10 Creative Graduation Gift Ideas

It is just about to be summertime, which means the season of graduation parties is beginning. So if you have a graduate in your life that really means something to you and you want to get them a creative and awesome graduation gift then you have come to just the right place. Because in today’s post I am going to lay out 10 great creative graduation gifts that you can get for the special graduate in your life. 

And as you might suspect, plenty of these gifts involve you giving cash or a cash equivalent, so if you want to get them an extravagant gift then be ready to throw down the big bucks to do it. But I also made sure there are plenty of affordable options on the list so that way anybody who uses the list can find a great graduation gift. And for any of these graduation gifts that you can get with one of our GiftYa gift cards I will be sure to throw you an easy to use link.

If you are new to GiftYa you can check out the video on this page to learn everything you need to know. But if you don’t feel like opening a new tab I totally get it. I’ll just let you know that GiftYas are digital gift cards that you can buy and send wirelessly in just a couple of clicks. Not only do they have an all digital format, they are also partnered with 1000s of national brands and plenty of small businesses in most major American cities as well. Which means there is always the perfect GiftYa for any gift giving occasion!

But that’s enough with the introduction, I’ll get right to that list of creative graduation gift ideas that brought you here. And as always, thank you for reading!

1 - You Can Find Unique Graduation Gifts on Etsy

A Gift That’s Personalized Always Feels A Little Extra Special IMO

You can find all sorts of creative graduation gifts on Etsy. They have a whole category for them. And the nice thing about Etsy is that many of the sellers will allow you to customize or personalize the gift. And I always think having something personalized makes it so unique and that uniqueness adds a special quality to it. By shopping on Etsy you’ll be able to find all kinds of great graduation gifts that you can personalize for your graduate. And you don’t have to go with something quite as gauche as the money cakes pictured above. 

I just thought they were a ridiculous type of gift and would help get the ideas rolling in your head for other unique graduation gift ideas. You can find everything from custom graduation money holders to a Lego figure that is modeled after your graduate. So really do some shopping around on Etsy and you'll be able to find a graduation present that’s not only creative, but is also totally unforgettable!

2 - Fill A Set of Glass Bottles With Candy and Money

This Is A Great Creative Graduation Gift Idea

If you are looking for a creative graduation gift that is pretty nice without being too extravagant then you can always do this little craft. Essentially what you do is empty out a six pack of glass bottles. Soda bottles are probably preferred. And then you fill up each bottle with a type of candy the graduate loves as well as some money to pack the bottles with as well. Do like 3 candy bottles and 3 money bottles and then put them back in the bottle holder. You can even take the time to wrap and decorate the bottle holder as well. Then on the day they get the gift not only will they get some cash which is awesome, they will also get some of their favorite candy and it’ll all be delivered in this neat little package. Can you really beat a present that’s made of cash and candy?

3 - A Barnes & Noble Gift Card

Help Them Cover the Cost of Books Their Freshman Semester

Grab a Barnes & Noble gift card by following this link!

One of the worst parts of going from high school to college is the fact that you have to pay for books every semester on top of the outrageous price you are already paying for everything else at college. So help your graduate cover some of the cost of their freshman semester books with a gift card to Barnes & Noble. The campus bookstore isn’t the only place that they are going to be able to find their books and introducing a little variety into their options on where to get their textbooks is bound to save them money. They won’t appreciate this one on the day of their graduation party, but they will appreciate it 10 times over when it comes time to buy books.

Get yourself a digital Barnes & Noble gift card in seconds by following the link!

4 - StubHub

Hook Them Up With Tickets to Some Great Concerts Before School Starts

Grab yourself a StubHub gift card by following this link!

If you want to get them a fun creative gift then get your graduate a gift card to StubHub. And then they can use it to pick out an amazing concert to go to over the summer with their friends. Then that way they can have some awesome memories with their friends one last time before college starts. I think this is definitely the coolest gift on the list today 😎

If you need a last minute gift you can always grab a digital StubHub gift card by following the link!

5 - Calm

Help Them Deal With College Anxiety and Stress With This One

Get a Calm gift card in just seconds by following the link!

