39 thoughtful college graduation gifts for him - as recommended by a recent graduate

Graduates will be moving from dorms to a new place that they'll likely take a bit more pride and ownership in, and that calls for an upgrade in bedding. They'll probably want to pick it out for themselves, but a gift card is a perfect way to give them a luxury they'll be extremely happy to have but maybe couldn't justify just yet for themselves.

Brooklinen has quickly become a standard-bearer for startups offering premium bedding at affordable prices. Their sheets look great, feel even better, and can genuinely offer you a better night's sleep. They're also our pick for the best luxury sheets you can buy.

You can get a Queen sheet set (flat sheet, fitted sheet and 2 standard pillowcases) for as little as $129 altogether.

You can't go wrong with a tracker for his keys, wallet, or phone. The Tile Mate is compact, thoughtful, and useful for pretty much everyone, especially if their new apartment charges $50 every time they forget their key.

Bellroy wallets last forever, which is one reason why they take the top spot in the Insider Picks buying guide to the best men's wallets. This Note Sleeve is the company's best seller. It's compact but big enough for 4-11 cards — the most important cards go in the easy-access slots and the rest can be stored in a pull-tab.

In general, subscriptions are some of the best gifts that you can give. A monthly treat, especially on a tight budget, can be a really nice thing to look forward to. And every time their subscription is delivered, your giftee has a nice reminder that you care.

Birchbox is one of the best subscription services out there, and one uniquely well-suited for graduates. It combines monthly deliveries of small personalized samples and an easy-to-use e-commerce shop. His box will have four grooming samples (like nice aftershave, body wash, or even cologne), plus a stylish accessory or gadget each time.

For him, you can gift a man's subscription for 3 months for $30, 6 months for $60, or a full 12 months for $110.

Give his car a smart upgrade with the Alexa-enabled Roav Viva. Not only can the device charge his smartphone, it can also answer questions about the weather or traffic, play music, and even tell him the news — all without him having to take his eyes off the road or hands from the steering wheel.

Gift him the first truly cool home decoration he brings to his new place post-college with these coasters made out of labels cut from actual vinyl records.

As we noted in our guide for the best dress shoes you can buy, Allen Edmonds is top choice and a household name — and with good reason. Of their many options, the American-made Park Avenue Oxford shoes ($395) check all the big boxes: full-grain calfskin leather, Goodyear welt, and classic style. It's reportedly a favorite of numerous U.S. Presidents.

The Fire TV Stick is Alexa-enabled, so grads can leisurely control content like Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, STARZ, SHOWTIME, or CBS All Access using only their voice. They can also stream Pluto TV, IMDb Freedive, and others services for free.

Blue Apron is a great alternative to a Trader Joe's gift card if you want to help your recent grad eat well without relying on takeout.

Basically, they'll deliver the ingredients for a meal with detailed step-by-step instructions on how to make it. Depending on how many people the subscriber notes in their order, Blue Apron will also send the right portion size. They work directly with farmers and cut out the middlemen, so their foods are higher and fresher quality for less money.

Plus, your grad can learn how to make healthy, delicious meals by doing it themselves, with fresher ingredients, in a more convenient process than consistently going to the grocery store.

Thankfully, college tests are now presumably behind him, the good and the bad. This hilarious book celebrates the best of failure with 250 actual responses to common test questions from grade school through high school. Celebrate the fact that none of these answers kept him from a diploma, and make sure he sees the humor in the next inevitable blunder in life.

The Echo Dot is a small, unobtrusive personal helper that can set timers while you cook, report the weather and traffic to you from the comfort of your bed in the morning, and perform many, many more helpful tasks without taking up much room at all. The Dot is also really easy to use, and it's a big plus that it will work with any Amazon device purchases he makes in the future, since they'll be in the same tech ecosystem.

You could pick up a card from the CVS down the street, but you'll get a better range of options on Etsy.

Just in case the idea of tossing tons of vegetables, meat, and a couple of other ingredients into a pot in the morning and coming home to a nicely cooked (and affordable, and potentially healthy) meal appeals to him, the Instant Pot is every recent graduate's best friend.

