HS graduation gift

[Floridaman999]

Cash is never a bad gift if you ask me.

 

[goofy4tink]

College washer and dryers operate with a swipe of a card, ds’s are free, my kids lived in very old dorms, and even those were quarter free. Pop up hampers are very practical.

Very true. And my dd took those quarters and had them put on her account!

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I’m glad too. I wouldn’t like to have a relative who expects a reward for something that’s expected of you.

You're expected to have birthdays, too.

 

[scoutie]

Is $100 the going rate now? We are going to three graduation parties (niece, cousin and friend's son) six hours away this weekend. We are paying for hotel already and I hadn't anticipated an extra $300 in gifts.

 

[QueenIsabella]

UNC I'll have to do some research.

Which one? I live very close to one, that's why I'm asking. One nice thing--the campus has a real post office and passport office in the student union. Along with Subway and Chick-Fil-A, which my kids were much more impressed with!

 

[QueenIsabella]

There should be an "other", because I sometimes assemble a laundry basket filled with mundane but necessary items--paper towels, Swiffer pads, laundry detergent, tape--you know, dumb stuff that will come in handy.

A lot of colleges have some kind of point system, where you can load their ID, and they can make purchases at the bookstore, cafeteria, etc.

In addition, I used to send my oldest rolls of quarters. You could use the ID for laundry in most places, but some places, you still needed quarters. They were also handy for parking meters--she didn't have a car, but if she had a visitor, or someone was helping her move or something, the quarters came in handy.

 

[verleniahall]

Is $100 the going rate now? We are going to three graduation parties (niece, cousin and friend's son) six hours away this weekend. We are paying for hotel already and I hadn't anticipated an extra $300 in gifts.

Its what you wish to give - family would get more in my opinion - always does

You can always do gift cards and put them in a card - its not like they are all going to compare what you gave them

My order would be this:

Niece - 100
Cousin - 50
Family Friend - 25/30

 

[Southernmiss]

Its what you wish to give - family would get more in my opinion - always does

You can always do gift cards and put them in a card - its not like they are all going to compare what you gave them

My order would be this:

Niece - 100
Cousin - 50
Family Friend - 25/30

This.

Our graduation this past weekend was 2.5 hours out of town. We made a weekend of it--2 nights hotel and a couple of meals out. And still gave our nephew $100. The gift was what we wanted to give and the weekend was part of our summer 'vacation' type activities. So the fact that we had out of town expenses never even crossed into the picture of changing the amount we gave to our nephew. That was his gift--did not want to short change him because of our decision to stay over. Nephew did enjoy opening his card with a nice crisp $100 bill. Not something kids usually see too often.

Edit-We do have 3 invitations for local graduations this weekend of friends of the family. $20 bills seem appropriate-except maybe DS's girlfriend--maybe $40 there.

 

[scoutie]

Thank you! I didn't mean to butt in the thread. I haven't been to a graduation party since I graduated so I wasn't sure. $100 seemed excessive for my husbands' friend's child, but I wasn't sure.

 

[Toolulu22]

Which one? I live very close to one, that's why I'm asking. One nice thing--the campus has a real post office and passport office in the student union. Along with Subway and Chick-Fil-A, which my kids were much more impressed with!

Wilmington!

 

[AppleDumpling]

We do have 3 invitations for local graduations this weekend of friends of the family. $20 bills seem appropriate-except maybe DS's girlfriend--maybe $40 there.

You might consider giving a check in the amount of $20.18, representing the class year. It’s supposed to be good luck for the graduate. (Fairly common here for friends, though I’d give more for a family member.)

 

[QueenIsabella]

Wilmington!

Bingo! If you want to know anything about the area, ask away. We moved here 3 years ago, we really like it. I don't know the campus all that well--my kids have taken Junior Strings/Youth Orchestra there, and have had various events--this past weekend, DS12's Scout troop did their swim tests there. The kids I know that go there, seem to really like it.

 

[blana]

Wilmington!

Ah. Then don't use the link I posted before, which is for UNC-CH, generally the only one called just UNC around here. Looks like Subway would still work, though!

 

[QueenIsabella]

Some suggestions of places near UNCW, that might be of help:

The following are within walking distance of campus:

Chick-Fil-A and Subway are ON campus. Probably Starbucks, too.
Bojangles
Bed, Bath, and Beyond
Old Navy
Honeybaked Ham
Lowe's (both grocery and hardware)
TJ Maxx
HomeGoods
AC Moore
Sam's Club
Best Buy

There's plenty more, like the jerky store, college-budget friendly restaurants, Insomnia cookies, and so forth. Go for a Target card versus Walmart--much closer to campus (he could walk there, but it's a bit of a hike--college probably has a shuttle).

