Poll-What would you give as a graduation gift?

sarawifenow · March 2015

H and I are going back to his hometown in May for his youngest sister's high school graduation. I know it is a little over a month away, but I am a planner and wanted to get started on this.

His sister is very into shopping and is very girly. I'm not sure what to get her as a graduation gift. I don't even know what people get for graduation gifts anymore. What do you think of the following options? Feel free to add your own!

FYI--not sure if this matters...as far as I know, she is not going to college.

MadHops21 · March 2015

I'm graduating this summer (I actually finished last month, but DeVry has graduation twice a year so I get to be a summer graduate) and the party will also be in the summer. If I get any gifts at all, I'm hoping for cash. When I was in HS, I was hoping for cash and gift cards because older people don't know my style and what I like. My aunt always got me sweaters that I hated but wore when she was around, but I always hoped for cash or gift cards.

sarawifenow · March 2015

Ok so it looks like cash is the popular vote. Does $100 seem like a good amount. Is this too much? Too little?

MadHops21 · March 2015

For a HS student, I think it's enough. It's not like college where she's living on her own in a dorm and paying her way through school. She can get a nice outfit for $100.

Blergbot · March 2015

$100 would have seemed like a lot to me at that age. I think that's a good amount.

cupcait927 · March 2015

Cash. Definitely cash. And $100 is definitely enough for a high school graduation gift. Hell, I'm 28 and $100 would be awesome.

sarawifenow · March 2015

Sweet! Thanks all! Cash it is. Maybe I will take her to get her nails done the day before her graduation.

onefootinthebayou · March 2015

My favorite high school graduation gift was a really nice Torneau watch. I still have it and wear it daily & I graduated 20 years ago! It was more than $100 but Torneau gives a lifelong guarantee. I am also girly and love shopping if that helps. I often pair the watch with silver or diamond bracelets now but I still love it & will always remember who gave it to me. It's stainless steel with a mother of pearl face, which makes it more feminine. It also shows the date which I learned at the time was unusual for women's watches (I guess people assumed we would always know what day it was. Haha)

Just my two cents. I'm sure whatever you get her will be heartfelt & meaningful!

Congratulations on the graduation.

Blergbot · March 2015

sarawifenow said:
Sweet! Thanks all! Cash it is. Maybe I will take her to get her nails done the day before her graduation.

Sounds perfect to me!

doeydo · March 2015

RE the amount: I would be super surprised and so grateful to get anything as a graduation gift, TBH, and $100 is certainly a lot in my books.

MadHops21 · March 2015

sarawifenow said:
Sweet! Thanks all! Cash it is. Maybe I will take her to get her nails done the day before her graduation.

Ahh, you're the best if you do that, especially if that's her thing. I loved when my and my SIL went shopping together or drove somewhere and did something fun, especially nails.

theartistformerlyknownas · March 2015

Is she going away to college in the fall? If so I'd go something practical. Cash obviously, or a backpack, piece of luggage, reading lamp for her dorm room, GC to the campus bookstore, etc. Or a whole bunch of gift cards to local fast food places because let's be honest, that's where I spent the majority of my money freshman year.

And I think $100 is more than generous. I recently found my thank you card list from my graduation and (bearing in mind this was 14 years ago) most people gave me $10-15. Besides my grandparents, nobody gave me more than $50.

ETA most of these things still apply if she's not going to college. Even if she's starting out in a job on her own, I'd go practical.

sarawifenow · March 2015

@lolo883 As far as I know she isn't going to college. I'm glad to hear that cash is acceptable.

To everyone: now that I see $100 seems like a lot...is it too much? I don't want to seem pretentious.

littlepep · March 2015

sarawifenow said:
@lolo883 As far as I know she isn't going to college. I'm glad to hear that cash is acceptable.

To everyone: now that I see $100 seems like a lot...is it too much? I don't want to seem pretentious.

Give that she's his sister, I don't think so. It would be too much for a family friend IMO, but since yall are close I think it's approrpriate.

chibiyui · March 2015

I think your close enough that 100 is fine.

Also. Depends on your society economic status. 50 bucks was my larger end graduation gifts, H was over 100.

labro · March 2015

I think $100 is fine given the relationship. For my h/s graduation the average gift was around $50 from friends of the family (with a few special exceptions who gave more but they are more like family than friends) and $100 or more from family. I don't have any older siblings so I can't compare what kind of gift they would have given me.

For those who have mentioned college graduation gifts. What did you get or are expecting? I don't even remember if I sent out graduation announcements but I only received gifts from my parents and grandparents. It was nothing compared to high school graduation where we had a big party, food, gifts, etc.

theartistformerlyknownas · March 2015

labro said:
I think $100 is fine given the relationship. For my h/s graduation the average gift was around $50 from friends of the family (with a few special exceptions who gave more but they are more like family than friends) and $100 or more from family. I don't have any older siblings so I can't compare what kind of gift they would have given me.

