Grad party season is a stressful time. With multiple parties every weekend, it's hard to not go broke (or insane) along the way. The list below is here to save you from the hair-pulling, screaming-into-the-abyss, and loss of sleep over the sheer amount of gifts you need to buy. To save even more time and money, pick just one of the gifts below and buy the components in bulk! Below are seven simple, cheap, and useful ideas to help you get started.
1. Gift cards -
A gift card to a supermarket, coffee shop, or an office supply store will be much more appreciated than a gift card to a clothing store, restaurant, or game store. Obviously, the later cards will be used and loved, but if the grad budgets well, that Walmart gift card will come more in handy in the middle of the school year than the card to Game Stop would be.
2. A College Survival Kit -
Fill a storage tub with quickly made food items, laundry detergent, gift cards, candy, safety pins, rolls of quarters, emergency sewing kit, pens, pencils, highlighters, sticky notes, a mug and anything else you can think of! Tie a nice bow around the container and you’re done!
3. Mini College Survival Kit -
Do a mini version of the survival kit above, but put it in a good quality travel mug. In there, you can put lottery tickets (if the grad is old enough to cash them in), candy, gift cards, and other small items that will fit. Put the lid on, tie a nice bow around the straw or handle, and you’re ready to go!
4. Photo Album -
For the more creative or sentimental grad, a photo album goes a long way. Start them off by putting your favorite pictures of the two of you in it. Make it a little more personal by putting little notes on the back of each photo for a special surprise! You can even make this a gift from a group of friends (prom group, club friends, lunch buddies, etc).
5. Laundry Basket -
For a grad who is going to have to pay to do their laundry, make a laundry day basket! Put a couple rolls of quarters, a small container of detergent, a box of dryer sheets, and a fabric laundry bag in a gift bag, and you have them set for a couple months!
6. Sentimental Letter -
Write a letter to the grad. My personal favorite gift is one that my mom put together was a set of letters from all of my best friends. She put them all in protective sleeves, and presented them to me on the day of my graduation party. I read those letters whenever I was homesick, feeling low, or just needed a pick-me-up during the school year. Putting them in the protective sleeves was a brilliant idea, so any tears that might have escaped couldn’t soak into the paper.
7. Some Dough -
And of course, you can never go wrong with money!
Now that you have some ideas for what to get for all those deserving grads, take a deep breath and go enjoy the food, fun, and game-filled time that is the grad party season!
