42 High School Graduation Gifts in 2021

Graduation is one of the most exciting and important days in a student’s life. It’s a day to finally celebrate their academic excellence and the important journey they have ahead.

Giving a new grad a high school graduation gift is the perfect way to show them that you’re proud of them and excited for their future. Whether they’re going off to college or heading straight into the workforce, these 42 high school graduation gift ideas will help reward them for their hard work and prepare them for what lies ahead.

Best High School Graduation Gifts

These versatile gift ideas are perfect for any teen graduating from high school. No matter their interests or personality, anyone can find these high school graduation gifts useful in their day-to-day lives.

1. Showcase their Accomplishments

Over the years, students accumulate plenty of trophies, certificates and other prestigious awards. Help them show pride in their achievements with a frame for their diploma and other celebratory documents.

2. Display their Name Proudly

Adding a personal touch to a room can help encourage confidence and self-love. This is especially important as new graduates make their way out into the working world. Make any space unique to the graduate with a customized acrylic name sign.

3. Keep it Practical

As more work and school settings incorporate virtual elements, help newly graduated students enhance their experiences with their electronic devices. Practical accessories like tablet holders make great high school graduation gifts for those who will be completing virtual projects at college or work.

4. Make Things Easier On-the-Go

Once teens graduate high school, they’ll be on their way to new and exciting places. Since their bags from grade school might be getting old, help them start new journeys in style with a brand new backpack or cosmetic bag to carry all their small items.

5. Help them Change their Tune

With vinyl records coming back into style, the new graduate will love their very own vintage turntable record player. Pair this classic device with contemporary records to elevate the aesthetic of their space and add a modern twist to an old trend.

6. Enhance their Productivity

You know how annoying it is when you misplace a phone charger or can’t remember where you put your keys. Help your new graduate start post-high-school life out on an organized foot with a designated place for all their essentials. From their wallet and keys to their wireless headphones, a charging mat will create the ideal home base.

7. Inspire Wanderlust

As newly graduated teens begin moving into their own spaces, whether it be a dorm or apartment, they’ll want to spruce up their new place with unique decor. Incorporating wall art and decor that inspires their sense of adventure will help them reach for the stars.

8. Go to New and Exciting Places

Graduating high school opens up a world of opportunities, especially when it comes to traveling to places you’ve never been before. Any new adult making their way out into the real world needs a substantial set of luggage for any future expeditions. You can even add a personal touch by adding their monogram initials.

9. Don’t Stop the Music

As your teen grows up, remembering their favorite concerts and events will be an important part of their early adult years. Give them a designated pinboard to do just that and align with their live-music-loving taste.

10. Provide Even More Options

When in doubt, a gift card allows you to show a new graduate that you truly care despite being unsure of what exactly they would want as a high school graduation gift. Order a Pottery Barn Teen gift card to offer them a plethora of decor and design options for stellar gifts.

High School Graduation Gifts for Her

From beauty essentials to gorgeous decor, these graduation gifts will provide her with daily necessities and specialty items that will brighten up any future endeavors. 

11. Find Ways to Reflect

Make the new graduate feel like a star with a classic LED-illuminated beauty mirror. They can keep the mirror on their desk or mount it on the wall for an added element of star quality in any beauty routine.

12. Travel in Style

Whether it be a big purse or a small toiletry bag, it’s important to have a way to carry daily beauty essentials with you wherever you go. Add some flair to your makeup kit with an elegant beauty pouch.

13. Help them Stay Organized

Keeping track of these valuable pieces can be difficult, especially when they have special connections to family history. As graduates begin moving into new spaces, a new mounted jewelry organizer can make all the difference when it comes to curating the perfect organization strategy. Plus, it will help them display some of their favorite jewelry proudly.

14. Organize their Collection

For an added layer of organization, incorporate a rotating beauty organizer into your high school graduation gift. This product’s spinning base offers quick and easy access to neatly organized beauty essentials within several strategically placed cubbies.

15. Curate the Perfect Beauty Area

The perfect beauty routine would be incomplete without a classic vanity desk setup. Complete with a mirror, organizational drawers and plenty of desk space, this piece is a worthy investment to help the new graduate feel as beautiful as possible.

16. Bring Love Into Any Space

Those who prefer to incorporate the theme of love into their room decor will appreciate a large neon heart light. This will add an extra light source and a pop of pink to any bedroom with a bright aesthetic.

17. Encourage Self-Care

One of the best ways to reward someone for their accomplishments is with a relaxing day at the spa. Incorporate self-care accessories, such as cozy bathrobes and scented candles, so the graduate of honor can bring relaxation with them wherever they end up in life.

18. Make their Space More Comfortable

Help any new graduate spruce up a new living space with soft and comfortable seating options. For girls’ dorms and bedrooms, a faux fur-covered accent chair can add an elegant twist to typical room decor and seating.

19. Support their Creative Side

For those that excelled in their writing in high school, encourage them to continue following their passions throughout their future adventures. Incorporate journals, sketchbooks, pencils and other desk essentials into your graduate’s gift so that they never stray away from their creative side.

20. Treasure the Memories

Graduating high school often forces us to part ways with some of our closest friends. Encourage graduating seniors to value each and every memory by displaying them wherever they go. A classic wall-hanging photo display will help them remember their favorite times fondly.

21. Have Some Fun

After 12 long years of studying and making the grade, your graduate needs plenty of opportunities to let loose. Help them outfit their dorm room with a fun wall game that will give them a chance for a brain break.

