What did you give your son/daughter for college graduation?

[hinodis]

Our son is getting his Bachelor's degree on August 22nd. We are really at a loss for what to give him. Any suggestions would be greatly apppreciated.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

We just gave our ds money and we are paying for his health insurance until January and his car insurance for the next 6 months. He did get a full time job but hated it and qit. Now he is back to looking again.

 

[Chelley00]

We are planning on taking a cruise for DS's graduation. We don't get to travel often as a family because of sports/work/school schedules, so we want to take a last hurrah family trip before he goes off to college. We'd like to do a big trip for all the kids for their graduations. We'll see.

 

[DisneyForLife]

We took my son and his girlfriend on a cruise with us for his college graduation. We offered that or cash and he said after six years of college he needed the vacation. He worked fulltime while going to school so it took him longer.

We had a great time

 

[diz4ever]

DD is graduating 9/25 with a master's in medical science (Physician's Assistant) . After 4 years of undergrad and 2 + years for her masters, we asked her what she wanted for graduation. The smart girl that she is - she wanted us all to go to Disney (guess I raised her right!). so our trip is scheduled for Nov (after she takes her boards).

 

[cats mom]

Congrats to your son!

We're not there yet, but I think a vacation sounds like a great idea. If a long trip is out of the question, either due to finances or scheduling, I think even a quick weekend getaway would make a nice graduation gift.

 

[uncspin]

My parents gave me some items to help with setting up my first apartment (mattress/box springs, table and chairs, and a small shopping trip to Bed Bath and Beyond) and $500 for me to take a trip with some girlfriends.

 

[donac]

Our ds1 and ds2 graduated from high school and college the same year. we also celebrated our 30th anniv so we took a trip. Dh and I left early and went to the Fl Keys for a few days and then drove up to DW and the boys met there.

 

[mom2val]

Sorry to jump in... when dh graduated in 1994 his parents took him out to eat. My parents had his diploma matted and framed. When I graduated in 1996 my parents paid for my wedding- got married the same day I graduated. When we picked wedding date we thought graduation was the weekend before and by the time we found out had invitations printed and things booked.

 

[Teacher510]

A birthstone ring (which she doesn't wear!) and a trip to WDW!

 

[FINFAN]

Our ds1 and ds2 graduated from high school and college the same year. we also celebrated our 30th anniv so we took a trip. Dh and I left early and went to the Fl Keys for a few days and then drove up to DW and the boys met there.

This sounds like our plan, 2012 SHOULD bring DD college graduation, DS HS graduation, 25th wedding anniversary celebration and my 50th....when Disney asks "what will you be celebrating?" I am going to ask how much time do they have for an answer, lol....altho we may head west for the celebration, may be hitting DISNEYLAND...however the new Animation resort would be fitting at WDW as DD is graduation in Computer Animation.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

My daughter will be graduating from HS this year and I am loving these ideas. When my DH graduated from college he received money from my parents, and his parents bought him a new TV.

 

[AZMermaid]

When I graduated college 7 years ago my parents took me out to a nice dinner and gave me $100. My dad did continue to pay my car and medical insurance for a few months while I got started. That was the only bill they ever paid for me during college. My parents were making about $100K at this time so it wasn't really the money. It was more that they didn't feel kids should be rewarded for doing what was expected. I was always a little resentful of that attitude compared to my friends' parents who were much more lavish, like I am seeing here. But, my parents treated my younger sisters much differently and neither of them is especially stable, so I guess in the long run, I'd rather get a small gift and be self sufficient!

 

[JandJ]

Congratulations to your DS! If doable, I'd recommend a trip because it's a big accomplishment. When I graduated college my parents threw me a small party at their house and paid for me to go to Europe. I went with my best friend, who had also just graduated, and her parents paid for her. It was definitely a "budget" trip. We were gone for about 2 months. It was an amazing experience and I grew up a lot that summer. I thanked my parents continuously for the rest of their lives for sending me on that trip!

 

[DVC-Don]

wrong thread

 

[alwaysmom]

Took DS on his first cruise for college graduation in 2008. He had a blast and got addicted to cruising. He has since gone on another with GF and another appears to be in the beginning planning stages.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

College ring. It was made exactly how he wanted, no settling to keep the price down.

 

[phred52]

We gave our daughter a new laptop. It's got a few bells and whistles on it to celebrate her graduation and acceptance into Grad school.

 

[riley2008]

When I graduated I got a great set of luggage from close relatives and pearls from my mom. I loved that luggage it was really nice and lasted for a long time (until my brother borrowed it and someone broke into my mom's house and used two pieces of the luggage to carried off our stuff!). I still have the pearls and think about when I got them every time I put them on. (I got a bracelet to match when I got married then too.)

What about a nice watch?

A trip would be great, too!

(When I got my masters degree, my DH got me a stopwatch - it's what I wanted and could use for work.)

 

[Forevryoung]

My parents took me to Arizona (Sedona/Scottsdale) for 4 days to celebrate (in my family big events get a choice of party or trip). While we were in Sedona, I fell in love with a huge photograph of the red rocks of Sedona.

As my "gift" they purchased the photograph and had it framed.

Amazing trip and amazing gift. That photograph hung on my wall throughout grad school and encouraged me along thinking of beauty and peace. I can't wait to have my own place and hang it back up.