Best Graduation Gift Ideas (Besides Money)
With this year’s graduates about to receive their hard-earned diplomas, you may be wondering what gifts they really want, and what they will receive. The latest data from RetailMeNot.com found that America’s number one most desired graduation gift is money (50%). Fewer respondents think they’d most want a car (15%) or a trip or vacation (13%). Some other interesting findings:
- Americans on average consider $165 an appropriate gift for high school grads, $464 for college grads, and $772 for grad school graduates.
- Men have bigger ideas than women about what amounts are appropriate for grads: high school ($226 vs. $111), college ($627 vs. $319), grad school ($909 vs. $655).
- Some college grad respondents reported that they would opt for travel after graduation, but it’s not about avoiding responsibility. Nearly one quarter of Americans would want to take a road trip (24%) or travel internationally (21%). But far fewer are simply interested in living a life of leisure before entering the ‘real world’ (12%), or not working at all and instead just having fun (11%).
- If graduates could have had more advice upon entering the ‘real world’, they would have liked to have been told to save money (42%), avoid spending beyond their means (37%), be wary of credit cards (30%), find a job right away (29%), or put money into investments (28%).
Don’t want to give money? Retailmenot.com has you covered! Check out their post on 17 Practical Graduation Gift Ideas to fit any budget.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by RetailMeNot but all opinions are my own.
A tool kit is a gift I rec’d and the only HS graduation gift I’m still using 20 years later.
Here is a similar one at Home Depot:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Workforce-Household-Tool-Kit-42-Piece-007-46/202279687
Graduation gifts are the most important part, but not everyone can spend a lot of money for them. I have seen a lot of low-cost high school graduation gifts, which everyone would love.