Freshman Year Survival Kit Graduation Gift Idea

Are you looking for a gift for the high school graduate in your life? I know I always need ideas. I am a youth group leader at my church which means I am fortunate to be able to celebrate the success and hard work of many students as they complete their high school careers and move onto college. This year I decided to make a freshman year survival kit gift for one of my students.

Because I am lucky enough to have so many great young people in my life I also have to stick to a tight budget when giving them gifts. The perfect place to find all of the items I wanted to include in the kit and stick within my budget is the dollar store. It is amazing all the great things you can find for gift giving for all sorts of occasion but especially for the high school graduates on your list this year. So the kit starts with a large container to hold all of the items. I chose a laundry basket but you could also do a plastic storage tote or garbage can.  Continuing with the laundry idea i picked up some small bottles of Tide laundry detergent. These cute little bottles are perfect because they take up very little space. I also grabbed a box of dryer sheets.

Next I hit the food aisle. I know college students these days  have all sorts of meal plans and dining options but there will still be times when they need to make something quick in their dorm room or common area. I was so happy to find a great variety of microwaveable meals. 

I found a small jar of jelly and some single serve peanut butter. Add bread and lunch is ready!

Don’t forget about breakfast. Again I went with the microwave being the preferred cooking method of college students everywhere and picked up some single serve oatmeal cups.

I also got some fun flavors of Hawaiian Punch …. and two mugs. I put the drink packets in one mug.

 

My budget for this gift was $50 so I took the extra cash left over after buying all the items into the other mug. All college students can use some cash!

Lastly, I grabbed a few school supplies; pens, pencils, and highlighters. I also got a microwaveable bowl for heating leftovers or cooking ramen noodles.

So then I put it all together.

Directions to Assemble the Freshman Year Survival Kit Graduation Gift Idea:

1. Cut an extra long piece of cellophane (you can always trim it later). Pput it in the basket so it is covering the bottom and the sides.

2. Arrange microwaveable meals inside the basket around the edges putting a round one in the center.

3. Put the school supplies inside the microwaveable bowl, then put the lid on.

4. Put the bowl in the center and tuck all the rest of the items along the sides. I also added some Jolly Ranchers for a sweet treat!

5. I added a beach ball to the top that says Congrats Grad! You could add a balloon instead or maybe a sweatshirt with the logo of their new college on it.

6. Finally I pulled the cellophane up around the beach ball and secured it with tape. Then I tied a ribbon around the top. I think the final project turned out really nice.

What kind of graduation gifts do you like to give. You can never go wrong with money, I know but sometimes it is nice to make a something to make the day even more special! Young people everywhere deserve to be celebrated for this amazing milestone in their lives!

Other Graduation Gift Ideas:

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See how to save on college dorm room items
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