Create a scrapbook to capture your graduate's educational journey. Gather photographs and mementos such as ticket stubs and childhood drawings. Arrange the items in chronological order in a scrapbook. Use craft glue or photo corners to secure the items to the scrapbook pages. Select a scrapbook with acid-free pages, which preserve photos and other paper products better than other types of pages. Place a picture of the graduate from the graduation on the last page.
For added personalization, add captions to the photographs and mementos. Include jokes and details of special moments that the graduate would appreciate.
Most craft stores carry scrapbooks, craft glue and photo corners.
Communicate your wishes for the future of your graduate. Create a vision board. Place a flattering picture of the graduate in the middle of the corkboard. Secure the picture with pushpins or craft glue. Cut out words, phrases and pictures from the pages of magazines. Use craft glue to secure the cutouts around the photograph.
Place the cutouts into distinct sections on the corkboard to organize the themes. For example, create a career section that contains images and words related to the career the graduate plans to pursue.
The vision board serves as a reminder to reach for high goals and as a testament to your support and encouragement.
Most office supply stores carry corkboards.
Help your graduate transition into his new phase of life with a collection of recipes. College and high school graduates will most likely move on to a more independent lifestyle with little to no cooking skills.
Type a collection of recipes your graduate can try to make. Use family recipes, and name the dishes aptly. For example, call an apple pie recipe from your grandmother "Grandma Barbara's Cinnamon Apple Pie."
Include recipes for appetizers, entrées and desserts. Consider the lifestyle of the graduate. For a graduate who likes to entertain or would like to entertain, include a wide selection of appetizers and perhaps mixed drinks, if appropriate.
Use published cookbooks as guides for writing the recipes. Place each type recipe into a protective sleeve, then place the sleeves into a binder. Organize the recipes by type, and label the binder. Include a personal note explaining why you decided to give the graduate the recipes.