A lot of students aren’t prepared for the increased levels of stress and anxiety that come along with school when you are paying 30 Gs a semester. So to help your graduate deal with the stress that they are sure to encounter you can get them a gift card to Calm and then they can set up an account. They can enjoy all the white noise, nature sounds, meditation music, and other tools that Calm offers to help its users clear their minds and battle their anxiety!

Anybody can grab a digital Calm gift card in an instant when they use the link!

6 - Spotify

Hook Them Up With A Premium Account And Set the Soundtrack to Their Summer

Grab a Spotify gift card by following the link!

Spotify is the leading music streaming platform on the planet with over 100 million different songs and tracks. And since high school graduates are the exact demographic of people who are overly obsessed with their music, a creative gift idea for your graduate is a gift card to Spotify. You can hook them up with a premium account for $13/month or around $110/year. And with that premium access they get uninterrupted commercial free streaming of over 100 million songs.

The great part is they can take that music anywhere with them because Spotify has an app for phones, computers, and TVs so they'll be able to have the music they are obsessed over everywhere they go. This is another graduation gift that I think makes a pretty cool present. Especially if you make the gift card enough to cover the whole year. Then you can be responsible for the soundtrack to their entire freshman year of college!

You can grab a digital Spotify gift card anytime by clicking the link!

7 - Sunrise Alarm Clock

Very Helpful for Those Early Morning Freshman Classes

One of these sunrise alarm clocks can really come in handy for their freshman classes they scheduled at 8AM. Cause “hey they have to be up that early for high school.” It’s the classic freshman mistake and they are going to make it. So help them overcome this self-imposed hurdle by getting them an alarm clock that simulates the sunrise as it goes off. And the introduction of light slowly to your eyes while you sleep helps you wake up more naturally and with more ease!

8 - Target

Help Them Stock Their Dorm Room With This One

Grab a Target gift card by following this link!

Target is a great place for your graduate to find all kinds of dorm room essentials that they are definitely going to need. To be honest I think a gift card to Target is going to be more exciting to the parents than it is to the graduate. But the parents are really going to appreciate it when it comes time to buy bed risers, new bedding, a shower caddy, and everything else their graduate will need when they begin dorm life in the fall.

Get yourself a digital Target gift card in seconds by following the link!

9 - A Gift Card And Money Wreath

This Is An Extravagant and Creative Graduation Gift Idea!

Putting together one of these gift cards and money wreaths is surely a creative graduation gift idea. The only issue with this one is that if you want it to have the full effect then you are going to have to throw down some serious cash. So I would save this one for a graduate in your life that’s really important to you. Because this one will break the bank. But the nice thing about it is that you won’t even care about the money spent when you see the gigantic smile on their face when you give it to them. Not only is it a neat gift that you put together by hand for them, it’s also really quite extravagant and is likely to put their other presents to shame. So choose this one when you want to go big or go home!

10 - Visa

Get Them A Gift Card That They Can Use On Anything

Get a Visa gift card in just seconds by following the link!

These custom Visa gift cards are kind of even better than getting your graduate cash. With cash they can’t shop online. But with one of these Visa gift cards they can use it to shop in person just like they could with cash, but they can also use it to shop online right away. And this gift card is only restricted to businesses that accept Visa card. In all practicality it's a prepaid debit card that they can use to shop for anything. 

They could use it to get new clothes for their freshman semester, shave some of the price off the books they need for class, or blow it all going to a concert with their friends. And it's that level of variety that I think makes this a creative graduation gift idea that any graduate would love to receive!

Anybody can grab a digital Visa gift card in an instant when they use the link!

And There You Have 10 Creative Graduation Gift Ideas!

I hope something on the list looked like the perfect graduation gift for the graduate in your life this summer. Graduation gifts can be a little tricky because most of them just involve throwing money at the graduate. And while there were definitely plenty of options like that on the list, I also tried to get some more affordable ideas on the list so that way anybody on any budget would be able to find a great gift on the list. But no matter what gift you decide to go with I am sure your graduate will just be happy you went through the trouble to get them a gift!