The most popular gift for graduates? Money, according to Hallmark cards. The average high school grad receives 17.5 cards and college grads receive 7.5 cards. And those cards contain some serious cash. Hallmark research found that 67 percent of people surveyed thought $50 or more was appropriate for a close friend.
But currency isn’t the only way to say “way to go.”
Help grads get ready for their first day of work or give them something to remember their school days. More education ahead? Smart gifts can help them be dorm- and weird roommate-ready.
— Emilie Le Beau.
For college-bound grads
– Colleges are forking over names of music-downloading students. An iPod mini can help grads legally choose from 700,000 tracks and buy singles for about a buck. The iPod mini sells for $249 at the Apple store.
– The studying is about to get serious. A gift subscription to Questia, the world’s largest online library, gives unlimited access to 440,000 books, journals and newspaper articles. The subscription costs $19.95 monthly, $119.95 annually at www.questia.com.
– Discourage all-nighters. A faux fur bed caddy (top right) lets them read in bed and then tuck away their text. This fluffy caddy hangs on the end of the bed and holds books, note pads and remote controls. $19.99 at select Bed Bath & Beyond stores, including Orland Park Place.
– Spice up a dorm’s cinder-block walls and tile floors with a bamboo curtain (at right) from Pier 1 stores. Made with dark wooden beads and bamboo, it sells for $15. “Queer Eye” would approve.
– Let sleeping roommates lie. Improve roomie relations with an Ionic Conditioning Quiet Hair Dryer (above) that will let your grad style while the other snoozes. $49 at the Sharper Image, 835 N. Michigan Ave. (Water Tower).
– Grads can dash off snazzy thank-you notes with a pen from the Sensa Spring collection (at right). The Melon Sorbet, Tahitian Pink or Wild Orchid ones might help scholars stay awake during those last-pick, early-morning economics lectures. Each sells for $49 at Marshall Field’s State Street and Executive Essentials in Woodfield mall; or check www.sensa.com.
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For work-bound grads
– Sometimes moving on means moving out. The silver globe and plane keychain from Tiffany & Co. sells for $95 and gives your grad a sleek way to carry his new keys.
– With school a thing of the past, crafty grads will want a stylish scrapbook to hold their memories. The celery-seed-green journal sells for $23 at Paper Source and has 96 pages ready for pictures of the soon-to-be good ol’ days.
– Don’t let the grads in your life send out resumes with fatal mistakes. The best-selling book “Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation” by Lynne Truss (below right) addresses poor grammar and punctuation. The book sells for $17.50 (Gotham Books) and could stop a grad from thanking a company’s recruiting team for “it’s” time.
– Sneaky secretaries and mood-swing bosses can mean big trouble for those new to workplace politics. “The Coward’s Guide to Conflict” by Tim Ursiny sells for $16.95 (Sourcebooks Trade) and can help conflict-shy grads deal with negative cube-mates and the other difficult people they’ll see 40 (or more) hours a week.