Graduation is an exciting time not only for graduates but also for proud family members and friends. Generally, this excitement is accompanied by hoping to find the perfect gift. As a senior approaches graduation day and anticipates receiving a diploma, he or she will also be anticipating gifts and may expect to receive several, big and small, often along with a nice bit of cash.
If a family member decides to give money as a graduation gift, he or she can slip cash into cards made especially for this purpose or choose from a variety of shopping gift cards. Many store-specific gift cards are available, as are prepaid cash cards from major credit card companies. A bank may also issue cash cards, and one would make an excellent gift since the graduate will be able to choose where to spend the money. Cash is an especially good gift for those graduating from college and looking for a job in the "real world."
If the person is graduating from high school and is soon going to college, a notebook or desktop computer would also make an excellent graduation gift. Parents usually give larger gifts like this, but a friend or relative might want to give software or another item to go with it. Items for the dorm, such as a small television set, DVD player, CD player, or other electronics, are also usually well received.
People looking to give something a bit less expensive might want to find out what kind of graduation gift the parent is giving and add to it. If a parent decides a DVD player will make a good gift, another family member may want to give a DVD or a nice collection of them. A piece of jewelry that matches an item given by a parent could also be a nice present. It is usually a good idea for a gift giver to check with the parents before purchasing something to make sure that he or she is not giving the same item.
A great graduation gift from parents is a graduation party. The graduate will then likely receive many gifts, including cash, from those who attend. Since hosting a graduation party can be expensive, parents may choose to give a smaller tangible gift. Whatever a parent decides to give, he or she should make sure the child knows how proud the parent is are. Hearing the words, “I’m proud of you,” is often the best gift of all.