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UPDATED: March, 2025
Wondering what to give a girl for high school graduation? Whether you are shopping for your own daughter, your granddaughter, your daughter’s friends or family friends, don’t automatically default to money for graduation gifts.
The list below contains over 30 meaningful and practical gifts that every graduating high school girl is sure to love and actually use. You can always tuck a little cash into the card as well if you are so inclined!
And while gift cards are an option as well, my personal recommendation is to avoid these as gifts as they have a hard time keeping up with them and using them in their entirety. I’m sure there are exceptions out there, but I’d hate for good money to go to waste! (See our Instagram post for a good idea on how to corral the ones you may already have around the house).
For all things planning for graduation, graduation parties, graduation countdowns and more, join us in our High School Graduation Ideas Facebook group with a graduation focused community to gather more ideas, ask questions and learn! We monitor this group closely to prevent spammers & sellers and ensure a helpful and kind environment for all.
These gift ideas are organized by price range. The lower priced items would make good gift ideas for your daughter’s friends. We also have a list of gift ideas for high school boys if you need those ideas too!
Visit our Amazon storefront where many of these items are in our Graduation Gift Ideas collection.
Jump to a price range below or simply scroll the list.
So many of these would be affordable and thoughtful gifts for your daughter’s group of graduating friends as well.
1) Personalized Embroidered Train Case – Everyone needs a cosmetic bag for travel. Add an initial or monogram and additional design elements if desired to these quilted embroidered train cases.
2) Oh The Places You’ll Go Book – This very inexpensive gift can be made into a beautiful memory for the graduate. The book alone provides an “inspiring and timeless message encouraging readers to find the success that lies within, no matter what challenges they face. A perennial favorite and a perfect gift for anyone starting a new phase in their life!”. And you can make it even more special by writing a heartfelt message on the inside cover.
3) Moving Bag – This may not be a traditional gift, but it is super practical and of one of our favorite essentials for college that is perfect to tuck into a gift bag for friends or to fill with other college essentials for a larger gift. Read more about why we LOVE these moving bags for college.
4) Ceramic Jewelry Dish – Add their initial to monogram this pretty white and gold dish, perfect for their bedside table to hold their jewelry, earrings or keys so they don’t get misplaced.
5) Personalized Shutterfly Notebooks – These personalized notebooks would make a great gift for a group of girls. Use their prom picture, team picture or a collage of pictures as the cover. For just one recipient, feature a special picture of the graduate with her favorite pet or in her new college fan gear.
6) Laptop Sleeve Bag – One of my personal favorites, a stylish case for their laptop that they can tuck in their backpack.
7) Personalized Pillowcase – With a sea of white pillowcases sure to be congregating in the dorm laundry room or college apartment, help her to know which one is hers, without a doubt.
8) Indoor/Outdoor Slippers – A must-have for those with a community bathroom! If you’ve been around a college campus lately, slippers with outdoor soles are apparently a must-have for going to class too! If you want the splurge slipper with the brand name, see these below in another price range.
9) Clear Bag For Sporting Events And Concerts – I bought this for myself for the Taylor Swift concert! The gray trim has a subtle iridescence that makes this clear bag just a little bit dressy. You can add a guitar purse strap (easy to switch out with this bag), and you could also add a college logo decal on the side to make it perfect for game days. This version is a bit more simple and available in six different colors so you can get them one to match their college!
10) She’s Birdie Personal Alarm – A keychain personal alarm with flashing strobe light that I keep with me at all times, and I hold it in my hand when I’m walking to the car alone at night. I have a friend who purchased these for a group of graduating girls, and she had someone local make little vinyl decal monograms to put on each of the Birdies. 🩷
11) Phone and Electronic Accessory Organizer Bag – A stylish way to keep their charging cords, power banks, and headphones organized and easy to find whether it’s in their backpack or dorm room. Choose from five different colors. This option is a little smaller and in a popular quilted design. Add a phone charger to keep her fully charged on the go.
12) Quilted Weekender Bag or Smooth Sided Weekender Bag. A favorite style and a must have to pack for the trip home or other overnight trip. These are so affordable as well as durable and spacious. My favorite part is the trolley sleeve on the back so you can slide it over your suitcase telescoping handle when traveling for longer than a weekend.
13) Sentimental Photo Book – Are you already pulling together photos of the graduate for a slide show? Collecting them is the hardest part, so now you can easily create a hardcover photo book with those memorable photos. Capture the memories and send them to a school with a gift they can look to whenever they’re feeling lonely or missing home.
14) Monogrammed Towel Set – A monogrammed set of towels is personal and practical. I recommend these quick-dry towels. I see people in my local Facebook groups offering embroidery local to monogram/initial just the bath towels or perhaps a small monogram on each of the smaller towels too to help keep them identifiable. If monogramming isn’t really for him, you could always have phrases associated with the college he is attending. Ex: Go Dawgs!
See our comprehensive article all about the best quick dry towels for college where we conducted a test across multiple brands!
