18 Best Graduation Gifts for 2025
Stuck on what to get the newly minted grad? We have you covered.
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Graduation season is coming up, and if you’re stuck on what to get the college grad in your life, we have you covered.
Before you spring for that limited edition copy of “Oh, the Places You’ll Go,” why not take a break from tradition? Regardless of what the alum has lined up post-school (be it a job, a break, or even more school), the graduation gift ideas ahead are poised to please.
Gifts for Travelers
Dagne Dover Landon Carryall
Dagne Dover’s weekender bag was a favorite in our evaluation of the best weekender bags. It features six large mesh pockets, a smaller zippered pocket, and two removable sleeves. Made from neoprene (a material commonly used to manufacture wetsuits), this water-resistant bag is a choice option for travel during rain or shine.
For more options: Best Weekender Bags
Taschen Great Escapes Mediterranean: The Hotel Book
Treat the traveler on your list to a book that’s sure to inspire future getaways. This one from Taschen explores dreamy destinations and hidden gems along the Mediterranean with vivid photos and wanderlust-inducing text.
Stanley 40 oz. Quencher
Staying hydrated is always a good look, and this Instagram-famous vessel is sure to please. In lieu of a plastic bottle, go for a reusable one that can be toted around from the gym to the plane and beyond. The ever-popular Stanley Quencher—available in a wide array of colors and sizes—is not one to miss.
Cavallini & Co. National Parks Vintage Puzzle
Fuel their wanderlust with an activity they can treasure for years to come. Perfect for the outdoor enthusiast, this 1,000-piece puzzle depicts various scenes from iconic national parks across the country. Pair it with a plush throw and a mug for the ultimate cozy evening starter kit.
Cloudz Microbead Travel Pillow
Wherever their post-grad travels may take them, a travel pillow will most definitely come in handy. The Cloudz Microbead Travel Pillow is a great budget pick that’s light, soft, and supportive. The surface is comfortable to the touch. One side is warm, cozy, and plush, while the other is a cooler spandex for the best of both worlds. Of the three travel pillows we evaluated, this offered the most support for the back of the head but didn’t provide as much side support, so if your head tends to lean to the sides when you sleep, it may not be the right choice for you.
Gifts for the Home
If their idea of a morning brew entails a healthy smoothie, this personal blender is a must. The 3-cup, 1,000-watt Beast blender packs a punch, hitting CR’s icy drinks and puréeing tests out of the park. It’s not the best at crushing ice, but it’s easy to use and incredibly durable. It comes with a travel-ready drinking vessel and cap, so you can take your morning smoothie on the go.
The heavily hyped nonstick Always Pan is famously known for its claim that it can replace a frying pan, sauté pan, steamer, skillet, and saucepan. So when it comes to a novice cook—who has yet to amass their personal collection of pots and pans—this versatile cookware could be the ideal fit. The 10-inch pan is made of cast aluminum and comes in 10 bright colors that are perfect for personalization.
For more options: Best Nonstick Frying Pans
'Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat' by Samin Nosrat
A home chef’s bookshelf isn’t complete without beautifully written cookbooks that teach theory in addition to recipes, says Carmel Hagen, founder of Supernatural, a brand focused on providing healthier baking ingredients like natural sprinkles and plant-based food colors. One such book is “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” by Samin Nosrat, which preceded the Netflix series and comes packed with cooking tips and secrets.
De'Longhi Stilosa Espresso Machine
Making lattes at home just got a whole lot easier with an espresso machine. The Stilosa is a great choice if you don’t want to shell out hundreds for a machine. Spending less for this model will mean sacrificing certain things like substituting plastic parts instead of metal, and having simpler controls than you might find on a higher-end model. Our evaluator found that it brewed with consistent pressure and resulted in a balanced espresso.
Keurig K-Mini Plus Coffee Maker
If you’re looking for a small pod coffee maker that is convenient to use, the Keurig K-Mini Plus is just the thing. This exceptionally small, space-saving single-serve machine from Keurig isn’t especially fast, but it does make a remarkably consistent cup of coffee in terms of size and temperature. A downside to its small size is that water needs to be added to its removable reservoir before each cup is brewed. It’s also worth noting that owners surveyed by CR gave Keurig machines below-average marks for reliability.
