Need an affordable suggestion for Graduation Present....

Even before I opened this and read the entire post, my first thought was a scrapbook. If you have plenty of pictures of your niece growing up, you can put them together and create a little book of her as she's gone through the years. With a Childhood Years theme that would go along with it just perfectly.

I totally agree with you. I think that gift cards are so impersonal, and you give it to someone that you may not know...or just forgot about. I really don't like gift cards. I like the whole dorm sheets thing. That would be great if you knew the size of the bed that she was going to have in her apartment. So maybe these sites from ebay may help: 1. http://cgi.ebay.com/Hello-Kitty-Ultra-Soft-Beanbag-PILLOW-Travel-Bed-Dorm_W0QQitemZ320087333357QQihZ011QQcategoryZ115630QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem You could always get her this and something else. I thought that it would be cute...and comfortable. :) 2. http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Plush-Pink-HELLO-KITTY-SATIN-FLOWER-Body-Pillow_W0QQitemZ170087563757QQihZ007QQcategoryZ115630QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Then, you could always get her a nice, soft body pillow. I love my body pillow. It fills the bed up more, and when I am alone in bed, it makes it feel like I am not alone...in a good way, not a creepy way though. 3. http://cgi.ebay.com/HELLO-KITTY-PURPLE-PILLOW-NWT-SANRIO-OFFICIAL-PRODUCT_W0QQitemZ290090176597QQihZ019QQcategoryZ115629QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem But, then you could also get her this beautiful, purple personal pillow instead. I would love that if I was her. 4. http://cgi.ebay.com/Sanrio-Hello-Kitty-Fleece-Blanket-Throw-Kids-Bedding_W0QQitemZ280089714400QQihZ018QQcategoryZ66727QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem And, you cannot go wrong with a personal fleece blanket. Who doesn't want to carry a blanky around with them? Especially when studying...it can be quite comfortable. 5. http://cgi.ebay.com/HELLO-KITTY-PVC-Storage-Bin-Garbage-for-Car-Home-Decor_W0QQitemZ300085160195QQihZ020QQcategoryZ43504QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem There is also the option of this. It may not be that exciting, but every time that she looked at it, or they something away she would think of you. :D LOL 6. http://cgi.ebay.com/HELLO-KITTY-ALARM-CLOCK-USED_W0QQitemZ270093884136QQihZ017QQcategoryZ39568QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Then, of course you cannot forget an alarm clock. Waking up in the morning and smacking the Hello Kitty would be fun. Just kidding, I love Hello Kitty. 7. http://cgi.ebay.com/AUTH-COTTON-HELLO-KITTY-PANTS-SHIRT-PAJAMA-SET-SZ-L_W0QQitemZ280087282965QQihZ018QQcategoryZ63855QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem You can't go wrong with cotton pajamas. Who doesn't like cute Hello Kitty pajamas. They have a nice cool top, and the pajama pants that I personally love. 8. http://cgi.ebay.com/Hello-Kitty-Plush-Thick-Warm-Bedroom-Slippers-Pink-28AI_W0QQitemZ130085862749QQihZ003QQcategoryZ63889QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem These slippers are cute, but I think that they would be better in a different color. They might be comfortable though...you never know. And, last but not least... 9. http://cgi.ebay.com/HELLO-KITTY-BLACK-BALLET-FLAT-SLIPPERS-WOMENS-SIZE-6-7_W0QQitemZ180090011055QQihZ008QQcategoryZ63889QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Okay, they are slippers also, but I like these better. They are black and not some hideous pink. I would wear these anyday. :DD I hope that I was able to help, and if you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask. I am giving you a positive for this discussion, it was fun!! :) And, hopefully it isn't that long!! LOL :DD

How about a care package? All her favorite lotions, nail polish, shampoo, stationery, pens, pencils, puzzle book, instant cameras, lipstick or lipgloss, pad of paper, tissues, different softner sheets, rolls of quarters if needed for laundry. Stamps, snacks in grab and go sizes. You know all the stuff that would help her for the first weeks of being out on her own. A touch from you that would keep you in her thoughts as she begins living in her new abode. Just my thoughts since these are real popular in my family.

Even if she's not going to live in a dorm a small refrigerator could come in handy. I bought my hubby one for Christmas the year before last and we love having it in our den so handy. Yep, we're lazy. LOL I'm my not sure though that you would want to spend that much. I know shipping is a factor - but you could order it online and have it sent to her. Hmm....other than that I'll have to put my thinking cap on. I love the themed idea though!

Well the first thing that comes to mind is an alarm clock. A student no matter where they are living needs one and they have them with those themes. My second was a lamp, again something that can almost always be used. You could get her something like that and a gift card, perhaps a small gift card but that way you got her something personal and the gift card she suggested.

