Show your ‘grad’-itude with these great gifts for high school graduates

Wasn’t it just yesterday you were teaching her to ride a bike? It doesn’t seem too long ago, that you were giving him his first economics lesson by helping him wiggle a tooth loose for the Tooth Fairy.

Now those kids all grown up and have caps and gowns to prove it. It’s high school graduation season as the class of 2015 steps away from the graduation stage and into the real world.

Of course, along with the pomp and circumstance comes cake-cutting and gift-giving. While you make your way around the high school graduation circuit, here are four great grad gifts that will make the, well, grade–and all are less than $50.

A trip down memory lane

Brace yourself, we’re about to make you feel old: The majority of the class of 2015 was born in 1997, a time when the Spice Girls were dominating our radio waves and Beanie Babies were the craze. Make your grads a “time capsule” to pay homage to the year they were born. An idea? Include some printed childhood photos and pop culture tokens that salute the ’97–like a DVD of Titanic, which came out on the silver screen that year and earned 11 Oscars. This DVD set includes 30 deleted scenes, 60 behind-the-scenes featurettes and commentaries from the cast, crew and director. To round out your package, throw in some Pop Rocks or Bubble Tape–popular sweet treats of the ’90s. Titanic 4-disc Blu-Ray 3-D combo pack, $29.99, bestbuy.com

Lounging around

A lot may have changed since you were in college, but one rite of passage that remains the same? Eating in the college cafeteria in pajamas. (Oh, and cereal for every meal)! If you’ve got a college-bound young woman on your shopping list, gift her with some cute and comfy loungewear. From late-night study sessions to early-morning trips to the cafeteria, we’re betting these polka dot PJ pants will become a fave. Polka dot PJ pants, $12 on sale, oldnavy.com

Keep ’em caffeinated

Treat them to a cup of coffee–year-round. What better way to welcome your favorite grad to the working world or a college campus than with a jolt of java? This coffee maker allows them to brew ground coffee, a K-Cup single serve pack or a soft coffee pod. Not a coffee convert, yet? The brewer also works with tea and hot chocolate K-Cups. Hamilton Beach FlexBrew single serve coffee brewer, $49.99, bedbathandbeyond.com

College 101

Give them some light reading for the summer before they head off to college. This book provides advice on studying, socializing and everything in between–helping set them up for successful freshmen years. The Freshman Survival Guide, $12.05 on sale, barnesandnoble.com