For more options: Best Single-Serve Coffeemakers
Huskee 6 oz. Cup
Give the java enthusiast a better vessel for their brew. According to Bernie Deitrick, a CR test engineer, compact mugs with multiple small servings (rather than one big pour) can optimize the flavor and retain the heat of coffee. These Huskee cups are up to the task—according to Yeekai Lim, founder of Cognoscenti Coffee Roasters, a chain of coffee shops in the Los Angeles area—and a set of four means there’ll be plenty of coffee to go around.
For more options: Best Coffee Mugs for Keeping a Brew Warm
Bloomscape Heartleaf Philodendron
Consider this a two-in-one deal: a graduation gift and a housewarming present for whenever the grad decides to strike out on their own. A great plant for beginners, the heartleaf philodendron can handle many different environmental conditions and still thrive. Plus, it’s also a low-maintenance plant (other options available at Amazon, $22 for a pair).
For more options: 7 Low-Maintenance Indoor Plants
Tech Gifts for Grads
Headphones can be a personal purchase but this top-rated pair is sure to please. The standout feature of the Sony WF-1000XM5 is its truly superb sound quality; these earbuds deliver so much musical detail that you simply hear your favorite songs in a different way. These earbuds have plenty of features, including variable noise cancellation, which you can adjust to let in more or less sound; an ambient sound mode to actively pipe in audio from your surroundings (useful when you’re out for a run and want to hear what’s going on around you); and Speak-to-Chat, which can automatically pause the music when someone starts talking.
For more options: Best Noise-Canceling Headphones
A great speaker is one gift that is sure to please, especially as we head into summer. We’ve tested a number of party speakers, and many have performed quite well in our labs. However, most are just splashproof, so you need to be careful with them. The Soundcore Rave Neo 2 is an exception. It’s a midsized, midpriced party box, complete with customizable LED lighting and an IPX7 water-resistance rating, so it can stand a soaking.
The foot-tall Rave Neo 2 is a fine party companion, providing a decent volume level for a large room or backyard. The model also has Party Cast, a Bluetooth feature that allows you to link to more than 100 compatible speakers, and our testers find the Bluetooth pairing mode easy to use.
Kodak Step Wireless Mobile Photo Printer
At 3x4.5 inches and just a bit over 6 ounces, the Kodak Step is compact enough to be toted around comfortably. It uses Zink film that delivers 2x3-inch borderless prints. Once you press print, the Kodak spits out a photo that’s dry and ready to handle, pretty much like your regular printer.
A Zink print from the Step looks like it was taken in a room bathed in candlelight. The colors are warm and vibrant. Are they accurate? No. In some photos, the Kodak’s golden-hour effect can be very flattering. With other images, skin tones take on a yellow cast and look artificial. That said, you can tweak the color temperature on any individual shot in the app.
For more options: Best Portable Photo Printers
Give the gift of safety with a video doorbell they can easily bring along to their new space. The Arlo Video Doorbell 2K is one of the best video doorbells you can buy. It provides the flexibility to install it wherever you need it. You can run it using the rechargeable battery or hardwire it to a home’s doorbell wiring for continuous power. Features include geofencing and voice/app control via Amazon Alexa and Google Home/Assistant. Cloud video storage and additional features (such as alerts for people, packages, animals, and vehicles) require an Arlo Secure subscription.
Amazfit’s fitness trackers are some of the most affordable options CR has tested, and the Band 7 earns a spot among CR’s recommended models. It has an impressive 18-day claimed battery life and pairs easily with recent versions of both iPhone and Android phones. That said, our testers found it wasn’t quite as accurate at step tracking as other models, but its heart rate accuracy was adequate.
This latest stick-style streaming player from Amazon—the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max—is among the company’s fastest. Thanks to a more powerful processor, apps launch quicker than on earlier models. It works on the newer WiFi 6 wireless standard. This model supports the HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision HDR formats, as well as Dolby Atmos audio. It comes with an Alexa voice remote, so you can find, launch, and control content or even change inputs using voice commands.