15) Coach Wristlet – An affordable luxury – this wristlet is available in several different colors and can easily slip into a larger purse or game-day bag. Also makes a for an elevated way to gift money – just tuck the extra gift inside.
16) WOOZOO Fan – This is a top 5 college must-have dorm essential. These little fans don’t take up much space, but the create an absolutely amazing amount of airflow by oscillating in every direction (up, down, left, right, circular). You need to find the right model though – it must the WOOZOO with the perfectly round head, at least 5 speeds and a remote. The link above will take you to Costco which is the only source for new WOOZOO’s. If you aren’t a member, they will typically allow you to purchase online with a minimal non-member fee. While you may find these on other retailer sites, please be aware that these were likely returns and may have an issue. Only buy WOOZOO fans from Costco.
17) Custom Pet Pillow – A sweet reminder of their furry friend at home. Our link includes a 25% discount automatically applied in the cart. If you see a different offer pop up when you visit their website, just click out of that and continue.
18) Lululemon Belt Bag – Not just a trend, but also a must have for walking around campus. Maybe you can find one in a college color.
19) Stanley Tumbler – Stanley tumblers are a huge trend with teen girls – the ones with the side handle. These are available in a 30 oz and a 40 oz model. In addition to Stanley, other popular brands include Owala Water Bottles and HydroFlask Water Bottles, both leakproof so perfect to tuck into their backpack or bag.
20) Stackers Jewelry System – A beautiful modular solution for jewelry storage. Since these stack (hence the name!), they take up less counter/shelf space in a college dorm or small college apartment. Start her with a few trays and add on for birthdays and holidays. She’ll get years of use from this thoughtful storage.
21) Collegiate Pouch – Get in the school spirit with a zippered pouch featuring a hand drawn design of their school.
22) WiFi Bluetooth HD Projector With Screen – These are popular with college students as a means to make new friends. Offer to host movie night on your hall or in your dorm common area with your very own, very affordable portable home theater setup.
23) Keurig K-Mini Coffee Maker – This is the smallest footprint Keurig model which makes it great for dorm rooms or new apartments.
24) The North Face Jester Backpack – One of the most popular backpacks for college guys and girls is The North Face Jester. And The North Face makes this in a womens’ size to better fit a smaller frame. The Jester includes a padded laptop sleeve, water bottle holders, lumbar support and a limited lifetime warranty. This backpack will get them through college for sure.
25) 4-Pack Apple AirTags – An incredibly helpful tracker for iPhone owners to help them keep up with important items. Put one in your wallet, in your backpack, in your car and on your ID/lanyard and be able to track them down with a quick look at your phone.
26) Kendra Scott Elisa Necklace – A coveted necklace available with different materials and stones. You can’t go wrong with any of them. As another option, this Pendant Necklace – features their initial in 14K Yellow Gold.
27) Shoulder Bag – A going-out bag is a staple accessory for college girls and this popular JW PEI bag is available in over a dozen colors so you are sure to find one she’ll love. Not sure what color to go with? Black is always a good bet.
29) Laptop Tote Bag – A classic Coach tote will be just what she needs when she starts going to professional meetings and interviewing for internships, or splurge on a Tory Burch tote bag if you really want to up your graduation gift!
30) UGG Tasman Slippers – A favorite style for wearing pretty much everywhere!
31) Football Jersey – A game-day staple!
31) Samsonite Hard-Side Luggage – Luggage can be an expected graduation gift item, but it doesn’t have to be ‘boomer looking’ – there are some great options in unique colors. For another highly-rated option in even more fun colors, check out these iFly Luggage Sets.
32) Apple iPad – An iPad can be a game changer for note taking. Used with one of the popular note-taking apps makes taking notes and keeping them organized easy. You can also add an Apple Pencil for those who like to take hand-written notes or need to draw as a part of their note-taking. iPads are also a preferred device for watching shows with their larger screens.
33) Apple AirPod Pros (2nd Gen) – This is the current generation of the noise-canceling AirPod headphones. If you walk around on a college campus, you’ll probably see every other student with at least AirPod in an ear. These are a great gift for any iPhone/iPad/Mac user – not just for music, students do a lot of show watching on their phones or other devices, and AirPods work with any of their devices including MacBook laptops.
Our high school, and I know many others, offer the opportunity to have friends and family send a letter to students via their school. The school collects the letters and presents each student with an envelope at some point toward the end of the school year. In our case, they are distributed at the graduation rehearsal.
But you don’t need a school prompt to write a letter.
I do this every year for family friends, my kids’ friends, and anyone I know well who is graduating high school.
I tell them what I love about them, what I think shines in them and offer just a little life advice that I think is appropriate for their situations. It isn’t easy, and it takes time. And I’m often shedding a tear during the process as I think through memories and envision what these kids will become one day.
If you have special kids in your life, I encourage you to take the time to do this. You can include pictures if you have them, or just your own gift of words.
Check out our Dorm IQ learning series – answering all of the frequently asked questions that come up during dorm shopping.
What they don’t teach in school: The 56 Essential Life Skills For High Schoolers.
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