Monday, June 1, 2015

Graduation Gift Ideas

Two of our grandsons graduated from High School  this week.  It was a very exciting time especially for them,  and for the whole family as well.  The whole family was and is extremely proud of them.

It is always hard to think of just the right gift for someone to help celebrate the special times in their lives.  Both grandsons received very nice thoughtful graduation gifts.  I wanted to share some of these gifts with you in case you too are looking for good graduation gift ideas.

Both grandsons received a computer with Office capabilities to help them with their college classes.
Computer

A good book is always a very nice gift.  Stuff Every College Student Should Know by Blair Thornburgh has a lot of very good advice for the young student just entering into their College days.

A review from Amazon says it best:
From the best-selling series of how-to guides comes "Stuff Every College Student Should Know," the ultimate reference for every part of campus life. Packed with tips, tricks, and handy lists, the book gives college kids the lowdown on everything from pulling all-nighters to navigating dorm room drama to actually doing their own laundry. Covering everything from move-in day to graduation, this pocket-size handbook is the perfect gift for high-school seniors . . . because textbooks can teach you only so much.

And, yes it was a very much appreciated gift from a good friend.  I looked through this book and one of the topics in the book was "How to cook with a microwave."  And, another one was, "How to cook if you don't have a microwave."  Another cute topic was, "How to ask a girl for a date."  And, many more helpful and interesting topics are covered.


And another wonderful graduation gift from my sister Betti and Uncle Jim to both nephews is GOD'S PROMISES for GRADUATES Class of 2015.

A review from Amazon tells about this book far better than I could:

A bestselling inspirational book for graduates year after year!


To be successful in life, high school and college graduates need to stay in step with God. At each turn there are new challenges. What better help than this small scripture book to bring guidance, comfort, and encouragement straight from the Word. Scripture is from the New International Version translation. 


For more than thirty years, the God’s Promises series—which has sold more than 15 million copies—has been guiding and comforting people through topically arranged scriptures addressing many facets of life. This book includes topics graduates will need such as character, integrity, loyalty, focus, respect, perseverance, and more. This keepsake gift has “Class of 2015” stamped in platinum foil, ribbon marker, and silver-gilded edges.


Year after year, God’s Promises for Graduates is the bestselling title for the graduation season!


Another gift book they received was,  The Road to Character,  as seen in the below photo.

Looking online for a good review of this book, Wikipedia 
the online Encyclopedia, gave a nice review:

Published in 2015, the author says, "I wrote it, to be honest, to save my own soul." According to The Guardian, Brooks decided that he had spent, "...too much time cultivating what he calls “the résumé virtues” – racking up impressive accomplishments – and too little on “the eulogy virtues”, the character strengths for which we’d like to be remembered."


As you can see in the below photo they received another nice graduation gift book, The Total Money Makeover:  A Proven Plan For Financial Fitness.

Again I went searching for a review of this book and found this quote on Amazon:

Okay, folks, do you want to turn those fat and flabby expenses into a well-toned budget? Do you want to transform your sad and skinny little bank account into a bulked-up cash machine? Then get with the program, people. There’s one sure way to whip your finances into shape, and that’s with The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition.

This sounds like a good book to advise young high school graduates of the best way to handle their finances; a very nice gift idea.


And as seen in the photo below is another really good gift idea for the High School Graduate called, The Graduate's Survival Guide-Setting You Up For Success in College.  The review of this gift item is included in the next paragraph.

Rachel Cruze is excited to introduce The Graduate's Survival Guide. No incoming college freshman should leave home without this gift, which will help prepare them for many of the dangers and unanswered questions they have about college. The Graduate's Survival Guide includes a book, presented in a fun and easy Q&A format, that will quickly become a trusted companion.


And as seen in the below photo is another really good idea for the beginning college student.  They received a set of monogrammed towels.  I especially love anything monogrammed.  But, this is such a good idea when going off to college because it helps them not get their towels mixed up with a roommate in the dorm or apartment.

I failed to snap a photograph of the wonderful monogrammed gift towels they received, so I found some on the Internet to show how they looked.



And then another special gift given to grandson John Scott was a quilt his mother made to give to him on his Graduation Day.  She spent many days making this special quilt.

For many years she saved all of his special sports-events t-shirts and other important and fun t-shirts he had worn and loved over the years.  Any item with his name she also saved; like an old towel he used at the beach many times and an old Halloween shirt.   He wore a special Astros t-shirt we brought back to him from a trip to Texas until it had holes in the sleeves.  She even found a recent Class of 2015 graduation shirt she included in the quilt.

She cut each t-shirt the same size and used an iron-on backing for stability of the fabric.   She then sewed all of the t-shirt squares together across, and then up and down.  Then she used a soft fleece backing which turned all of the squares into a very nice quilt.

