It's summertime, and that means reruns – on your TV screen and in your blogosphere. I hate to re-post a post, but I've simply RUN OUT OF TIME and it's only 2 PM. Sigh. Anyway, today's rerun is actually relevant to the season (unlike watching that Very Special Christmas episode of Grey's Anatomy in July) – it's all about cheap and fun graduation gifts. Enjoy with a smile, and rest assured there will be fresh posty goodness around here tomorrow.
1. Laundry Gift Basket: Give this gift, and maybe your student won’t bring their laundry home every stinkin’ weekend. Freeloading punks.
Laundry basket.
Detergent and fabric softener. Ask the graduates’ moms what they use, so the dorm-livers can recreate that feel of home, on their own.
A roll of quarters.
Instructions on how to actually DO laundry. I put together a whole instruction book, made out of a “Brag Book” photo album ($1.69 at Walgreens) and step by step instructions printed off of my work’s printer. Nothing beats exploiting my company’s office supplies for personal use!
2. Study Guide: This gift was inspired by the care package my Ma sent me during my first finals week.
Noise-cancelling head phones. Cheaper ones are available at Walmart.com, but not at their bricks-and-mortar stores. Annoying, yes, but you get a bigger bang for your buck if you order these off the Interwebs.
Ear plugs. You can find them in the home improvement department at Target.
Instant coffee, for caffeine high sans coffee maker or Starbucks.
A travel coffee mug.
A year’s supply of candy. Get the stuff with a long shelf life – so chocolate probably isn’t your best bet. Oooo, Pixie Sticks would be AWESOME.
3. Stay Healthy Doctor’s Kit: Dorms are filthy, nasty places, rife with germs and other ick. With this gift, maybe your college-bound grad won’t get mono their freshman year. Like I did.
A jumbo bottle of hand sanitizer
A jumbo container of disinfecting wipes
Lysol (or other germ-killing) spray
Vitamin lozenges, like the ones with Vitamin C and Zinc. Or, my personal fave,
Green tea, filled with antioxidants
Chicken noodle soup – in a can, for that classic “I’m six again, home from school, while my mommy tends to me” taste.
And then, there’s my favorite gift. The one to give, when all else fails.
4. In Case Of Emergency, Open: What you need in any dorm room worst case scenario.
Duct tape – the biggest roll you can find. If you can’t fix it with duct tape, do you REALLY need it?
A heavy flashlight, with extra batteries. Not only a source of light in the darkness, but a handy weapon, too.
A phone card, to call home. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
And – if you don’t think you’ll get in trouble for it – a box of condoms. Seriously. You know I’m right.
Most of the items I’ve mentioned can be purchased at Target or Walmart, or in bulk at Sam’s Club. So you can get a ton of gifts without blowing your budget. Which is good, considering wedding season (and the dreaded wedding GIFT season) is right around the corner…
2 Comments
Thanks… super cool re-run.
These are great ideas!
Thanks! Just what I needed. Have a grad party coming up. Had the theme gift in mind, but hadn't had time to put it all together in my mind, now I don't have to!