Graduation Etiquette Tips + Gift Ideas for the Grad
Graduation season is here! It’s an extremely exciting time for the graduates and their loved ones as they reach this dignified milestone and prepare for life’s next chapter. Whether you are a graduate yourself, have a child or loved one graduating, or you’re receiving graduation announcements and/or invitations, you will find the answers to all of your graduation etiquette questions in this blog post!
Announcement vs. Invitation
Let’s begin by discussing the difference between an announcement and an invitation. An announcement is simply what it sounds like it would be! It is simply to “announce,” or share the news of this life milestone with your loved ones and community. It does not request anyone’s presence at any particular event, and we will discuss what it means for gifts. Graduation announcements certainly seem to be common in some areas, and uncommon in others. It is completely up to you, your graduate, and their family as to whether or not you choose to send one.
Graduation announcements are typically sent by the graduate’s parents or family shortly after the graduation has taken place. It is completely up to the family or sender as to who they want to send the announcement to. Gifts are not expected nor required when it comes to an announcement. However, as the sender, you can absolutely expect to receive some gifts when you send out an announcement of any kind!
As the receiver of an announcement, there is technically no action to be taken. As mentioned, you're not requested to attend an event, and gifts are not expected nor required. With that being said, you can absolutely still send a gift if you would like to. I personally recommend at least sending a congratulatory card, and then if the relationship warrants one, you can choose to send a gift. More on that soon.
Let’s move on to invitations. An invitation's purpose is to request someone’s presence at a specific event whether that be the actual graduation ceremony or a graduation celebration/party.
Tip: If you are inviting people to a graduation ceremony, be sure to double check how many attendees each student is allowed to bring BEFORE sending invitations. Many ceremonies have limited tickets for each student.
If you are invited to a graduation ceremony or invitation, you will have necessary action to take unlike an announcement. You will likely have to provide the host with your RSVP, and gifts are more or less expected.
Graduation Ceremony Etiquette
Let’s go over the basics of graduation ceremony etiquette…
Plan to arrive early in order to find your seats and get settled so you are not disrupting the beginning of the ceremony.
Be mindful of bringing small children as graduation ceremonies can be long in duration, and are not typically child friendly.
Keep your phone on silent and put away.
Hold conversation until after the ceremony is over.
If you want to cheer for your graduate, be sure to make it very brief so the next person’s name being called is not drowned out by your noise.
Plan to stay the whole time. Do not get up and leave until everyone’s name has been called, and the ceremony has come to an end.
Respect the rules of the venue and the school.
Graduation Party Etiquette
For the host:
Graduation parties are often hosted by the graduate’s parents or other close family members. Ensure you are sending an invitation at least six weeks prior to the party date. The earlier the better as there are many graduation parties this time of year! Make it very clear that this is a graduation celebration and not the actual graduation ceremony so your guests know what to expect. The invitation should match the formality of the event, so take that into consideration when deciding whether to do mailed invitations versus some type of email or text invitation.
For the guest:
Aside from basic guest etiquette like sending in your RSVP promptly, arriving on time, etc., be sure to bring a gift for the graduate.
Graduation Gifts & Gift Guide
To summarize what we’ve discussed thus far, you can send a gift if you receive an announcement, but you are not required to, and you should plan to send/bring a gift if you received an invitation to the ceremony or to a party (even if you can not attend). I want to note that you can certainly still send a graduate a gift even if they chose not to send an announcement, and/or are not having a large celebration. If you are sending a gift, within 2-3 weeks or receiving an announcement/invitation is best, unless, of course, you will be bringing it with you to the celebration!
Now, the million dollar question: How much should I spend on a graduation gift?
This is completely dependent on your personal budget and relationship with the graduate. Remember, it is much more about the thought and gesture than it is about the actual value.
I have created a gift guide for you that ranges in price, so you can spend what you are comfortable spending if you choose to purchase a physical gift. Gift cards and monetary gifts are well received, too!
OSE’s Graduation Gift Guide:
Gift Card Suggestions:
Amazon
Target
Airlines
Uber Eats, Grubhub, Door Dash
Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts
Thank you notes
As a graduate, don’t forget to write and send your thank you notes to anyone who brought a gift to your ceremony or celebrations, or sent one to you. Thank you notes should be sent out within two weeks of your celebrations.
…And there you have it! Everything you need to know about graduation etiquette. I am sending a huge congratulations to all of the 2024 graduates! The best is yet to come.