High School Graduation Gift Quilt

John Scott was really proud of this graduation gift quilt.  He says he will keep it forever.  Each square was cut from one of the special t-shirts or mementos.   Each quilt square tells a story.  Most of the squares are associated with sports of some sort.  Down toward the bottom of the quilt in the below photo you can see the yellow square with "John Scott" embroidered on the square ... That is his old beach towel.

In the below photo John Scott is standing on a chair in his dining room holding up the quilt so I could get a really good photo of all of the squares of the quilt.


I love meaningful gifts like this that someone can keep forever.  John Scott is the first in his family to graduate from high school of the four brothers.  His mom has also kept all of the other brothers special t-shirts through the years so that they too can have a wonderful keepsake quilt like this on their high school graduation day.

There were also many cards with checks, money, and gift cards which is also a nice idea for the beginning college student.

To you and the possible graduates in your life we wish you many blessings and much happiness wherever you may be.


Graduation 2015

Wow!  It has been a busy time around our house the last couple of weeks.   Two of our grandsons graduated from high school this week ... One graduated from Leon High School, which is the oldest high school in Tallahassee.  

 LEON HIGH SCHOOL ~ ESTABLISHED 1831
Photo from the Internet.
 The other grandson graduated from Chiles High School, which is the newest high schools in town.

 CHILES HIGH SCHOOL ~ ESTABLISHED 1999
Photo from the Internet.

Both of these high schools are wonderful schools.  We are proud of the education they have provided for our grandsons.  Both boys are well equipped now to continue on into college in the Fall.
 
Since both grandsons were graduating at the same time, their mother's, our daughters, decided to give them a joint graduation party.  The party was held at our home,  and as much as I like to take pictures I did not have a lot of time to use my camera.  I do have a few photos from the party to share:

Don't know how she did it,  but one of our daughters printed and made this sign over the entrance door of our home to greet the graduates and guests as they arrived.


The mothers set up this "table of remembrance" for both boys.  


On the left side of the table we see Chase's graduation photo and a photo of him when he was a little fella along with other photos, and his High School Yearbook.  He is the one who graduated from Chiles High School.


On the right side of the table we see John Scott's graduation photo, baseball photo,  and prom photo.
I liked the quote in John Scott's Yearbook:   "Tough times do not last, tough people do."  Quote by
Alex Forges.


In the below photo we see our two grandsons traveling together in the back of our daughter's van,  back when they were little tikes ...  I remember taking that picture ...  My daughter recently took the photo showing them as they are today.

 
We began the party with appetizers and drinks on the back patio.


At this point I had a few minutes to use my camera.  
After all guests arrived I totally forgot about taking any more photos.
In the below photo we see guests beginning to arrive.


Cookies on the appetizer table.


And, bacon wrapped sausage along with spinach-artichoke dip and chips ... delicious!

It is a tradition here in Tallahassee to have smoked Bradley's Country Store sausage at many functions.   I just checked and they do have a website where you can actually order this delicious sausage.  Not the bacon wrapped, but the sausage.

http://www.bradleyscountrystore.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=61 



A yummy graduation cake for Chase and John Scott.  
It looks like a little finger could not resist across the middle of the cake.




We moved inside for a buffet style dinner.  The centerpiece for the table was a combination of red roses for Leon High School colors and maroon for Chiles High School colors.  This photo does not show the color difference very well.


As you can see in the below photos later I moved the flowers to the kitchen table where the lighting was better and you can see the difference in colors.  We chose three bunches of roses from our local Fresh Market to make this arrangement.  It is amazing how long these beautiful flowers stay fresh.

As close to the Chiles High School color of maroon as I could find.


And the other side of the bouquet was the Leon High School color of red.


Our daughters served Lasagna, Ragatoni, Italian Salad,  a Fruit Tray with Dip,  and Garlic Bread sticks.  Everything was delicious and enjoyed by all.  Too bad I did not have time to get a photo of all of the delicious food on the table.

It was exciting to sit in the big Civic Center downtown and see all of the graduating seniors.  One graduation was held on Thursday evening and the other graduation was held the following Saturday evening.

In the below photo we see John Scott coming through the graduation line and receiving his diploma.


And the same with Chase.


It was especially nice that two of our daughter's son's were graduating the same year.  These cousins are only five months apart in age,  and both live here in the Tallahassee area.


What a special time for these boys as they reach this major milestone in their lives.  They will both work during the Summer,  then they will have a new beginning as they start their college days in the Fall.

If you too have a special graduate this year we send our Congratulations!

Join us in the next post as we see some very nice graduation gift ideas.

Wishing you many blessings wherever you may be.