The Best High School Graduation Gifts To Celebrate A Big Milestone (2024)

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Money Does Grow On Trees

Cash is king, and for any high school graduate, cash is a one-size-fits-all gift that is oh-so-useful for gas money, textbooks, dorm decorations, late-night snacks or anything else. While a sweet card with some cash included is always welcome, it’s fun to take a gift to the next level and create the ever-elusive money tree. We like that once the cash is removed from the tree, this can serve as a fun decorative item to hold important photos or mementos.

Picture Perfect Lips

Leaving high school behind means growing up and trying new things, and fresh makeup is a common way to experiment. Summer Friday is a super popular brand with teens and just luxe enough to feel special. The lip butter balm is available in eight amazing options–some are pigmented, while others are just glossy and have yummy tastes like mint, cherry or vanilla. They are all made with vegan ingredients.

Cherish Sweet Moments

This water-filled picture frame is a sweet gift for friends to give friends. It stands up on its own and holds a 4 x 6 photograph. Printing photos can be rare these days, so having a teen print a photo, put it in a frame, and then gift it to their buddy is a sentimental gift that makes a perfect decoration for a dorm or new room.

An Interactive Icebreaker

A fun way to interact with new friends, this musical board game is a cinch to play, fun for everyone, requires zero musical knowledge and can be played with up to 10 people. To play, you simply need the app–scan the QR code on the music cards, and your phone will play a music clip of a famous song. If you correctly guess when the song was released, put the card in your music timeline. The goal is to complete your timeline before everyone else, but the game will have new friends, roommates, or anyone else singing, laughing and maybe even dancing in minutes.

Prepared For Anything

Raha, a New Jersey mom of teens, loves to give this practical gift to high school grads. With this 39-piece toolkit, your teen is prepared for the practical side of life outside the home. Along with a hammer, pliers and tape measure, the set includes many other useful tools. The set is affordable, cute and comes in eight colorways that can suit any teen’s preferences.

A Trusty Pen With A Sweet Message

A set of three pens is useful, but the sweet motivational messages on the pens reminds your high school graduate that they are awesome and can take on the next challenge. As a math tutor to many high school students, Sasha likes to give pen sets to some of them when they graduate high school. It’s useful and affordable, and we all know it’s good to be the one with a pen when you need it, and it’s a thoughtful gift that doesn’t break the bank.

Ditch The Iron

Let’s be real–the likelihood of a high school grad ironing their clothes is slim to none, but this trusty travel steamer is life-changing. While a hand-held steamer may not live in a prominent spot in your teen’s room, when the moment comes that they need to quickly release wrinkles from a crumpled-up shirt that they just must wear, this is a winning gift. The steamer is small enough for travel or stashing in a dorm room, just waiting for its moment to shine.

A Small Step To Remember Big Moments

I’ve gone through three of these and only wish I had started completing them in college–how fun and meaningful it would have been to capture that time in my own words. If a diary is overwhelming, this one-line-a-day format makes it a cinch to quickly capture feelings, events or anything else you want to remember. Each page of the book captures one day for five years, so you’re creating a keepsake while being mindful.

Encouraging Organization And Safe-Keeping

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While your high school graduate may not have many fancy jewels, having a smart spot to keep all their special jewelry is essential. This affordable jewelry organizer comes in a wide range of colorways and folds neatly to fit in a suitcase, dresser drawer or anywhere else. Five compartments keep everything neatly organized, including ring rolls, an earring grid, necklace holders and more. Add some thoughtful jewelry for a bigger splurge and wow your grad.

Sleep Better, Even Between Classes

Don’t let loud dorm noise, bright lights or a snoring roommate impact sleep. This popular and affordable blackout sleep mask is one of those items you might not buy for yourself, but it is a thoughtful gift. We like how the deeply molded cups curve away from your eyes, providing plenty of room to blink. The adjustable strap fits any sized head and is useful for all types of sleepers.

Keep Those Keys Safe

Add some personalization and whimsey to a boring old key chain with these completely customizable keychains. Perfect for dorm keys or as just a tag on a bag, this is a gender-neutral gift that can be used by anyone. At under $15, this gift won’t bust a budget and is a sweet way to say congrats to a teen like a local babysitter, neighbor or friend.

School Colors In Candy Form

Even if they're not legally allowed to drink, pop a bottle of custom M&M’s! Celebrate your favorite graduate with custom M&M’s–choose from school colors, photos, a message, or clip art that gets printed right on the candy. The gift will arrive in a celebratory bottle tube printed with colorful stripes and graduation-themed tassels. If you’re looking for a lower-budget option, that definitely exists, too.

TikTok Trendy Makeup

A stylish TikTok trend, this five-color neutral eye shadow palette includes four matte colors and one glitter shade–perfect for taking looks from day to night. Along with the beautiful shadow colors, the box itself is a lovely gift, with floral packaging and each shadow packaged in a jewel-shaped unit. If your grad prefers a bolder look, there are three other color options that are all non-neutrals.

Perfect For Travelers

As a college counselor at a private high school, Rachael is always on the road visiting colleges, and she recommends this gadget to any of her high school students who plan to be flying a lot. She’s noticed most teens prefer wireless headphones, but get stuck without an option on the plane. This gadget is easy to pair and makes your teen’s wireless headphones usable again when on a flight, using gym equipment or gaming. File this under the “didn’t know you needed it” category.

