Minus 4 weeks ... Graduation Gifts!

 

Weekly Reminder #7       In this e-mail we’ll present 101 Graduate-tested and approved gift ideas. But first a few general tips …   It is not necessary to give gifts for graduation.  Yes, you may choose to, but many people agree that thoughtful congratulations cards are appropriate. So, stock up on cards now. They sell out and the selection gets limited!  Check out our selection of cards at GraduationParty.com.   If you have a few special graduates in your life, you may want to put some extra thought into your gifts.  Start shopping now!   Graduates appreciate something heartfelt as well as practical. For example, buy bath towels and have their name embroidered (no one will steal it at the dorm).   Money saving ideas: Make a batch of your homemade bars in a brand new cookie sheet with the recipe and a note that they get to keep the baking sheet. Have your graduate design a fun photo collage including all her friends. Make color copies (at your local copy store) and frame them.  These make perfect gifts for each of your graduate's friends.   Do graduates give gifts to each other? Some do, but a majority of graduates just give each other cards. The top two gift ideas for friends: A friendship bracelet or anklet is a great item to share amongst friends. A collage of photographs copied in color and framed with personalized writing on the frame.   Graduate-Tested and Approved Gift Ideas Money!  It’s very common to give money as a congratulation gift.  Some people have asked us, “What is the appropriate amount to give a friend who is graduating?”  We believe that it is totally up to you.  Any amount will be appreciated.  A cute idea is to use the year.  For example $20.08.  If you have many graduates this might be too much, but maybe for your graduate’s best friend.   Other gift ideas include: Gift Cards to a bookstore, the local mall or a major retailer.  This will help the grad stock up on books or supplies to take to college.  How about a LIDS Gift Card - a perfect gift for those whose head size you aren't too sure about!? Memory Book, available at GraduationParty.com Anything with the graduation year on it: boxers, t-shirts, key chains, etc. Go to GraduationParty.com to shop for some fun graduation gifts. Personalized items: Put monograms or name on bath towels, flannel blankets, coffee mugs, key chains or frames. Friendship bracelets, anklets, or rings for all the gang will be cherished forever. A tailor made shadow box, or framed photographs are very sentimental. Snapfish.com can help with this too. Cell phone with service plan. Let your grad know you want to stay in touch. Write a check for an amount equivalent to the graduation year (e.g. $20.08). Quilt made with scanned photos and/or the colors of your grad's high school or college.  Our friend found a company that can scan photos onto material and a different person to sew the quilt. Books: We suggest something that graduates can treasure over the years: such as poetry, motivational books, a quality dictionary, a leather bound journal. Go to our Alibris.com webpage where we feature a fun selection of handpicked graduation-related books. Although it's a little more expensive, one of our favorite gifts is one share of stock from OneShare.com.  They have stock in some fun companies including Apple, Dreamworks, Starbucks, and more. Sweatshirt or T-shirt with college name. Shop the Internet or The College Store. They also sell cups, pennants and socks!  Lids.com offers hats, jerseys, jackets and tees for your grad's new or favorite college! Large bag for dirty clothes, along with a box of detergent and quarters.  For an even more personal touch, get it embroidered with your grad's initials or name. Snake light or flash light. Digital camera or less expensive disposable cameras. A subscription to your hometown newspaper or the graduate’s favorite magazine. Personalized luggage tags or luggage or travel items for the college-bound or traveling graduate. Go to our LuggageGuru.com page for travel-related gift ideas. If all else fails give the grad a check for $20.08!   Thank you etiquette Plan ahead.  After the ceremony, after the party, there is one last detail that the graduate needs to take care of… Sending thank you notes. It’s customary for the graduate to thank all the people who gave them a graduation gift.   To make this task easier, order thank you notes (personalized or not) well in advance of graduation.  And consider ordering the graduation themed return address labels and envelope seals.   Saying “thank you” is easy… Never written thank you notes before?  Don’t worry.  Just follow our simple guidelines. If you’re still stuck, check out our sample letters for some great ideas. Every gift, whether received by mail or in person, should be acknowledged with a thank you note. Don't limit thank you notes to people who have sent gifts. Now is the time to remember and thank special teachers, coaches, relatives and friends from high school or elementary school. Send thank you notes promptly. Start right away and finish no later than one month after graduation. Always hand write thank you notes and hand address the envelopes. E-mail is not appropriate. Mention the gift specifically in the note and express appreciation. When you receive money as a present, don’t mention the amount. Do, however, mention how you plan to spend the money. Avoid making thank you notes look like form letters by adding a personal reference to each one. See our sample letters.   Money as gifts “Before the cards started arriving, we talked to our son about how he was going to spend the money he received as gifts. We agreed that he could have half of the money, but the other half went into his savings account. I taped the checks to a cupboard and he was allowed to deposit them when the thank you note was mailed. I’m glad we discussed it ahead of time.” - Barb in Dallas, Texas   Can’t wait for the next e-mail? You may want to jump ahead and get started on some more of the details… order a copy of Graduation Parties! Everything You Need to Know From Start to Finish available from our website as a book in paper copy or a convenient downloadable version! Click here to find out more about the book.   This 100-page guide provides great advice from experienced moms - like you!    Or visit our website at www.graduationparty.com.  It also contains a lot of information including ideas, tips and hints for all your graduation party needs.  You can even order unique graduation-themed items such as invitations, decorations, and much, much more.   We will be sending you friendly reminders to help you get organized and avoid the last minute panic.  If you do not want to receive these reminders please reply to this e-mail with “take me off your mailing list” in the subject line.   If you have a friend that is planning a graduation party, please forward them this e-mail and suggest they sign-up for our e-newsletter. They can just click here to go to our Newsletter sign-up page.   If you have a burning question that is keeping you up at night, send us an e-mail, we will try to get back to you so you can sleep tonight.   Good luck!!   Ginger Venable ginger@graduationparty.com   PS: All of our newsletters are kept on our website. If you’ve missed an earlier version or if you want to take a peek at the upcoming ones just go to our website, www.graduationparty.com, and click on “E-Newsletters”.