Unique Graduation Gifts

The month of May seems to spring up on us so quickly, with the Easter holiday, spring break, the school year coming to a close and, of course, high school graduations. I am often asked what makes a good graduation gift. With technology gadgets and apps available on cell phones these days, it is difficult to come up with a practical yet meaningful gift that doesn’t include technology. Dr. Seuss’ Oh the Places You’ll Go is a popular gift, and one that I still hold dear to my heart from my graduation (over 20 years ago!). But what are other good gift ideas?

I still like the standard (and maybe a little old school) Webster’s College Dictionary or Webster’s New World Thesaurus. Again, I know they have apps for these now but they look great on a college dorm room bookshelf!

I recently polled some of my friends, family, and former students to see if they could add to my favorite high school graduation gift idea list. Their most popular answers:

• Luggage

• Laundry basket (with good quality towels and laundry supplies)

• Toolkit and screwdriver set

• Handmade blanket

• And the ever-so-popular CASH

Some inspirational books that I came across a couple of years ago that I have given for gifts include:

• 1 – How many people does it take to make a difference? Written by Dan Zadra and Kobi Yamada

• 5 – Where will you be 5 years from today? Written by Dan Zadra

• 7 – How many days of the week can be extraordinary? Written and compiled by Dan Zadra and Kobi Yamada

These encouraging books are part of the bestselling Life By the Numbers series.