22. Showcase their Athleticism

If your student has spent their high school career showcasing their athletic prowess, give them a chance to relive their favorite competitive memories. Display their lucky glove or winning ball from the championship game.

High School Graduation Gifts for Him

Whether he’s a sports fiend or just a fun-loving student, spruce up the new grad’s space with the following high school graduation gifts for him. 

23. Help them Relieve Stress

Entering the working world or a university setting can prevent major sources of stress for a brand new graduate. Having ways to take breaks will be a key factor in staying on top of their work. Consider gifting any athletic graduate a mounted bean bag football game as a way to take his mind off the stress of new responsibilities. This will help him work on his hand-eye coordination while still having a great time.

24. Encourage Healthy Competition

For teens living with friends, an air hockey table will make a great addition to any common area in their living situation. Plus, the modern styling of this table will elevate the level of the space’s decor.

25. Turn Saving Money Into a Game

As new graduates transition from adolescence to adulthood, they’ll need to start learning how to save money. Turn this otherwise stressful lesson into an enjoyable activity with a disc drop wall piggy bank.

26. Display their Prized Possessions Proudly

If the man of the hour is a collector or spent his life devoted to a certain sport or activity, installing clever sporty shelving is a great way to remind him of everything he’s capable of. This high school graduation gift is also great for displaying trophies or other sports-related memorabilia.

27. Add Some Flexible Pieces

For a flexible and practical space, storage ottomans can help your teenager stay organized. They can use them to store extra linens or clothes and kick their feet up to relax all at once.

28. Illuminate Their Space

Add a touch of electrifying fun with a neon light fixture. Choose a unique shape that fits their style to brighten up their space. This is a great way to add a fun pop to an otherwise plain room.

29. Show Off their Style

For more stylish grads, allow them to show off their best clothing and accessories with shoe and hat wall displays. They’re easy to mount and provide easy access for go-to style options that will impress anyone.

30. Get Their Head In the Game

One of the best high school graduation gifts is something that the graduating senior can do for fun from the comfort of their own room. An over-door basketball hoop can help them blow off steam while shooting hoops with friends.

31. Add a Sporty Theme to their Space

It’s hard to separate a high school football player from the game, even if they’re graduating. Keep them connected to their favorite sport with a “Touch Down” cutout wall hook organizer. The graduate can use this to hang cleats, jerseys and other important football accessories.

32. Enhance their Storage

For graduates moving through life with a lot of heavy gear, industrial metal gear cages allow for easy storage and access to both large and small sports gear. The cage is also on wheels, allowing for swift mobility as the graduate moves onto new phases in his life.

Dorm Necessities for University Life

The best high school graduation gifts are those that prepare the new graduates for the many places they’ll go, especially for those packing for college. These essential items will give them everything they need to succeed and live comfortably in dorm life at any university.

33. Stick to the Essentials

One of the most common high school graduation gifts from parents is a college bedding set. Almost all standard dorm rooms include Twin XL mattresses, meaning that a Twin XL comforter and sheets set will be useful no matter where they decide to continue their education.

34. Help them Maximize their Space

Dorm trunks are fantastic for enhancing an incoming freshman’s storage while also adding some style to their dorm room. Plus, most trunks are built to withstand the wear and tear that comes with frequent moving, so the graduate receiving your gift will be able to use it for years to come.

35. Add Some Twinkle

Sparkling string lights have the power to add magic to any room, which is why they are so common in dorm room decor. Help illuminate any incoming college student’s space with strands of dangling lights.

36. Encourage Productivity

Sometimes, students need a change of setting after they’ve been sitting at a desk for too long. Lap desks offer the ability to work from just about anywhere comfortably, and they often include storage space for notebooks and tablets.

37. Remind them of the Love Back Home

At one point or another throughout their first year in college, students find themselves feeling homesick. Gift them with stylish dorm shelving that they can use to display things that remind them of their loved ones back home to get them through the rough patches.

38. Prepare them with Communal Bathroom Necessities

Though the graduating senior may not be used to sharing spaces with others, they’ll need to be ready to do so when they arrive at their university. Prepare them for dorm life with a shower caddy full of bathroom essentials, including shampoos, soaps and moisturizers.

39. Help Create the Perfect Lounging Area

College can be a high-pressure period in your student’s life, and their surroundings can play a major role in their stress levels. If space permits, a bean bag chair can set the tone of a room’s decor, especially for those trying to curate a more laid-back and relaxed space.

40. Personalize their Space

Although dorm rooms are fairly standardized across college campuses, there are many ways for an incoming student to make a room their own. Customizable lightboxes are a great graduation gift that can help high school graduates bring the best parts of their personality from home to school with them.

41. Bring Fun and Games to the Dorm

Like most first-year college students, your graduating high schooler will likely end up with a roommate their freshman year. Offer them fun games like a wall dartboard to give them opportunities to bond with their roommate.

42. Help Maintain Shared Spaces

One of the keys to students staying on top of their responsibilities in college is remaining organized. This can be difficult for those who are not the neatest in their daily lives, but there’s no better time to change their habits than when they’re about to move into a new era of their life. Help the new graduate find their organizational flow with dorm closet solutions.

Ultimately, recent graduates deserve to be celebrated to the fullest. With these gifts in mind, you’ll be able to make any graduate’s big day truly special. When it’s time to start planning out their college dorm room, we have everything they need.