High School Graduation Gift Ideas

Do Something Special Together

A one-on-one activity is one of the most thoughtful gifts you can give a graduate, especially one who is about to leave the nest for college. Where you go and what you do should center on the grad’s interests. Try tickets to a professional game for the sports lover or an outing to a museum in the city for the artist. Just spending time together is a great way to show how much you care.

Meal Delivery

Grads who are leaving home might have the responsibility of preparing their own meals for the very first time. After 18 years of home-cooked meals, this can be a rude awakening. Show a little love with a meal-delivery subscription. Some services offer meals ready to heat and eat, while others come with all the ingredients to cook a healthy dish. Consider your grad’s accessibility to a kitchen when choosing this unique graduation gift.

Inspirational Scrapbook

There are plenty of self-help guides and how-to books for graduates leaving behind the safety net of school, but sometimes the best advice comes from those who know us best. As you look back on your own life, aren’t there things you wish you had known when you graduated high school? Write down this advice and ask your friends and family members to jot down their own words of encouragement, favorite quotes, or special messages to inspire the graduate on this next phase of life. Compile the pages together in an inspirational scrapbook for a gift that will last long after the party has ended.

School Memory Quilt

A new abode means new bedding for your grad. Combine the practical with the personal and give a photo-memory quilt. Make it yourself or enlist the help of an online service. Put a fun graduation spin on this classic gift by choosing photos that show the grad’s progression from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade. If your family has a special tradition, like first day of school pictures or photos of the grad posing with various family members, include those as well. Choose photos that represent all your favorite memories, and your grad will have something to smile about while keeping warm.

Letters of Encouragement

When it comes to inexpensive high school graduation gift ideas, this one is low on cost and high on affection. Leaving school brings big changes and transitions, which can cause a wave of emotions for a high school graduate. You probably won’t be with your graduate friend in person all the time, but you can still show him you’re thinking of him. Find fun greeting cards and write little personal notes of advice, encouragement and love. Seal the envelopes and tell your graduate friend to only open one when he needs a friendly word of support. Unique graduation gifts like this are often the ones cherished most.

Personalized Adventure Journal

The end of high school signifies a major turning point. Give your high school grad a place to jot down her memories, thoughts, and feelings as they begin a new chapter of her her life with a personalized journal. Write a personal note inside or add your favorite quote on the cover. Your grad will thank you when they can look back and remember these times years down the road.

Transportation

Even if you won’t be in close enough proximity to give your grad a ride, it’s the next best thing to give a gift card to a transportation service like Uber or Lyft. Students who plan to live at home after graduation may still need a bicycle to get from the college parking lot to campus. A grad who has a job lined up might benefit from a pre-paid bus or subway pass for commuting to work.

Surprise Deliveries

Grads who are gearing up to leave home and are worried about homesickness can benefit from receiving little gifts from you throughout their first months away. But who has time to send dozens of care packages? Instead, sign up your grad for a subscription box you know he or she will love. There are companies that send monthly deliveries of makeup, clothing, books, and even fitness essentials geared to both women and men. Send your grad a personalized ecard letting him or her know what you’ve arranged.

Emergency Kit

Buy — or make — your grad an emergency kit with all the little things he might need but won’t have easy access to anymore. Essentials include a needle and thread, bandages, pain reliever, safety pins, scissors, nail clippers, and hand sanitizer. Want to add a personal touch? Put your emergency kit in a monogrammed travel bag that he can use for toiletries whenever he travels — home, of course.

High school graduation is an exciting and emotional time for both grads and their families, and the gifts that mark the occasion are often the most remembered. No matter what gift you choose, pairing it with a thoughtful card to congratulate them on a job well done always mean a lot and show how much you care about them and their great accomplishment.