Here we go, friends. It’s officially wedding and graduation season! There’s nothing more overwhelming financially than realizing you have 20 events to go to this spring and ALL of them require a gift.

If you go all out, you feel like a great human being…a great human being that’s broke.

If you don’t get anything, you feel like a straight up scum bag.

Trust me, I know how the whole thing goes.

So, to help you out, I’ve compiled a list of some ideas. Of course, if it’s a family member or close friend that you really would like to splurge on (which we should!) then go ahead and get something they really need or would love. Big gifts are a huge blessing to new graduates and newly weds.

But if the person of honor is one of 20 friends you are celebrating with this crazy graduation season, try out some of these cheap and easy gifts so you AND your bank account can be happy. 🙂

Journal + Pen + Heartfelt Note.

This is probably best as a girl gift, but you can personalize it as much as you want! Last year we had FIVE girls graduating and very little to spend. I ended up buying five cute little journals at the dollar store, and a set of gel pens. I wrote each of them a letter about what they meant to me, prayers for their future, and a bible verse. You could add whatever you wanted to this idea to make it personal to your relationship with the graduate. This cost me about $3 per student.

Water Bottle

There are so many adorable water bottles you can find these days! One of my favorite gift ideas, that you can make as cheap or as expensive as you want, is to buy an adorable water bottle and fill it with goodies! I actually got one of these as a gift for my high school graduation. It had all my favorite candies, chapstick and a target gift card. I was so happy about it! You could just fill it with candy/gum for a cheaper gift, or stock it all up with goodies. I’ve also seen people get the graduates name on a water bottle with personalized stickers.

(For some reason I couldn’t find a picture with these full of goodies! But these personalized decals are SUPER cute!)

Loads of Love

There are tons of creative ways to put together laundry goodies. You could just get a small thing of detergent and a little bag of quarters! Or maybe you want to get a laundry basket and fill it with all the laundry necessities (detergent, softener, quarters, laundry bag, dryer sheets, stain remover, etc.).

$$$

We all know that what those kids are really looking for is cash. I remember going through my pile after graduation and being disappointed every time I opened a card that just said “Congrats! Love you!”. And the random little gifts really disappointed me. If you don’t want to be that bummer guest who let’s down your graduate, contribute to their cash pile and give it creatively! Here are 10 ideas for giving cash as a gift.

DIY it!

There are so many cute ideas for cheap little trinkets that will make them smile. Not life shattering, but better than nothing. 🙂 The best part about DIY is that you get to decide what you can afford and how much creativity you are able to put into it. Here are some more great ideas for you to consider.