It’s graduation season again! And that means it’s time for gifts and parties. I bet you can’t contain the excitement of seeing your child, sibling or friend graduate.
Let’s face it; graduating from school is a big milestone — one that deserves more than a pat on the back. Show your graduating loved one how proud you’re of their achievement with an amazingly cool gift that they’ll love, appreciate and actually find useful.
Confused about what to give? Don’t be: you’ll find something perfect in this round-up of 8 best graduation gifts that’ll knock their boots off. These are meaningful and thought-out gifts the recipient will actually cherish and not throw in the closet – or, even worse, the thrash.
(1) Kool8 Bottle
Kool8 is one heck of a water bottle and an ideal gift that a recent graduate will truly fall in love with. Right out of the box, this snazzy water bottle is quite a looker with a modern design, and the construction quality is superb. It’s no wonder it was named the Best Overall Water Bottle of 2019 by Cool Things Chicago.
Thanks to double-walled insulation, Kool8 keeps warm beverages (mostly tea) warm and drinking water cool for a fairly long time. Unsurprisingly, it’s BPA-free, eco-friendly, and has a decent capacity. The icing on the cake, however, is that you won’t have to break the bank to buy it. Besides, 20% of proceeds go to charity. Yay!
(2) Subscription Gift Card for Her – Birchbox
Typically, a good subscription gift card is the gift that keeps giving. And the best present for someone who is new to the adult life of paying bills. It is truly a special treat that comes to the rescue of the giftees when they are on a lean budget.
When it comes to monthly subscription gifts, Birchbox is the creme de la creme. It is perfect for a lady who just graduated. Every month, the giftee will receive a custom package of skincare and beauty samples, as well as an intuitive online store.
Depending on how generous you are willing to go, you can buy a subscription gift card for year months for $156, half a year (6 months) for $84, or 3 months for just 45 bucks.
(3) Personalized Fragrance by Waft
The smell of success is sweet, and so should the graduate! Waft offers you a chance to customize every aspect of the fragrance to suit the style and personality of the recipient. Want to make the gift even more unique and special?
With Waft, you can select the giftee’s favorite type of fragrance, scents, style, and other ingredients, as well as the mood you wish the fragrance would evoke plus the time of the day they will most likely use it.
Not just that, you will also choose the design of the bottle, color and the name of the fragrance. The artists at Waft will take all your specs into consideration and come up with a personalized bottle of fragrance that the graduate will adore and love you for it.
(4) Custom T-Shirts – screenprintthis.com
Let’s not kid ourselves. College graduates love to party and have a blast. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could order custom t-shirts for the graduates, their friends, and other guests at the party? That’s where ScreenPrintThis comes to your rescue.
Head over to screenprintthis.com; it’s the one-stop shop for all-things custom apparel! You can personalize the tees down to the T (get it?), and have them delivered to your doorstep. There’s no minimum order so you can get a customized t-shirt for pretty much everyone. After all, what’s better than tees emblazoned with the fabulous face and name of the graduate?
(5) Unique Custom Star Map – TwinkleInTime.com
A custom star map is an inspirational gift and the best way to make a special date like graduation day unforgettable. If this sounds like something your graduating friend, brother or sister will appreciate, then Twinkle In Time has you covered.
What’s Twinkle In Time? TwinkleInTime.com allows you to order a 24-inch by 18-inch star map that showcases the stars precisely as they were on your loved one’s graduation date. As if that isn’t awesome enough, you can add a customized message to the map. Any astronomer will die over this gift that takes mementos to the next level!
(6) A Watch – Apple Watch Series 4
You can never go wrong with a sleek-looking and feature-rich watch. It’s been the holy grail of graduation gifts for quite some time. And one of the benefits of receiving gifts, particularly as a college graduate, is getting stuff that you dream of having but don’t have the money to get them for yourself, like an Apple Watch Series 4.
This is perhaps the best-selling and most sought-after smartwatch out there, and with good reason. It’s a fashion accessory, fitness tracker, smartphone companion, and more, all rolled into one. It can be pricey, but if you were looking for a meaningful gift in the region of $500, this is it.
Of course, if you are looking for something cheaper, opt for MVMT Lexington watch. It’s stylish, office-suitable and a real class act priced at sub-$150.
(7) Instant Coffee Maker – Keurig K-Classic
The chances are good that the graduate will take up a demanding internship or probation position for the first few months. During this period, punctuality is everything, which means the recipient will want to get their coffee in a rush. And what could be a better gift than a coffee maker?
Keurig K-Class is a programmable instant coffee maker that’s snappy and takes the hassle out of coffee-making. You can choose the 6-cup version for under 100 bucks.
(8) Noise Canceling Headphones – Bose QuietComfort
Help out the graduate with long commutes, flights, or up their entertainment game. Bose QuietComfort 35 is a fantastic noise-canceling headphone that has built-in Alexa capabilities. It’s quite a looker too!
Wrap-Up
Someone who’s just graduated is dealing with the stress of finding a job, moving and adjusting to adult life, all while having a little fun. Take some pressure off of them by buying them a gift that’s meaningful and cherish-worthy.
About the author: Codrin Arsene is the CEO of Digital Authority Partners, a Chicago creative agency
