Empty Nest Blessed’s Graduation Gift Guides | Let’s Celebrate!

The Empty Nest Blessed Graduation Gift Guides are here! This year, for the first time, we’re bringing you two complete Graduation Gift Guides: one for high school grads, and one for college (and other upper level) grads. It’s pretty exciting! There’s a little bit of overlap between the two gift guides, but not much, so it might be worth it to check them both out. Also, if you’ve got family birthdays coming up, these gift guides are bound to give you some great ideas!

One of my love languages is gift-giving, and I’m one of those annoying people who really does buy gifts all year long. When I find the perfect thing for the perfect person, I buy it – even if their next birthday is 51 weeks away! ???? This year, I’ve got a nephew graduating from high school. Bob and I are having so much fun deciding what to give him for graduation!

If you’re giving to a high school graduate, I think giving them something they’ll use in college is ideal. If you’re giving to a college or higher level graduate, consider giving them something that will help them get established in their new “adult” life. It’s likely they’ll be setting up their own apartment for the very first time, and that can get expensive! It’s fun to gift them something they couldn’t afford on their own or that they wouldn’t splurge on for themselves.

At the very bottom of this post, you’ll find a button that will take you to the Empty Nest Blessed HIGH SCHOOL Graduation Gift Guide, with graduation gift ideas for high school graduates. You’ll also find another button that will take you to the Empty Nest Blessed COLLEGE Graduation Gift Guide, with graduation gift ideas for college and grad school graduates. We have gifts at a variety of price points!

Regardless of whether you’re giving to a high school, college, graduate school, law school, or medical school graduate, I think a good place to start is to think about your relationship with the person you are giving to and then identify the type of gift you want to give.

Inspirational Gifts

These gifts would include things like helpful books, inspiring devotionals, planners, or journals.

Practical Gifts

With the cost of setting up a dorm room these days (especially for girls!), I think practical gifts for graduation are so appreciated. If you’re giving to a college graduate, the same goes for the cost of transitioning from college to the working world in terms of clothing and accessories and setting up a new apartment. Great ideas for high school graduates include things like throw blankets, towels, picture frames, laundry bags, and kitchenware.

For the college or graduate school graduate, try upgrading their towels, kitchenware, luggage, or try gifting them with clothing that they’ll need for life out in the big adult world.

Personal Gifts​

For high school graduates, this would include things like a personalized key ring zip wallet, cosmetic bags, or personalized picture frames. One of my daughter’s favorite high school graduation gifts was a set of personalized note cards, which she promptly used up writing thank you notes for all of her other gifts! My son said he loved a personalized notepad cube he received. (It was a less-feminine design than the one pictured, hahaha!)

For college grads, think about what they’ll be doing next. If they’re going to be working, things like a briefcase/laptop bag, a leather folio, or a classy leather picture frame for their office would be perfect. If you know them well, you could get more personal with a designer tote/handbag for a young woman and some new work-appropriate clothing for young men. If you are giving a gift to someone who is going on to graduate, medical, or law school, once again, think about upgrading their towels (These are the ones I bought for our master bath after it was remodeled.) or kitchenware.

Money/Gift Cards

Although these might feel impersonal to give, all of my kids mentioned how much they appreciated Amazon gift cards. It allowed them to purchase things they needed for their dorm rooms or apartments and have some money to spend on things they wanted as well.

Click the button below that corresponds to the type of graduate you’re shopping for. (Although, I recommend you take a look at both gift guides.)