When a high school senior graduates, it has become common to throw a party. This party is given either by the senior or the parents. Friends and family will come to the party with gifts, but some people find it hard to know what would be a good present.

To help the indecisive ones, we can give you some ideas. What may also help is to check what the senior plans for his or her future. Something along that line will always come in useful

When money is no object, you could go for the really big presents. A car, for instance, that the student can use to go from home to college (and vice-versa). Or a computer, on which he or she can do the work required of a student. Furniture is a wonderful gift to furnish the flat the student is eventually going to live in. Some people give a (large) sum of money, but I would not recommend that. In my experience, young people mostly use money to buy things they don’t really need!

Mid-priced items you can always give are gift cards for clothes (like t-shirts), a microwave oven for the dorm (or a toaster oven if the dorm doesn’t allow microwave ovens), a television set or DVD player, a tool box with some essential tools for fixing things, bookshelves to put all the books on, …

If you’re short in cash and still want to give something, why not go for a book that the senior will love, or an address book which he or she can fill with the addresses and phone numbers of friends and family? Other options include a bag to carry luggage, some sheets for the dorm bed, a coffee maker, an umbrella.

Another option is to for an alternative gift. Have you ever thought of giving your senior a subscription to a major newspaper? In first year college classes, it will be required that the student read a newspaper. Besides that, the daily newspaper will keep the student abreast of current events while inside the college ‘bubble’.

Another alternative gift could be a guide. There are many books that prepare youngsters for college. They will help in making the right choice, or offer ‘survival’ guidelines. A simple Amazon search, or a visit to the local bookstore, will give you plenty of ideas!

While we are on the subject of guides, it may also be useful to give your senior a guide that lists restaurants, tourist attractions and other local information. This is especially helpful when he or she is going to attend a college in a large metropolitan area like New York, Boston, or Chicago.

Another original gift would be a gift certificate for pizza (or any other form of fast food). It is well-established in popular culture that college students love pizza and order it frequently. Perhaps you can find out which pizzerias in the neighborhood of the student’s campus are popular, and order a bunch of gift certificates. You’ll be feeding the hungry, but it will make your student immensely popular with his or her friends!