Study In Silence

If your graduate is easily distracted or prefers to work in silence, these unique earplugs are just that–they aren’t headphones to play music, just noise-canceling earplugs. They are perfect for sleeping, studying or just getting used to life in a new, and maybe louder, environment. The affordable earplugs come in four colors, and the set includes a carrying case and four interchangeable tips for the perfect fit.

Cover Up In Comfort

Quince is known for making luxury goods with upfront and reduced pricing. We all know privacy may be minimal if your grad is heading off to live in a college dorm. They will love the luxe feel of this waffle cotton robe, and you’ll love the affordable price tag. Lightweight, super soft and highly absorbent, this robe is perfect for shower time, lounging around a dorm room or getting ready for a night out. Available in four sizes and four colors, this is a best-seller for a good reason.

No Excuses To Not Call Home

I love this portable phone charger–it’s small enough to fit inside a pocket or fanny pack. It’s sized like a tube of lipstick, and simply plugs into the base of an iPhone to power it back up. It’s incredibly helpful as long as your teen remembers to charge the backup battery. If you plan to give this, just know what phone your high school graduate has–there are options for various iPhones and Android phones.

Never Confuse Your Clothes

Laundry is inevitable, but at least this personalized and customizable laundry bag helps ensure that dirty (or clean!) clothes never get confused in the laundry room. The sturdy sack can hold two to three loads of laundry–we know how teens like to wait until they literally have nothing left to wear. Adjustable shoulder straps make it easy to carry that laundry load. The backpack has a large mesh pocket on the outside to hold detergent and an inner zippered pocket for coins or a laundry card.

Clean Up Any Mess

While it’s certainly not the most fun present, this gift screams practicality and can be a thoughtful addition, especially if paired with other dorm room items or a local gift card. Lightweight and powerful, the cordless vacuum helps your kiddo keep their dorm room free of dust, snack spills or any other messes. It works on carpet and wooden floors and comes with a wall-mounted charger, so it’s easy to stash out of sight.

For Furry Friend Lovers

If the idea of leaving a pet behind breaks your high school grad’s heart, these custom pet portraits from West & Willow are a creative way for them to bring their furry friend with them (without getting in trouble). Created by real artists, the individually designed art is minimalist and not cutesy and looks amazing on a dorm room wall. To create your pet portrait, simply upload a photo, customize it with many options including the pet’s name, color and size, and then approve your portrait.

Lounge In Style

Comfy, cozy and modest, this pj’s set is perfect for hanging out. Ditch the ratty T-shirts and old sweatpants for a matching set that is a bit more sophisticated. Available in numerous colorways, we love the inclusive sizing range from XX-Small to 3X. J. Crew also has lovely men’s pajamas if you’re shopping for a young dude.

Bring The Beats

If they don’t have one already, a portable Bluetooth speaker is an excellent gift for any teen. My teen has this speaker, and it’s constantly on the go with him. Small enough to stash in a backpack, the speaker is durable, impact-resistant and waterproof. One charge lasts up to 20 hours, so the portable speaker brings the music wherever your kiddo is.

A Versatile Cooking Tool

When high school senior Jesse discovered that rice cookers were not allowed in his dorm, he had to cross off his top graduation gift from his list. This versatile cooking gadget is also awesome if an air fryer is allowed in your kiddo’s dorm or if they plan on living in a different housing arrangement. It has one-touch presets for items like wings, fries and other favorites and can hold up to eight quarts of food.

Ante Up

Game night just got a lot more fun with this luxe poker set. Packed into a leather box are 100 poker chips and two decks of cards. The box can be monogrammed and is available in four colors to make it a special, personalized gift. Monogramming is an extra cost, making the item non-returnable, so check your spelling twice.

Keep Track Of Your Stuff

If keeping track of important stuff is a challenge for your teen, getting them a four-pack of Apple Air tags can provide peace of mind and eliminate (or at least reduce) a constant search for lost items. Air Tags can be attached to gym bags, key chains, suitcases or a host of other items and can be precisely located via the Find My app on the phone.

A Dorm Room Essential

Settling into a dorm can be overwhelming. This would be a lovely gift for a close friend or family member. The white sheets and comforter are a perfect neutral, so your teen can express themselves with a throw pillow or textured or colorful throw blanket they could purchase. The five-piece set includes one comforter, a standard sham pillow, a fitted sheet, a flat sheet and a standard pillowcase. Always confirm bedding sizes, but this is the college-famous Twin XL size.

Get Ready To Jet Set

Many of the teens we talked to listed travel as a top gift. While that’s pretty specific, we love the idea of gifting high school graduates their very own new luggage. Herschel is a cool teen-approved brand that makes luggage out of recycled materials, has a 100-day return policy, and offers a variety of options. We love the larger of the two carry-on sizes for its versatility, but there are also smaller sizes, soft-shell suitcases and many more options.

Get Around In Style

New Jersey teen Zoe is off to college in Vermont, so she asked for skis as a high school graduation gift. While skis are a bit location-specific, we think an electric bike would be an amazing splurge gift for teens to get around campus and enjoy the outdoors. This electric bike can carry up to 300 pounds and has a 30- to 50-mile battery range on one full charge, which should be plenty to get around campus for a while. The bike can go up to 20 miles per hour, so your teen will never be late to class. Pair with a helmet for an amazing gift.

Be On Time For Interviews And Everything Else

High school senior Sarah in Philadelphia said she’d love a nice watch for high school graduation to be on time for job interviews. We love the motivation, Sarah, and think a new Apple watch is a useful gift. Not only does the watch tell time so you’re not late for interviews, but it has many other convenient capabilities. There are so many features, like fall detection, fitness tracking, temperature sensing and more.