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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
Looking for more tips on graduation preparation? Jump to these posts on graduation party planning or sending your kid off to college.