Unique and Cheap Ideas for Presents and Gifts for High School and College Graduation

In these hard economic times, everyone is looking for ways to save money. Finding unique and cheap gifts that graduates will also want can be difficult. Here are a few ideas that will impress your favorite high school or college graduate. For more ideas, please see my other two articles titled, gift ideas for graduates.

Group Vacation with Friends

If the graduate has a close friend(s) who is also graduating, ask the other parents about a combined gift of a group vacation. Sharing the hotel/lodging expenses with others will make it cheaper for everyone. And who wouldn't want to go on a cruise, to a spa, or vacation in Hawaii with their best friends? If a big trip isn't in the budget, book a room at a local hotel and have a pool party. Many hotels also have spa features like a hot tub and sauna.

If a vacation isn't a possibility right now, a passport makes an excellent gift that may be needed for future vacations. For adults, passports don't expire quickly either. A luggage set or a leather tote makes a nice gift too.

Medical Procedures and Services

In this economy, a trip to a doctor or dentist can be a luxury. It would make a nice gift for someone without medical insurance. Entering the workforce will be easier if any medical problems have been corrected. Has your graduate complained of problems with their teeth? Maybe they need something simple like fillings or teeth whitening. Or maybe it's something more costly like braces, a bridge, root canal, crown, or wisdom tooth extraction. Along the same lines would include an eye exam or Lasik eye surgery. If the person has expressed interest in weight loss, paying for a few weeks of a weight loss service could be helpful.

Tips on saving money on beauty services

Nobody really wants unasked for advice. But doing it in the right way could be a helpful lesson. Most young ladies act like they are deprived if they can't go to a salon on a weekly basis. Instead of these expensive salon visits, help the young person learn to do their hair and nails professionally themselves. If you don't have these skills, perhaps you know someone who does? If not, learning together could be interesting too. The physical gift could be a variety basket of beauty supplies that includes hair color, scissors, nail polish, polish remover, cotton balls, etc. This could also be expanded to include a variety of bath items as well.

If your graduate goes to a tanning bed on a regular basis, a gift of a spray-on tan or a sunless tanning lotion might help them to change over. Not only are tanning beds expensive, but they aren't healthy to use on a regular basis.

On the same note here fits professional dog grooming. Some young ladies have gotten in the habit of carrying their dog in for weekly grooming. A gift of nail clippers and all the accessories for dog grooming might help them to switch over and save a lot of money.

Help finding a job

As the expression goes, it isn't what you know but who you know. This has always been true, but now even more so that jobs are scarce. Among the people you know and the people they know, there has to be someone who can help the graduate get into a great first job.

Pictures

Typically, parents have all the copies of their kid's baby and childhood pictures. Having copies made of the best photos and creating a scrapbook would be a great graduation gift. If a baby book was made, a great gift to go with the new scrapbook would be a new baby book with the information written in. It won't be the same as having the originals, but if the parents want to keep the originals then copies are better than not having these items. Copies of irreplaceable items are always a good idea anyway in case the originals are damaged or lost.

A subscription or membership

A subscription or membership is a gift that keeps on giving. The graduate probably has a magazine or newspaper that they enjoy reading. If the person aims to be healthy, a fruit of the month club, YMCA, or gym membership would be nice. If they are a movie buff, a Netflix subscription is a great gift.

A nice watch

I once read that it was essential to wear a nice watch to interviews because it showed that the person cared about punctuality. But how many young people have a nice watch? It doesn't have to be very expensive, as long as it goes with a nice interview outfit.

Gifts that cost nothing

Co-signing a loan or credit card for someone else takes a lot of trust because if not paid then the co-signer is legally responsible. But everyone does need help when first starting out in life. If you trust the person then this is a gift that will be very helpful if needed.

Your time can also be a big help. If the graduate already has kids, offer to baby-sit for a fixed number of times at no cost. If the graduate will be moving, be it into a dorm or their own place, they're going to need help with the physical labor. And if getting their own house they might need help with landscaping, etc.