Grads After Graduation: Some Gifts to Bolster Morale and Keep Them Moving Forward

A special note or care package can cheer a young graduate in the short term and give him or her memories that may last a lifetime.

Homemade treats give a well-needed taste of home, and even store-bought goodies will show graduates that you care for them. Biba Kayewich

Over the next month or so, millions of young Americans will dress in robes and mortarboards with tassels, march across a stage, and receive a diploma signifying graduation from high school or college. Many millions more—parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends—will proudly applaud their accomplishments.

Retailers and online marketers have geared up for these special occasions by offering all sorts of commencement gifts for graduates, from engraved portfolios to laptops to gift cards. Sales of Dr. Seuss’s “Oh, The Places You’ll Go!” spike every year at this time, while practical gifts such as luggage, fleece blankets, and kitchen appliances also remain popular.

Many of these sellers personalize gifts, advertising items such as monogrammed jewelry and water bottles inscribed with the graduate’s name and commencement date.

These are all good gifts. But suppose in addition to that electric kettle or that humorous card with cash, you wanted to give something more meaningful, particularly as graduates pick their way from textbooks and classrooms into the wider world? Most parents will be there for their children in this time of transition, offering comfort and advice, but what about the rest of us? How can we support and strengthen the recent graduates we know and love?

Here are some post-graduation gifts and projects that might do the trick.

Be a Booster

The excitement of a graduation day evaporates fast, but the challenges ahead remain.

The 18-year-old grandson headed off to Parris Island for Marine Corps boot camp; the niece bound for college 500 miles from home; the university grad who’s moving away from home to the other side of the city to take up a job teaching in a private school—all these young people are crossing over a river of unfamiliar waters separating the certainties of the past from the uncertainties of the future as they undertake this transition.

To help build a bridge across that river, you can give the young graduates in your life the very special gift of correspondence. Resolve in the privacy of your heart to email them once a month. Better still, mail a letter via USPS. There’s no need to disclose your motive, sermonize, or act as a counselor unless they ask for advice. Instead, write as a friend. Be upbeat. Be a bit of a cheerleader. Keep the tone light, if possible, always ask how they’re doing, and close by wishing them the very best. Whether these written communications are short or long matters less than sticking with the schedule while offering some sunshine and optimism.

As is the case with so many gifts we give to others, when we make this effort, we’ll receive a gift in return: a stronger and more abiding relationship with someone we love.

Make Time for Time Together

If your grandson is at Parris Island, and if time and circumstance permit, go to his boot camp graduation. It’s a small thing, but he may remember it for the rest of his life. If you’re in the area, visit that niece in college and take her out to dinner. If you live in the same city as that newly minted teacher, take her out to a restaurant every month or so for supper.

When you meet up with your graduates, put aside your phone and your personal problems, and give them your full attention. Listen with your ears, your face, and your heart. When they share their concerns and quandaries, ask questions before offering solutions. Many times, those questions may answer themselves. Be sure, too, to treat them with respect. In your mind’s eye, you may still see a kid hopping around in the backyard, but she’s now a fledging adult.

Like your emails and letters, these get-togethers strengthen the connections between the two of you while at the same time reassuring your recent graduate of an ally he or she can count on.

Put Together a Life Hack Kit

Twenty years ago, my wife bought our oldest son a basic tool kit for his high school graduation. She died the following spring, and he’s approaching 40, but he still has those tools and has used them many times.

If you want to get a little more creative and add some humor to the occasion, fill a big box with essentials such as kitchen cleaner, paper towels, Kleenex, vitamins, Ibuprofen, band-aids, toothpaste, chewing gum or candies, and whatever else strikes your fancy. Wrap that up and present it to the recent graduate when the time comes to leave home.

A Book Might Light a Fire

Just the other day in our public library, I happened across Brad Meltzer’s new book, “Make Magic: The Book of Inspiration You Didn’t Know You Needed.” It’s an edited version of the address Meltzer delivered at the 2024 commencement ceremonies at the University of Michigan. Using magic tricks as a metaphor, Meltzer sought to inspire his audience to seek authenticity while practicing kindness and gratitude.

Charles Murray’s “The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Getting Ahead” is a more specific compilation of dos and don’ts for students making their way into the world of work, marriage, and adulthood. He covers manners in the office, some rules for writing well, personal values, and more. I’ve given this one as a post-graduation gift to several students I’ve known, and I’ll likely be presenting several grandchildren with copies in the near future.

If our graduates find even one helpful tip in guides like these, then they’re worth the price. Send them off accompanied by a simple note, “Came across this book and thought you might enjoy it.” The gesture alone tells the recipient that you care.

Treats Are Always a Hit

Whether your graduate is renting an apartment with friends while working or living in a college dormitory, the change from the comforts of home and routine can be disconcerting and even scary. The present leaves him or her nervous and uneasy, and that future on the far shore looks mighty far away.

The unexpected arrival of a care package can snap that downbeat mood like a dry twig. If you’ve ever experienced that moment when you open a package received out of the blue and found it full of delights that on any other occasion would have seemed ordinary, you know the feeling.

So, send that young person a tin of baked goods or put together your own package of comfort foods. If you want to take the easy route, go online and you’ll find a dozen sites offering a bonanza of treats and eats for the post-graduation crew.

You’re not just satisfying an appetite with these gifts. Once again, you’re offering a wonderful reminder that the recipient of that package is special to you.

And someday, perhaps after you are gone, that grad will remember your kindness and your generous spirit, smile, and wrap up a package of treats complete with a book of stirring thoughts and a letter of encouragement for a recent graduate of the class of 2050.