</p>
<p>So, now I have “Help her pack,” which is what she probably most wants. And get her a nice piece of art, which she really would appreciate.</p>
<p>Aww, that’s really nice about the brunch, poetgrl. :)</p>
<p>I forgot one of the things we’re doing for D, although maybe it’s really more of a housewarming gift for her first apartment. I had her first pair of pointe shoes mounted in a shadow box for hanging.</p>
<p>Paying for undergrad is the big gift. D has already hinted that a plane ticket and Eurail pass would be very welcome. I think that will be it. Of course we will attend and likely treat a meal for family. Still two years away…</p>
<p>S graduated last March, so it was a smaller ceremony luckily (only 2500). The big one last June was over 10,000, so I thanked him for that LOL! We live 12 hours away, but some family members met us the evening before and we went out to dinner (near the univ). They left the next morning (didn’t attend ceremony), but FIL came down and we went out for another celebration dinner. S just wanted the family (we brought our sitter who is like part of our family and has taken care of S since he was a baby!), so that’s what he got.</p>
<p>Our gift to him was Lasik surgery - and he thanks us constantly!</p>
<p>we paid for dinner on campus, so ate with families of 2 of son’s roommates. He got an IOU for a watch and a trip. He didn’t want anything at the time. Later I learned he was not happy about the job he had lined up, and would rather have stayed around campus in a research position. Eventually, it all worked out. He did get his watch, and 2 years later we had a great trip to Maui. Then he started grad school.</p>
<p>I like giving gifts when the worm goes above and beyond expectations. The fact that he wanted nothing at he time was a sign he was not excited about his future. He had signed a contract, and to him, that was binding. In hindsight, I can see the signs.</p>
<p>We tried to coordinate with Ds friends who lived closer, but kids (darn it all) actually had finals and such to worry about. We ended up with a house full of family and a grad dropping in for three or four hours and then moving on to other parties.
Turned out fine.
If you need rentals in your kid’s place, try homeaway.com</p>
<p>We gave him money.
But we had the BEST time that weekend. The graduates threw the party at a rented townhouse with a walk out from the main floor onto the yard, perfect setting, and the parents helped with food. I provided champagne and plastic glasses so we could all toast the class of 2010. We played beer pong and socialized. We had a great time.</p>
<p>Oh, also maybe consider a super personalized keepsake for you daughter.</p>
<p>My S found a love of Dance while in college and added it to Mathematical Economics as a dual major. Not everone was really onboard with this new passion. </p>
<p>I had a great photo image of him in a dance pose that he had emailed me his junior year and took a 1933 black and white photo of his grandmother (my Mom) at age 18 in a very similar dance pose and had them professionally sized and merged so that it has them dancing together in a single image. I gave it to him as a gift and told him that in spite of the fact that he had never known her, I knew that she was very proud of his achievements, as I was, and that I thought that he and she would like to have a dance together in celebration.</p>
<p>DD does not want a big celebration. Both sets of grandparents are not healthy enough to go. I have purchased a special diploma frame from her college, an alumni license plate holder, and alumni t-shirt. And she is graduating debt-free.</p>
<p>Not from the parents perspective, but an emerald class ring, money, dinner, and support for a trip with expenses for a week with friends. He didn’t involve the family since he only has one parent and no relatives, but he did go with father to a cigar lounge to celebrate after ceremony.</p>
Different campuses had different levels of celebration, but basically we treated all the family willing to attend and had some meals with champagne toasts. It meant a whole lot to some of the much younger family members to see the graduation. I was surprised.</p>