Graduation Gift Etiquette

Graduations are like weddings, gifts are opened afterward, not when the guests are in attendance. Mostly it will envelopes with cash anyway. Congrats!

If you are having a dinner, as your guests are seated and after you or your wife have toasted the graduate, I suggest she then give a breif address, thanking everyone for their support and coming to her graduation and party.

She can open cards and gifts later on or the next day and get "hand written, snail mail" thank you notes in the mail within the a week. Give her thank you notes and stamps in advance.

Congratulations....

I have seen it done both ways. For my son, we ate and relaxed a bit and then had the gifts opened. If the 40 people are mostly older and/or just family, definately open the gifts. If it is mostly friends (high school friends) with a few family I would wait.

Either way, make sure things are put up (especially envelopes) because sometimes those can tend to walk away.

We put a wrapped giftbox on the table and cards were put in there and gifts sat next to it. We had an openhouse style party for all the kids so no one opened anything til all the guests were gone. And the reason for this is not all guests were able to bring gifts. Not all gifts were equal in value and didn't want anyone to get any hurt feelings. Some of the kids who came to the party didn't get party's at all and we didn't want them feeling bad either. so no gift opening for us. I see your having 40 people. We had over a 100. I might have had them open if it had been 40 but ours was huge and lasted about 8 hours lol.

I think gifts should be opened afterward, but it's her party, let her decide. Usually, opening gifts can be quite tedious and frankly, boring for all the other guests. The guests should be allowed to mingle and not have to sit and watch.

Plus it's easier to keep track of what she got when she's alone so she can write nice thank-you notes.

At this point it is up to your daughter if she wants to open them at the party or later. If she wants she can even open them as she gets them. She can even ask the giver "would you like me to open this now or later?"

I think you should ask her what she things, after all, she is an adult now, right?!

I don't I've ever seen gifts opened at any graduation parties I've been to, and I think I'd spend the hour + it would take to open gifts, to continue the celebration. I also think it's very tedious & awkward for all 40 guests to have to watch gift opening, especially given the economy we're in, and not all guests having the means to give a lavish gift.

Sherry is right! It would be embarrassing for some people if the gifts are opened in front of everyone.

What will be important is getting those thank you notes out right away...

Congratulations to you and your daughter! HS graduation is a wonderful milestone!
Dawn

My daughter also graduates, and I have been to many parties in recent years. The only gifts I have ever seen opened are ones where the giver asked them to open it right there.

Usually it was something they made like a blanket or other special thing with their new colleges logo, or a dorm item, etc (many in my own family are crafty, scrapbook ears, etc and would want to see the reaction and show the rest of the family, etc).

But mostly it's cards with money, etc. we are doing a lot with jars ( my daughter uses them in her art often so they are very "her") so decided to get a really giant jar from Walmart, like a candy jar I suppose, for about $40 to use as a card "box". Add a ribbon with her colors to it and easy-peasy-lemon-squeazy! We are excited!

Have a blast with your party!

In our family we pretty much had the graduating kid open the gifts as the friends and family arrived and handed them to them...they are already there together saying their greetings and all...

It works for us...that way the gift giver gets to see the gift get opened and the hug and 'Thank You' happens right away! *It was mostly $ anyways so it just went right into the kids' wallet :)

Open them after the party or the next day. Send out thank you notes promptly.

Spend the time at the party visiting and enjoying the company of your guests.

Congrats to your daughter!

I have never been to a graduation party with a large number of people that the graduate sat there and opened all of the gifts.

Now if it was a small family event, the graduate may open the gifts...

We had a graduation party for our daughter when she graduated from high school... There was over 100 people there.. There was so much going on, I cannot imagine her stopping everything to open all of those gifts. It took her over an hour to go through all of them once she did open them.

I think it would have been boring to have sat through all of that.