Great Gifts for High School and College Graduates

Graduation is undoubtedly a celebratory time. It's a time of year when parents proudly watch their children obtain a singular achievement and prepare to go out into the world as adults.

In light of the graduate's accomplishments, it is traditional to get him or her a gift commemorating the occasion. With that in mind, you will find a few thoughtful and practical gift ideas below. (You can also find additional gifts for graduation - and any other occasion - at Cool Toys and Gifts.)

We are moving more and more into a digital age. Entertainment, information, etc., is all going digital. This includes the world of learning, such as textbooks. That being the case, one of the things a newly minted graduate could use is an e-reader (basically to keep them from lugging a bunch of books around.). For that purpose, you should consider the Kindle Fire or iPad.

Although it is probably considered an e-reader first and foremost because of earlier versions, the Kindle Fire is so much more than that. It is a multi-functional tablet that allows for web browsing, apps, communications and more. In addition, it is highly affordable. In similar fashion, the iPad also has e-reading capabilities, and naturally has all the features you've come to expect from the market leader in tablets: user-friendly apps, games, etc.

In short, both the iPad and the Kindle Fire are great, and you can bet a young graduate would be happy to have either.

It's a given that college classes often involve voluminous note-taking. You often feel the need to write down every word that comes out of the instructor's mouth. But, while taking notes may not have gotten much easier, keeping up with them has.

Digital notebooks, notepads and the like are nifty little devices. They will digitally capture everything that you write or draw, allowing you upload your notes to your computer later. This way you automatically have a copy of your notes already saved on your computer.

Wouldn't it be great if - as a student - you'd never had to type a term paper, memo, essay, etc.? That's what Dragon Naturally Speaking does for you.

This speech-recognition software does all the heavy lifting. Words appear on the screen as you speak, saving you gobs of time in comparison to even the fastest typist. This is a gift that can be used by pretty much anyone and everyone, whether you're heading off to college, getting your first post-collegiate job, or 20 years into your career.

One of the most overlooked expenses with respect to college is the cost of textbooks. With new tomes often costing over $100 dollars, a gift of textbooks from a place like Textbooks.com would be greatly apprecaited.

(This, of course, assumes that the instructor goes old school and requires a book that isn't available digitally for e-readers.)

As one of the world's largest retailers, Amazon.com sells everything from food to books to musical instruments. That's why an Amazon gift card is such a useful and versatile gift. If a student has somehow managed to forget some critical item or finds that he doesn't havei it for some reason, he can most likely order it from Amazon.

In short, Amazon gift cards are almost the perfect gift.

Simply put, there are lots of great gifts out there for any recent or upcoming graduations. Be sure to get the graduate in your life something memorable (and perhaps even practical as well).