Graduation Gift Ideas

It's grad party season! Which means it's time to do some shopping for the Class of 2012.

The top gift any graduate wants is usually money, so you can never go wrong with cash or a check. But if you want to do something a little different, check out this list of ideas. A special thanks to our Facebook friends who contributed their gift suggestions.

A student at Walled Lake Western High School composed her own list of ideas in an article in the school newspaper. The article states, "If you don’t want to give a monetary gift, get your grad some of their favorite things to go off to school with like their favorite movie, candy, food or other simple essentials!"

Graduation gifts can be practical, fun, inspiring or retrospective, and you can always combine something small with a monetary gift to give your present that extra something.

Here are 20 graduation gift ideas:

• Gas cards
• Grocery store gift cards
• College clothing or memorabilia such as a t-shirt, blanket or wall decorations
• A personalized picture frame with a memorable photo
• Inspirational room decorations, such as a framed quote
• A Netflix or Hulu subscription
• A subscription to his or her favorite magazine
• A book about pursuing your career or surviving college (can be humorous or serious)
• A gift basket of microwaveable foods such as macaroni and cheese, individual desserts and pastas
• A photo board, cork board or dry erase board
• Dorm appliances such as a mini-fridge, microwave, hand vacuum or window fan
• Dorm essentials such as bathroom towels, clothing hangers, dishes, travel mug, laundry hamper, toolbox or a bathroom caddy
• A lapdesk for his or her laptop
• Jewelry or a watch
• A flash drive
• A unique or fun alarm clock
• His or her favorite childhood book
• A scrapbook of photos of you together
• A piggy bank for saving money (with some to start him or her off with!)
• A voucher for a train or bus ticket if the graduate is moving far away from home

Congrats 2012 graduates! View and a on Novi Patch.