I know that you said that you do not like gift cards and to be clear, I dont either but I have had 2 daughters go away to college and 3 nephews. All the colleges and universities are along way off. When kids go along way off to school, they do not have much company and they appreciate mail from home. After our two daughters graduated we decided to do somethign different for the nephews. We sent them a gift card for a restaurant each month. They loved getting cards from home and a hot meal was appreciated too. I also gave them gifts in a mug which I mailed to them.

Humm..I was thinking..what about getting a hold of her mom/dad/grmma..see if they can send you a few pics of her and her best friend to your email..then maybe u can use those pics as a scrap book..orr..get a her fav childhood character necklace with a locket and put it in there? And then maybe get hera hello kitty phone? and make a care packet al in one in a basket? just some thoughts

if you want you can look at my site and the links on my site. there are a bunch of choices.

Honsetly the first thing that comes to mind is Gift Cards or money. I know I used a lot of my gradution money to buy things for the place I was renting. Boy did it come in handy. The only other thing that I can think of that isn't gift cards or money is some towel sets or maybe a nice set of pot and pans.

My favourite gift for special occasions is a brass pen with the person's name engraved on it.

I remember that when I graduated from high school that one of the gifts that I used a lot in college was towels. Maybe you could get her a mixture of beach towels like a Hello Kitty, Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake towel. I like themes too ... so if you wanted to add somethings to it, add Hello Kitty bubble bath, maybe a robe or pj's that would go with it? If you couldn't find a Hello Kitty robe, perhaps pink ones that would coordinate. Try this link (target.com) http://www.target.com/gp/search.html/602-6586354-0759012?field-keywords=Hello%20Kitty%20Bedding%20Bedding&AFID=Yahoocom&LNM=hello_kitty_bedding&LID=6046972&ref=tgt_adv_XSYT0552 It has lots of Hello Kitty things ... I like the lights for $14.99!

Tia, Ask her mother. As your sister or sister-in-law, she will know and understand your plight. She will also understand the price range you are working with. Your neice may also be registered at Walmart. For something as simple as Hello Kitty, there are trash cans, lamps, bath accessories, etc. all at reasonable prices. When I do a graduation gift it is always pretty much the same. I take a laundry basket, add (Hello Kitty) towel set, detergent, fabric softener, dish cloths, and any little "dollar store" items that I think will cheer them up such as note pads, magnets, etc. Don't worry, whatever you gift with will be the perfect gift from Auntie Tia~Donna ps - the attached picture is from amazon - it is not yet available, but you can preorder for $19.99 - you could fill this with a few boxes of trash can liners and room deodorizers

When my 2 nieces graduated, I made them each a scrapbook. I decorated it, and made each page different. I think if you have a lot of pictures of your niece, you could make her a simple scrapbook starting from when she was younger to a little older, to the present. My nieces both told me that was their all time favorite present!! :-)

Ilove giving new graduates the Dr Suess book "oh the places you will go". it is fitting for someone who is moving on in their life and it fits with the "childhood" theme. i can also recommend some lip smackers chap sticks...i LOVE chap sticks and lip smackers and avon's child balms always send me back in time. there's nothing like the perfect teddy bear too! my college roommate and i found the PERFECT teddy bears to sleep with and they frequented our beds more than boys...that's a good thing! so, there are some suggestions that fitwith her theme. you can also toss in a gift card too b/c to a colelge kid they are indispensable!!! take care.

Why not create a scrapbook of all the memories and pictures that you have had with your daughter during her childhood. Me and my sister and family and friends created a really nice scrapbook with lots of photos and writings for my mom for her birthday and this may be a nice graduation gift as well. We included pictures from all years and wrote our own stories about our mom. Maybe you could do something like this for her if you think she would like that. You can include all those things that you mentioned in your discussion. If she likes gift cards, I think she would be happy with that, especially if you know what stores she likes.

I would do something personal. Maybe a scape book of photo's of her child years. And you can print out pictures from the computer with hello kitty, care bears, strawberry shortcake, etc. And put them on the pages between the photos. All you would have to invest in is the album. If she enjoys cooking, perhaps you can give her a home made book of family receipes, with the pictures of the above, cut out on those pages. You don't even have to spend money on an album. You can buy an inexpensive 3 loop notebook binder, and just cover it.

Get something that is engraved with her name and the date of her graduation, it will be something that she will always remember her graduation since her name and the date is on it.

I suggest a photo album, with attachements so that she could make up her own great graduation scrapbook. You could also fill in the first page from you and your family and sign it,as you are presenting her with the gift. This worked great for my sister, she absolutely loved it and put all her graduation pictures,cards and comments in there! Good luck i hope you find the perfect gift hun :)

A nice watch is a great graduation gift. The brand "Fossil" has some very cool watches for young women. Good luck!

You did say you don't like giving Gift cards, but I think they're a good idea, and especially if she asked for them That way she can get what she wants and she knows she'll enjoy, and it saves you the headache of trying to think of something for her. Also, you said that the Graduation Party theme is childhood years, so there's no guarantee that she'd like the Hello Kitty sheets anyway, unless you know she likes them already. I say if she asked for Gift Cards to give them to her.