Graduation is just around the corner. It probably feels like your grad toured the campus just yesterday, but now their time as a college student is coming to an exciting end and the real world awaits them. 

Finding a gift that perfectly sums up your grad’s time over the past several years is never an easy task to take on. It can feel nearly impossible to think of the perfect present. Don’t overthink what to get your grad because some of the best gifts you can give are the ones that come from the heart. 

Here’s a list of some of the best DIY gift options that will send your 2021 graduate into the real world on the right note. 

DIY photo magnets

Use some of your favorite photos of you and your grad to create a thoughtful gift that they can display on their fridge. All you need is your smaller versions of your favorite photos, magnets, glue, a mounting board, and white paint. 

Break something and then re-gift it

Have you ever broken a friend’s beloved vase or dish and wished there was a way to put it back together without it looking like a mess of porcelain and glue? Well, what if we told you there is a way to put it back together and make it look even better than before. Yes, we’re serious!

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of golden joinery that mends the pieces of a porcelain object with gold filling, leaving a radiant glow behind where the cracks once stood. Super glue is a thing of the past with this beautiful mending technique.

Help them stay up to date with a DIY Calendar

Paper calendars can be fun with the pictures of cute puppies or gorgeous ocean views throughout Europe, but the paper is wasteful and it doesn’t make for the greatest decor. 

Now that their days are filled with meetings and interviews, it’s important to stay on top of the craziness. 

Help them keep their days organized with a fun and decorative DIY calendar. It’s easy to make and only calls for a few simple materials you can find at any craft store. 

Customized Neon Sign 

Add a little spice to your grad’s new apartment or home with a customized neon sign. Typical neon signs can cost anywhere from 60 to 300 dollars. For under 25 dollars you can easily create this glowing college graduation gift using wire, neon light wire, and a hot glue gun. 

Spell out whatever you feel will speak to your grad or create fun shapes patterns that can make great decorations for new apartments or houses. 

Give your grad a beautiful embroidery made by you that will perfectly fit their personality and their new place after graduation. You can find cool and fun patterns online or create your own. The sky is the limit with what you can create with embroidery. 

A Happy Graduation Video 

A video full of congratulations messages and best wishes is a gift that comes from the hearts of all of your grad’s loved ones. There’s no need to have video or editing skills to pull off this amazing gift either. 

You can simply ask friends and family members of your grad to send you a short video congratulating your grad on their graduation and then combine the video clips using iMovie or another simple, user-friendly video editing app. 

Add your grad’s favorite music to the video or include photos of good times in between the clips of congratulations, to bump the nostalgia level to 100. 

It’s a gift your grad will cherish for years and one that will remind them of all the unconditional support they have behind them once they go into the real world.

Gather some inspiration from some of your favorite bedroom decor. Photo Courtesy of OCM.

Graduation Gift Basket

Gift baskets make great gifts because they’re made up of all of your grad’s favorite things. You can add anything from candy to blankets to candles and more. 

Adding items that will prove to be helpful long after graduation can make the basket fun and practical. For instance, you can include a book about how to survive after college, gift cards to furniture stores to deck out their first grown-up apartment, spa items like relaxing face masks and eye rollers to release the tension the real world brings, and so much more. 

Anything your grad is interested in can be included, there are no limits when creating a graduation gift basket. 

Graduation Picture Book

If you’re someone who loves to scrapbook or you’ve always wanted to try it out, using your crafting skills to make a personalized graduation picture book is a great use of the hobby. Not only will your grad have a book full of special memories they’ve made throughout the years, but they’ll also appreciate the added effort you made to give them such a thoughtful present. 

You can easily collect pictures from your grad’s Facebook or reach out to one of their friends about sending you some pictures that commemorate the best times they had in college. 

Stop by your favorite craft store to grab an album and all of the essential scrapbooking materials necessary to bring the book to life like colorful cardstock, double-sided tape, colored paint pens, fun stickers, and more. 

If you love the idea of gifting a picture book to your grad, but you aren’t thrilled about the time it takes to create a full scrapbook, there are plenty of places online that create thoughtful and personalized picture books at a low cost. 

Autograph picture frame 

Send your grad off into the real world with messages of congratulations from all of their family and friends. An autograph picture frame is a great gift to put on display at your grad’s graduation party for all of the guests to sign messages of inspiration for all of your grad’s future endeavors. 

If you want to give the gift before the big graduation party, you may need to collect the signatures one by one, but nothing beats a gift as thoughtful as this one. The personalization will mean the world to your grad as they start their post-college journey and they may even look back at the messages now and again to get some motivation. 

All you need is a picture of your graduate, a large piece of cardstock paper or canvas depending on what you’d rather use, and a frame to hang the finished piece in. 

You’ll have to cut out a square in the middle of the cardstock or canvas big enough for the picture to be seen, but not big enough for it to slide through the hole. Next secure the picture to the cardstock using either double-sided tape or photo stickers. Put the finished product into the frame without the glass front, so that it’s simple for your guests to sign. And there you have it! 

Buy a gift your student will love and revamp it by painting or adding fun stickers they’ll love. Photo Courtesy of OCM. 

When all else fails...Cash is the answer

If you ask any college kid what they need the most at any given time you will probably get the answer “money” 10 times out of 10. It’s no secret that college kids are balling on a budget. With student loan debt and the possibility of moving to a new city after college, money is a must. 

If your grad is particularly hard to pick out gifts for, but you don’t want to show up empty-handed when celebrating their academic success--cash never fails. 

Money is an all-around great gift that every grad will appreciate and use at one point or another, whether they save it or decide to splurge. Giving money in an envelope is the standard way of doing things, but getting creative with it is a much more fun and exciting option than just handing them a card full of cash.

We’ve found a couple of interesting ways to give the gift of money in a way that’s a little more exciting for your grad. 

Money pizza box

What do college kids love more than money? Pizza. Join their two loves into one great gift by giving them a pizza created out of money. You can use any denomination you’d like and even attach a couple of scratch-off lottery tickets to the top of the box for an added surprise. 

Money confetti poppers

Instead of popping champagne bottles, pop confetti poppers full of cash. All you’ll need to create these fun poppers are clear cake push-pops available at any grocery store or craft supply shop, confetti, and cold-hard cash. 

Origami money graduation cap

This gift requires patience and the ability to closely follow directions. Making cute origami graduation hats out of 20, 50, or $100 dollar bills is a great way to give your grad the gift of cash without boring them with a plain card. 

So,  if you’re searching for the perfect graduation gift to send your grad into the real world, remember that you don’t have to go any further than your local craft store to create something memorable that they’ll appreciate now and into the future.