I gave both of my kids a grad party when they graduated from HS. Both were essentially the same. Sunday afternoon around 2 pm. Lots (LOTS) of munchies - chips, dips, veggies, cookies, brownies, cheese, that sort of thing. No activities were planned. I invited my close friends, and they invited their friends. I served wine for the adults, cokes for the kids. Everyone sat around munching & schmoozing and a good time was had by all. Simple. For gifts, I recommend things that have to do with the college they will be going to (for those who are going). T-shirt, sweat shirt, rug for dorm room, blanket, etc, with college logo. If they are going away to another city, books with information on that city. Mostly my kids got checks for gifts, but a few people gave them what I just named above and they liked those gifts a lot.

I was in Hancocks fabric store yesterday and they had a new Ott light on sale for 9.99. Usual cost $19.99 but they had on sale for 50% off, otherwise you could use a coupon.....a good deal. It is pretty small and has a clip on the back, flip open top, and runs on 3 AAA batteries. The light is incredibly bright and would be good for hand stitching type work, knitting, or anything you do that needs a bright light. The lady in the store suggested using it in your handbag so you can see what is in it. My bag isn't that big but I can see if you are in the dark and need something in a tote bag....anyway I bought it basically for my Kindle and it works great. Also got one for my Mom's stocking. Anyway, a new and different idea for a $10 gift. Here is a link to the mini lite. Murphy Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.ottlite.com/p-280-led-mini-flip-lite.aspx

This is a little late for this year but I wanted to share the response to the teacher appreciation gift I made for a 1st grade niece. She is always "designing" things for herself for us to embroidery. Last fall she came up with her idea but it didn't get stitched out until much later. It was the name of her school on the first row, elementary school on the next row, 5 stick kids on the 3rd row & "a fun place to learn" on the 4th row. She wore her's to school around spring break & her teacher commented that she needed one of those. She also had some flip flops she'd tied gingham check strips of fabric onto to match the pants she wore with her shirt. The teacher was admiring those too. As it got closer to school ending, she wanted to do flip flops for her herself & me make her a shirt. She gave it to her the day before school ended & she wore it the last day. I picked my niece up when school let out & she had a note with names & phone numbers of teachers that wanted to purchase one for themselves. Her teacher told her to give the note to her Mom so it wouldn't do for me to get it. Her Mom got with me on a price & started calling the teachers. She spoke with one she knew personally & she told her that all the first grade teachers had seen it on their hall, but when they went to lunch, the poor teacher couldn't eat for answering questions & standing up to model her outfit. She told her they were having a final teacher's meeting the following morning & she would pass the info on to those who may not have seen the gift. So ever who wanted to know what everybody was doing????? My answer is "Embroiderying shirts for school teachers".

Did you see my thread a couple of weeks ago about the two vintage Porsche ads I bought and framed? That might be an idea for you if you can think of one of his special interests (his car?) and have enough time to do it. (I bought the ads on eBay.) Are they camping in an RV? Maybe books on the subject? A pair of binoculars?