20 Unique Graduation Gift Ideas

For most graduates, graduation is a wonderful time of year; it marks the beginning of a new, exciting journey. Chances are, you know someone who is graduating either high school or college, and you might just want to give your person a little something special. Whether it be a family member, best friend, or family-friend, finding the perfect graduation gift can be a daunting task. Here are 20 practical– and sometimes hilarious–unique graduation gift ideas for some inspiration.

1. Keurig K-Supreme Coffee Maker

Elevate your coffee experience to delicious new heights with the Keurig K-Supreme Plus Single Serve coffee maker from HSN. Innovative MultiStream Technology extracts more flavor and aroma from your beverage, so you can enjoy an exceptional experience in every cup. Programmable preferences for up to three users, customizable settings for strength and temperature, and a sleek stainless-steel metal wrap make it a supremely striking standout in any kitchen.

Buy it here:

2. A Glossybox subscription

Glossybox is the perfect graduation gifts for all beauty addicts. Glossybox sends subscribers a gorgeous box filled with deluxe beauty samples every month for the duration of their subscription. You can build a profile for the person who will receive the box and customize the products to their skin tone and hair color. We love each month the content of the box is a complete surprise, making for a gift that keeps on giving!

3. The SteamFast Iron

This is a great gift for a college student. It’s basically a mini-iron, so what college student wouldn’t use it? It also adds the humorous effect; it’s one of those gifts that only a college student would receive.

4. Corkcicle Tumbler/Canteen

These are awesome. They are like Yeti tumblers, but way more stylish (and affordable!) They keep drinks cold and hot literally all day. Water bottles are great gifts in general, but in my opinion, Corkcicles are the way to go.

5. Super Soft Blanket

I received 2 of the softest blankets ever for graduation. You could even monogram it to step it up. These are perfect for dorm/apartment living!

6. Day Designer

A Day Designer is a planner that allows one to literally plan each day out—to the hour.

Really, any planner is a great gift, but this one is great for the college-student-with-a-million-things-to-do-and-not-enough-time-to-do-them-all. They are super cute, however a little pricey. Like I said, planners are great gifts in general, so any one will do!

7. Microwave Popcorn Popper

A great gift for someone living off of microwaveable foods (i.e. a college student.) It is a super cute gift, and makes eating popcorn all the more fun. Bonus: this specific popcorn popper allows you to add butter or oil easily, but doesn’t require any oil to pop.

8. A Subscription Service

From books, to makeup, to clothes, to music, there is literally a subscription for everything! This would make a great gift, especially if you gift a subscription service that the graduate is passionate about.

Spotify: Music
Stitch-Fix: Clothes
Fabfitfun: Lifestyle
Faith Box: Christian
Audible: Audio Books
Wear Me Pro: Sunglasses
Birch Box: Beauty

This website is great for finding the perfect subscription service: http://www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com

9. The Book: College Hacks by Keith Bradford

This book has some super useful hacks to help the graduate get through college a little easier. It’s a funny gift—with practicality attached to it. The best kind of gift!

10. Portable Record Player

This gift is perfect for the music lover. I received one of these for my graduation, and I was so excited when I opened it. Portable record players are more affordable and perfect for dorm living. They are cute, fun, and such a thoughtful gift. Bonus: the one linked below also has bluetooth capability!

11. Nixplay Picture Frame

This gift is essentially a digital picture frame. It’s awesome because it allows you to send the graduate pictures via an app, that then appear on the frame. The graduate can ask certain people to get the app and send him or her pictures. Perfect for dorm/apartment living!

12. My Bucket List Journal

This gift is perfect for graduation because it inspires the graduate to explore, dream, and do. Many graduates will leave their ceremonies feeling inspired, and this will be the perfect place for them to begin dreaming up their new adventures.

13. Rapid Ramen Cooker

Another practical, awesome gift for college students that only requires 3 things; water, ramen and a microwave.

14. Embroidered College Pillows

These are cute, fun, and whimsical. An all around great gift, and something the graduate will likely cherish forever!

15. Money Lei

Many people give money for graduation, so you could turn this classic gift into something creative! If you are nifty and like arts and crafts, this gift is perfect. It doesn’t require many supplies, and it’s fairly simple.

16. Pamper Yourself Basket

Put together a basket full of lotion, facemasks, face wash, body scrub, candles, nail polish, etc. for a personalized, thoughtful gift. This gift is perfect for girls who love beauty products, and the items will come in handy when she needs a little something to cheer her up!

17. Amazon’s Alexa Echo

The hype for Amazon’s voice-controlled home device is real. What’s the weather? Ask Alexa. What is traffic like? Ask Alexa. Wanna hear a certain tune? Ask Alexa. She could probably even stalk the person you have a crush on, or maybe get us to Mars. Seriously though, this would make the perfect, thoughtful gift.

18. Eye Mask Napping Pillow

This has to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen. It would be perfect for a college student; college students love naps! This would also be perfect for an aspiring surgeon– because we all know that just about the only sleep surgeons get is in the hospital, in between surgeries.

19. Starbucks Gift Card

For the coffee lover. While gift cards are great gifts, they often go unused and end up sitting in the very back of one’s wallet. However, Starbucks gift cards are great because they can go directly on your phone, so they probably won’t go wasted. You could even give the graduate a cute coffee mug along with the gift card to spice it up a little bit.

20. Wall Art

Contributing to your loved ones’ dorm or apartment with cute, fun, and/or inspirational wall art is a great way to help them decorate their new living spaces! However, you want the wall art to have neutral colors, and you want to keep it fairly simple. That way, they can use the decorations for whatever style they choose; you want the decor to go with anything and everything. I absolutely love this inspirational sign because it is so aesthetically pleasing and neutral.

21. Open When Letters

This gift would be perfect for your best friend/sister/child– both sentimental and thoughtful. If you haven’t seen these yet, “open when” letters are basically a collection of letters you write to a loved one, with specific instructions as to when to open those letters–such as when you are sad, when you need a laugh, when you need to know how much I love you, etc. While this is a gift that definitely takes time to create, I think it would be perfect for graduation, especially if the graduate is moving far from home!

So there you have it! While most of these gifts are pretty unique, some of them are classic and timeless. I think the most important thing about giving graduates a gift is giving them something that they will remember you by. When they take that sip of coffee from that mug, or when they spend that money you gave them, or when they look at that wall art you gave them, or even when they cook those noodles or popcorn, they will think of you and be grateful that you are in their life. Your graduate will be SO thankful, no matter what you give them (hopefully!) So, be creative if you want! Be sentimental if you want! And don’t overthink it.