Gifts for College Graduates
Travel Supplies, Interview Tools, and Other Gift Ideas for Graduates
May 6, 2009
When a friend or family member graduates from college it is often necessary to give the recent graduate a gift. While money is a gift appreciated by most college students, some gift givers want to choose gifts that are more personalized and tailored to the graduate’s specific needs.
Travel supplies, for example, are often a great graduation gift for graduates preparing to take a summer trip. In addition to travel supplies, there are several other graduation gifts that are both practical and thoughtful for college graduates. The following sections describe some of these gift ideas.
Travel Supplies
Some college graduates plan post-graduation trips with friends. These trips might include road trips to neighboring colleges or even month-long backpacking trips to different countries. Regardless of the type of trip, however, graduates taking trips often need traveling supplies.
Therefore, traveling supplies can be great gift ideas for college graduates. Traveling supplies might include the following: books and maps, luggage and book bags, international calling cards, extra memory cards for digital cameras, and travel journals.
Interview Tools
Most college graduates, if they aren’t going to graduate school, begin applying for jobs after graduation. Applying and interviewing for a job requires many tools, like a professional-looking resume. Therefore, interview tools can also be great gifts for graduates.
If the college graduate hasn’t created a resume or cover letter yet, then books on creating resumes can be a practical graduation gift. Additionally, a professional portfolio or work bag is an appropriate gift for a graduate going on interviews. For a personal touch, the gift giver can create a college graduation checklist for the graduate who is preparing to leave school.
Moving Supplies
Many college graduates move away from their colleges after graduation. Moving requires not only physical labor but also a lot of supplies. To offset some of the costs associated with moving, gift givers could supply college graduates with moving trucks, boxes, and even their own help in lieu of hiring movers.
In addition to moving supplies, the graduate’s new living space might require some supplies. Gifts ideas for graduates moving to unfurnished living spaces might include the following: kitchen appliances and utensils, bathroom rugs and shower curtains, bed sheets and pillow cases, chairs, and lamps.
Professional Apparel
College graduates who are preparing for job interviews might be in need of new clothes and shoes. Thus, a practical and thoughtful graduation gift can be professional apparel. Professional apparel can include interview outfits and dress shoes, and it can also include clothes the graduate can wear to work once they accept a position. A dressy or business-casual coat might also be a good gift for a college graduate.
Scrapbook Supplies
Most college students graduate from college with a plethora of pictures. And, many students like to create scrapbooks for all of the pictures and mementos they’ve collected throughout their college experiences.
For the graduate who enjoys making scrapbooks, a practical and thoughtful gift can be a scrapbook with scrapbook supplies, like stickers. If the gift giver has a lot of pictures from the graduate’s time in college, then he or she could also create a scrapbook for the graduate.
A scrapbook can be a very practical and thoughtful gift for a college graduate. Other practical and thoughtful gifts include travel supplies, interview tools, moving supplies, and professional apparel. By giving a graduate something practical and thoughtful, such as the gifts described above, the gift giver might be reducing some of the graduate’s stress by providing him or her with a much-needed item.
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