My son is having a joint graduation party with his best friend - okay , I guess us parents are hosting the party.  Anyway, a large number of the friends will be coming.  I have known most of thesekids for years.  Obviously I cannot afford to give each one a gift.  Is it okay to give each one of them a card when they come or is it more appropiate to mail them to their homes?  Also I want to give a gift to my son’s best friend, but I need some ideas for a gift for a male.  Something with some sort of meaning as the boys have been best friends for such a long time and I am friends with his parents as well.  Thanks!

Suzi congratulations to your son on his graduation and best wishes for his future. 

I would suggest something personalized for a gift.  I’m thinking out loud here but you may be able to find cards for the graduates that contain some kind of coin or cross..thinking of something you carry in your pocket.  Even the little polished stones are nice…they have one word on them like faith, courage, happiness, love, etc.  Hunny has a cross that someone gave him that he has carried forever.  He also carries a buckeye that my mom gave him when we first met. 

For his best friend…how about a nice pen set or engraved letter opener.  The two gifts that I still remember from my graduation are a pen and a letter opener.  The letter opener is sterling silver and has my initials on it and every time I use it I think of the person that gave it to me.  Same with the pen.  Personalized gifts are gifts that someone always remembers the giver. 

Have fun planning your party.  Would love to hear more about your plans. 

Thanks for the great ideas.  I will keep you posted as to all the plans.  It is fun, but bittersweet, of course.  He’s a great kid.  We have a fantastic pic of the two boys last year from Prom.  His friend is a big kid and he is holding my son and they both have their tuxes on.  SO we need to do something with that picture.  Maybe on the invites.

If his a sports minded kid.For me i’ll try to give him stuff to be used for a sports.
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Hey Suzi!  How are the party plans coming? 

We just finished the invitations the other night.  We ordered the standard school invitations for the ceremony, but we made them for the party.  They are sooo cute.  On the front (each of the boys are “their own”) is their graduation picture with the invitation details.  THe pics have a frame around and are in color.  On the back, in black and white, is a pic of both the boys - My son’s friend is holding him up and they are in their tuxes from prom.  It is so cute.  It says that the boys have been friends for 7 years and they are having their graduation party together.  I am so excited!

We planned the menu:  pepperoncini beef, bbq pork, cornbread salad, pasta salad, appetizers (I am in charge of that so I have to think of stuff to make ahead) green salad, cookies and bars (my mom is making these), calico beans.  Hmm.  I think that’s it. 

We painted flower pots in the high school colors, two each in the colors of where the boys are going to college and we are decopaging on the school logo.  Buying flowers on Friday to plant in the pots.  We bought the tablecloths, etc.  Still need some more decorations.  I think we might “blow up” the pic of the boys together to hang on the garage door as people can see it coming up the driveway.

Thanks for asking.  I think we are in control.  Just need make ahead apps that I can make on Friday.

Suzi I love what you’ve done!  The invitation sounds too cute, fabulous food and great decorations.  I know y’all are gonna have so much fun! 

What an exciting time for y’all.  Best wishes to your son and his friend.

Thanks!  I just got the invitations last night and I am so pleased with how they turned out.  I am having fun with this (still bittersweet!!)

I know Sweetie.  I cried so hard at all of my kids’ graduation that I was embarrassed.    I had so many thoughts running through my mind..I was a basket case.  You realize that your baby has really grown up and it hits you like a ton of bricks.

Y’all have fun!

Congrats that you got him through this point in his life, yay! 
How about sticking the names of his best friends onto the cake as well as his, that’s a start.  Actually, you could make a big sheet cake, then make each one their own cupcake, with their name on it, and attach it to the cake with ribbon in the school’s colors, so each grad gets his own (that sort of takes the place of a gift but recognizes each one).  You can mold choc confect. candy into graduation shapes, the hat, the diploma, etc and stick on the cake and cupcakes, and also use as favors for the grads.  You can get all the supplies at Michaels or AC Moore, and they aren’t expensive. 

I think it’s ok to give them the card when they arrive, unless you don’t want one to know what the other got (you might want to tell his best friend to keep what he received to himself, to not hurt other’s feelings, or just give that one out before hand).  Love the pic on the garage idea, how fun.  I’d use balloons all around too, in school colors. 

For inexpensive gifts.  How about a personalized key chain with the grad’s name and 2009 (yr of graduation), and use school colors?  If you make them yourself, you can make several for under $10, you can add charms, metal or resin, etc., to represent whatever teams they were on, and their life hobbies, like a football, baseball, soccer ball, chess piece, cheer leader horn, whatever, and use school colors of course.  I make these, and you are welcome to contact me privately if you want to see a pic, or directions on how to make.  oh, I do sell these too). 
Grads love to hang the tassles, or whatever from the car rear view mirror, so you could get them a rear view hangar with 2-0-0-9 on it, and maybe the name of their school logo/team (cougars, tigers, mighty ducks, whatever).  same idea as the key chains.

Hope the party came out as just fine..Any updates? My nephew’s graduating march next year..Maybe i could try some of the suggestions posted above.

Regards,
coushia
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You can give the kids a cute frame, who doesn’t love a nice frame and I am positive they will have PLENTY of Graduation pictures. But I must let you in on my secret store. This store is my go to store for parties and gifts, and I am the party trinket queen. Favor Affair, you can go to this online store order these frames at 1.50 a pop and BAM you have yourself very affordable graduation trinkets.
So check out and let me know what you think about my secret: http://www.favoraffair.com/graduationsframe.html

The party was great.  No real updates - we did get plastic tablecloths of the college the boys were going to.  So we had blue and gold for Marquette (my son’s friend is going there) and my son had red and white (for UW Madison).  We bought small terra cotta pots and painted them one of the school colors and then painted the logo of the college on them.  then we bought coordinating plants to go in them.  These went on each of the tables.  We went to a photo place and made collages of the boys - one of each of them alone from baby on up and then one of the two boys together.  They turned out great and were a fabulous conversation piece. 

We made shredded beef and shredded pork, my mom makes the most fabulous baked beans (these three things were all in nesco roasters), the boys didn’t want a cake so we made lots of different bars and cookies.  My sister made cute “graduation hat”” cookies using a chocolate covered graham cracker as the base and then an upside down mini peanut butter cup (glued on with frosting).  then she colored frosting of the high school color (purple) to make the tassel.  those were a huge hit. 

That’s all I can remember now!