Graduation season has arrived! If you're searching for the best high school graduation gifts to send off your loved one, you've come to the right place.
Our recommendation? Start with what you know about their next-step plans, as well as their favorite foods or activities. You don’t have to be in the loop with of teenage trends or spend a mint to come up with a practical and thoughtful gift.
We’ve rounded up a list of gift ideas for high school graduates that won’t break the bank and are sure to elicit a smile.
Custom gift basket
If you’re buying a gift for a grad with specific plans for the upcoming months or years, consider putting together a gift basket related to their plans. This could mean filling it with:
- Dorm essentials
- Travel must-haves
- Van life accessories
- First apartment kitchen basics
Your gift basket can certainly include some silly and fun items, but be sure to also consider practical, smaller-cost items that you can pick up from retailers like Target, Walmart, Kohl’s, and HomeGoods.
Quality headphones
Whether it’s music, podcasts, or audiobooks, help your grad elevate their audio game with a new pair of headphones from a retailer like Best Buy. They're sure to appreciate this practical and savvy graduation gift idea.
With some research, you can even select the best model based on how they’ll be used—on a running path or couch, in the campus library, or on an airplane seat.
Experiences
The late teens and early twenties are often a time when travel and new events are a priority. So, rather than choosing products, you might consider gifting your high school graduate an experience that could broaden their horizons. For instance:
- A movie or concert experience with a StubHub or Fandango gift card
- Excursions, such as indoor skydiving, flight simulation, or rock climbing
- Adding to a travel fund, such as with an Airbnb, airline, hotel, or gas gift card
- Local event tickets to a museum, food truck festival, BBQ competition, haunted tour, etc.
- Covering a "just-graduated" hairstyle, massage, manicure, or other treatment with a Spa & Wellness gift card
College gear
If your high school graduate is headed to college, you can help them jumpstart their branded gear collection with products from (or a gift card to) Fanatics, which carries merchandise for over 576 NCAA schools.
In addition to hats, jerseys, and t-shirts, you can also find graduation gift ideas that showcase college team spirit, such as:
- Diamond art craft kits, teddy bears, and pajama sets
- Table tennis paddles and balls
- Dart cabinets and dart sets
- Puzzles, games, and playing cards
Coffee
Whether they're meeting with a study group, cramming for tomorrow’s exam, or getting to know a new friend, coffee is bound to become a staple of university life. To that end, consider these practical high school graduation gifts:
- A gift card to Dunkin, Caribou, or Starbucks
- A sturdy insulated travel mug with an auto-seal or leakproof feature
- A dorm-friendly coffeemaker or French press
Practical gift cards
High school graduation is often followed by a move to college or a first apartment. In fact, it’s typically a time of streamlined living that can include temporary downsizing of belongings. So, choosing a gift that won’t weigh your grad down can be difficult unless you know their exact preferences.
For this reason, some of the best gifts for high school graduates are gift cards (a single one or a "gift basket" of several smaller cards) for:
Your wisdom
Have you ever played the "if I only knew then what I know now" game? According to Business Insider, some of the most important lessons that aren’t taught in high school include:
- How taxes work (and how to prepare them)
- How interest compounds over time to work for or against you
- Strategies for managing mental health
So, when you plan gifts for high school graduates, consider ways to pass along some of the knowledge you’ve learned over the years. This could be:
- A small starter fund to invest, alongside a course or book on investing
- A favorite book, along with a note on how and why it impacted your values or views
- A set of car safety tools and hands-on lessons, such as inflating and changing tires
Multiply your graduation gift with RaiseRight
Looking for twice the gifting power? Consider giving gift cards purchased through RaiseRight, using your own RaiseRight gift cards to purchase your grad’s gifts, or shopping online through RaiseRight to earn money back.
RaiseRight partners with community, school, and nonprofit organizations to raise funds through gift cards, online shopping, and local dining. Choose from hundreds of popular brands like Amazon, Target, Starbucks, Nike, and more, and your organization will receive earnings of up to 20% with every purchase.
If your favorite cause or organization doesn’t have a RaiseRight program in place, consider:
- Learning more about how RaiseRight works
- Downloading The RaiseRight Fundraising Playbook
- Talking to your organization about RaiseRight
- Getting started for free
Looking for more tips on graduation preparation? Jump to these posts on graduation party planning or sending your kid off to college.