He'll be a few miles from the beach, but you definitely get the "beach vibe" from the school.

Tell him to go to Flaming Amy's--either the Burrito Barn or the Bowl. Inexpensive, very fresh food, also very vegetarian-friendly. I prefer the Bowl--you pick the ingredients that they grill up and add to noodles or rice. My kids prefer the Burrito Barn, where they'll stuff almost anything into a burrito. Top off at the salsa bar. For more upscale (i.e., Parent's Weekend), try Osteria Cicchetti--real authentic Italian food--is our pick of the litter. Of course, you can get fresh seafood everywhere.

 

[SharonZ]

I would give between $200-$250, which is more than I give for birthdays/holidays, but give what you feel comfortable with. I think of it as a celebration, not for rewarding something that's expected of them.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

$100 to close family, $50 to distant family, $50 to close friends, and nothing to anyone else because we just wouldn't go to their graduation or party.

 

[NYCgrrl]

We don’t do HS grad gifts as it is an expectation, no doubt it is probably slowly changing. University graduations are a big deal though.

I absolutely detest all these graduation parties they do now. My twins have graduated twice already (crèche and kinder) and they’re only in grade 6. My eyes rolled so hard I got a headache when teachers called the class party a graduation.

Yes, yes, a thousand times YES. And I hope it NEVER changes but it has by some segments of society and there you are.

 

[YCCS]

Thank you! I didn't mean to butt in the thread. I haven't been to a graduation party since I graduated so I wasn't sure. $100 seemed excessive for my husbands' friend's child, but I wasn't sure.

I think you should give what you can afford. I understand that not everyone has unlimited disposable funds, so an out of state trip might limit a budget.

I think it should depend on 2 things, your budget and your relationship with the child.

The closer the relationship the more I would give regardless of the actual relation. For example, if it were the child of a friend whose life I had been very involved with I would give more than a nephew I only saw or spoke to a couple of times a year at family events, but I don't think you are obligated to $100 in any case if that is beyond your budget.

Oh, and to answer the original question I would give cash. Cash is always useful.

I am going to try this "no gifts for expected events," though, I will never have to buy another gift.

 

[Toolulu22]

Some suggestions of places near UNCW, that might be of help:

The following are within walking distance of campus:

Chick-Fil-A and Subway are ON campus. Probably Starbucks, too.
Bojangles
Bed, Bath, and Beyond
Old Navy
Honeybaked Ham
Lowe's (both grocery and hardware)
TJ Maxx
HomeGoods
AC Moore
Sam's Club
Best Buy

There's plenty more, like the jerky store, college-budget friendly restaurants, Insomnia cookies, and so forth. Go for a Target card versus Walmart--much closer to campus (he could walk there, but it's a bit of a hike--college probably has a shuttle).

He'll be a few miles from the beach, but you definitely get the "beach vibe" from the school.

Tell him to go to Flaming Amy's--either the Burrito Barn or the Bowl. Inexpensive, very fresh food, also very vegetarian-friendly. I prefer the Bowl--you pick the ingredients that they grill up and add to noodles or rice. My kids prefer the Burrito Barn, where they'll stuff almost anything into a burrito. Top off at the salsa bar. For more upscale (i.e., Parent's Weekend), try Osteria Cicchetti--real authentic Italian food--is our pick of the litter. Of course, you can get fresh seafood everywhere.

Thank you over again! This is incredibly helpful. I am going to pass this info to my sister. They obviously visited campus, but also went to about five or six (or more maybe) schools so its probably all a blur.

 

[Toolulu22]

Thanks everyone. Despite what appears to be some descent amongst you all on what and how much- your responses helped me tremendously! The reason I put the question out there was because gift giving is so subjective. When I was married some folks were incredibly generous with gifts of cash, and others gave a small gift. We had invited them all because we wanted them to share our day and not because we expected anything from them.

Same here, I'm sure my nephew will be happy with anything he gets. He is an awesome kid- kind hearted, mature, gratuitous. I'm not loaded, but he's family, my god-son, and I want to help him out as much as possible because I remember what it was like being a college student.

So from your input I decided to give him about $250 now, along with a sweatshirt or Tervis from his school. Also, I'm going to do some sort of periodic gift throughout the year. Back in the day, I remember my mom sending me "care packages", so I guess the modern version is gift cards or cash.