High School Graduation Gift

Updated on May 28, 2010
N.S. asks from Henderson, NV
7 answers

I need help with ideas for a gift for my stepdaughter who is graduating high school. Not sure how big$$ a parents gift should be. Keep in mind that this graduation is already an expensive event and she pretty much has everything. She is not moving away for college , she is attending college near home and is not planning on moving out. She has a car, laptop, iphone, a nice digital camera, she works and makes decent $ , so she buys herself any extras she wants and we are paying for college.... I considered a travel gift at one point but she alredy received a trip from someone else. all i can think of is a peice of jewelry, but i wasnt sure if thats too cheesy cuz she gets jewelry gift from us every bday. HELP!

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P.W.

answers from Dallas on

Sounds like this is the young lady that has everything......so I would go with something symbolic. First of all, write her a letter about how you feel about her and her graduation. Be sure Dad does the same. When my son graduated High School we didn't buy him a big gift......after all we were paying for college, but I found a tiny pewter globe of the world. I opened his hand, dropped it in and told him, "You've got the whole world in your hands. Go for it!" Then we shopped til I dropped for things for his dorm room.

My motto: give less than you can afford to your children. I feel it helps to keep them balanced.

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D.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

The best gift you can give anyone is time - do something incredibly memorable with her!

My 35th birthday will be in a few weeks, and life's handed me a lot of lessons. After the birth of my daughter, I was diagnosed with cancer and went through 5 months of chemo. We went to Chicago for a second opinion on treatment and took our daughter (6 months at the time) - Oncology centers aren't used to seeing babies, so she was a hit, and while talking to another patient, I had an epiphany. If my treatment didn't work, and I only had 5 years to live, the only thing I would want is as much time as possible with the people important to me.

Maybe your gift is a girls weekend where you really bond, talk as adults, and enjoy getting to know each other better.

My sophomore year in college, the semester following making Dean's List, I had to stay out of school to earn money. I worked 3 jobs for 15 months, most of which was 7 days/week. Having to pay for a good portion of college was the second best gift my parents gave me - it made me a MUCH better student because I knew how hard I had to work to pay for just 1 credit hour).

She's fortunate that you're able to provide for her, but all the things in the world are meaningless without the people who really make our lives important.

Good luck and congratulations on her graduation.

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D.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

Not sure if you are paying anything for her college education, but if not, I would suggest a 'delayed' gift. Kind of like dangling the carrot in front of the rabbit. Rather than giving her, say $200, now, tell her you're setting up an account in her name and that for every college credit she completes you'll deposit $25. When she graduates with a degree the money is hers...It's a win-win situation. You don't have to cough up the money all up front, and she'll have a great incentive to keep going. A lot of incentive is lost when you pay for the kid's education up front. Personally, I worked my way through college and I focused a lot harder knowing what it would cost me to repeat a class.

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L.M.

answers from New York on

My girlfriend made a nice scrapbook for her daughter full of high school memories.

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S.S.

answers from Chicago on

We didn't give our boys graduation gifts we gave them graduation parties lol.

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T.B.

answers from New York on

A night on the town---limo and all. Let her pick a friend or two, or it can be you and her. Start at the spa, go to an event (dinner/show or a concert), go dancing, etc. There's plenty to do in your area. Congrats to the grad!

L.A.

answers from Austin on

Money is always going to be a good choice. There are so many opportunities for trips (fall break, Spring break), fees, supplies that pop up at every moment.

Are her best friends going away? Maybe a airline gift card so she can go and visit them at some point. A set of luggage that has her monogram

Does she have a good copier/printer? Our daughter loves her, she does not have to go and make copies. Also even though she is not living on campus how about a meal card for campus, see if she thinks she may like that. It helps when she is running late or wants a snack.

A beautiful piece of jewelry can be great if you know her taste. Since she will probably not wear her HS senior ring, maybe consider replacing it with a beautiful graduation ring. Her birthstone...her school colored stone..

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