For those who have mentioned college graduation gifts. What did you get or are expecting? I don't even remember if I sent out graduation announcements but I only received gifts from my parents and grandparents. It was nothing compared to high school graduation where we had a big party, food, gifts, etc.

I don't recall getting any college graduation gifts. I think I got a couple of (empty) cards. And a few reminders from my mom that I was late with rent money.

hellosweetie1015 · March 2015

This is going to sound crazy, but one of the best graduation gifts I got was a first aid kit. I didn't think about needing bandaids and medicine when I was getting stuff with my graduation cash, so I didn't get any. My first headache down there, that kit came in SO handy. So no matter what I'm giving, I throw in a first aid kit now for HS graduations.

I gave my brother an iPod and a first aid kit when he graduated. I was broke when my sister graduated, but I told her I'd help her out if I had it until I'd given her what I would have had I not been broke. She stayed at home so I left out the first aid kit there, but when she moves she'll get it belated.

Baby sister graduates this May too! She's getting a custom first aid kit because she's going further than my brother and won't have a car, so I want to be sure she will have everything she might need.

labro · March 2015

lolo883 said:

labro said:
I think $100 is fine given the relationship. For my h/s graduation the average gift was around $50 from friends of the family (with a few special exceptions who gave more but they are more like family than friends) and $100 or more from family. I don't have any older siblings so I can't compare what kind of gift they would have given me.

For those who have mentioned college graduation gifts. What did you get or are expecting? I don't even remember if I sent out graduation announcements but I only received gifts from my parents and grandparents. It was nothing compared to high school graduation where we had a big party, food, gifts, etc.
I don't recall getting any college graduation gifts. I think I got a couple of (empty) cards. And a few reminders from my mom that I was late with rent money.

That's hilarious. I'm pretty sure my H got a similar letter from his dad in the interim weeks before he left for college his new job.

sunset30 · March 2015

I think $100 is very appropriate, especially given that it's your SIL. For my high school graduation, all of the cash gifts I received were in the range of $25 - $100 (and that was 15 years ago), with the closest people to me giving me gifts that were a few hundred dollars. If you can afford it, I think that its a nice gesture and one she'd really appreciate (I can't imagine a high school senior thinking their brother and SIL is pretentious for giving them $100).

onefootinthebayou · March 2015

labro said:
I think $100 is fine given the relationship. For my h/s graduation the average gift was around $50 from friends of the family (with a few special exceptions who gave more but they are more like family than friends) and $100 or more from family. I don't have any older siblings so I can't compare what kind of gift they would have given me.

For those who have mentioned college graduation gifts. What did you get or are expecting? I don't even remember if I sent out graduation announcements but I only received gifts from my parents and grandparents. It was nothing compared to high school graduation where we had a big party, food, gifts, etc.

My brother and I both received cash for our college graduations. I also got a car but I think that was b/c I went straight to grad school and not to work. We have a large extended family so writing checks are customary for college graduations. I have bought my cousins jewelry though for a college graduation.

amelisha · March 2015

Jeez, for my high-school graduation the only thing I got was a one-way plane ticket out of there. Literally.

ashley8918 · March 2015

Always cash.

mlg78 · March 2015

I think $100 is good because it is your husband's sister. Anyone more distant than that it is a little much.

For me, I like to do what lolo said and give a bunch of gift cards. Last summer I found a leather University of Kentucky embossed wallet and filled it with six fast food and coffee shop gift cards since that's where he was heading that fall. He loved it.

doeydo · March 2015

amelisha said:

amelisha said:
Jeez, for my high-school graduation the only thing I got was a one-way plane ticket out of there. Literally.

Yeah, I got to go out for Dairy Queen and I got verbally told "good job".

amelisha · March 2015

doeydo said:

amelisha said:

amelisha said:
Jeez, for my high-school graduation the only thing I got was a one-way plane ticket out of there. Literally.
Yeah, I got to go out for Dairy Queen and I got verbally told "good job".

My parents sent me to work in Spain, at least, so I don't really get to cry about it. Lol.

FiancB · March 2015

Always money. They definitely want money. And I think $100 is MORE than enough, I'd probably do more like $50 and that's if they were relatively close.

But then I think the people that say they regularly gift over $200 at weddings are crazy so it's probably somewhat regional.

huskypuppy14 · March 2015

I gave my sister a 100 dollar check for her college graduation. I don't really remember how much money I got for my HS graduation, but I feel like the range was 25-100 per person/family.

For my college graduation I think I got a total of about 1000 dollars.

A gift is a gift. If you want to give his sister 100 dollars as a gift, do it!

Poll-What would you give as a graduation gift?

Poll-What would you give as a graduation gift? 55 votes

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