Ultimately, if you spend most of your day at work or commuting, the last thing most people want to do is come home to devote two of their three free hours to make a lavish dinner for one. Plus, it cuts down on how many dishes he'll have to wash.

An annual Amazon Prime membership is one of those things that immediately makes life easier and ultimately better. If you decide to gift one, the recipient will enjoy free two-day shipping; access to the Prime Now app, which provides free two-hour delivery on tens of thousands of items; Prime Video, Amazon's streaming video service; Prime Music; the Kindle Lending Library; Prime Reading; Prime Audible Channels; unlimited photo storage, and more.

If you want to see how Amazon Prime ($119 for the year) actually gives you a lot more than free shipping, you can read our overview of the service here.

He might only use them for special occasions, but cuff links are a fun way to personalize an otherwise pretty standard uniform of a suit and tie.

Life is busy in college, and it doesn't stop being busy after graduation. Having a professional-looking, organized way to start off the year like a monogrammed Moleskine planner is one thoughtful way to help.

Amazon Home Services is an easy way to gift your grad the joy of prolonging adult responsibilities for as long as possible. For example, their first deep-clean of the apartment. Though prices and availability vary by area, you should be able to book a cleaning professional to do any type of service around the home (including a deep clean) for around $20 per hour.

Most college students have had free access to a gym for the last few years, courtesy of their tuition. Out here in the "real world," they likely won't find free gym memberships to be so plentiful.

ClassPass gives people access to studio fitness classes in their city for a price that's much lower than normal. If you gift a gift card, they can use it to shop which classes and physical activities they like the most before committing, or they can keep using ClassPass for the variety.

Graduates are bound to be excited about the end of classes, but learning can actually be a lot of fun when it's self-directed and at their leisure. They might realize a few months out of school that they're actually a little starved for something new to think about, or they've just noticed that most people in the office continue to read (for pleasure and for advancing their career opportunities).

If you want a list to start your thinking, here are 10 books that famous CEOs loved reading.

Suits — especially the nice ones — are a large yet ultimately necessary expense for most men, even if it's only for special occasions rather than his everyday job. This is one gift he'll likely use for years to come, will inspire confidence and gratitude every time he puts it on, and is something he will likely need before he has the budget to afford it.

Indochino is one place where you can get a made-to-measure suit for as little as $299. We've actually even tried out the service ourselves and loved it.

Coffee is something many of us rely on daily and don't want to spend a lot of time making. In the morning or in a rush, instant gratification is best. Which is why fast coffee makers that take the hassle out of the equation are so popular. If you think they won't mind some extra steps — or they're a big coffee aficionado — check out our Buying Guide to the best coffee makers you can buy.

An Away suitcase is a particularly thoughtful gift for grads living far from home. The cult-favorite luggage has an ejectable external battery that charges devices easily on the go, 360-degree wheels for no-hassle travel, and weighs only 7.6 pounds.

This Leatherology bag is an option that inspires a bit more confidence than a Jansport. The startup makes great leather accessories for much less than you'd expect to pay, like a $300 messenger bag. You'll find a few more budget-friendly options at Nordstrom, like a $125 bag from Ted Baker, and Herschel Supply.

This small, suave bedside clock tells the time, date, and temperature without making his room look too techy. Plus, he can use it as a backup alarm.

His company will likely give him business cards, but he's not likely to already have a business-card holder he can feel good about pulling out of his pocket. A business-card holder like this monogrammable option from Etsy looks competent and thoughtful.

Give him a fitness wearable that will serve both as a tracker and a motivator to work out (and store up on endorphins, along with other health benefits). This one lets you choose from more than 15 exercise modes, records sleep quality, and is swim-proof and water-resistant to 50m.

Dagne Dover has earned a spot as one of our default recommendations for great bags. Their weekender/carry-on Landon Carryall is made out of a cool neoprene material and has ample organization. It has an internal laptop sleeve, an exterior phone pocket, and a detachable key leash, plus a few other helpful design features.

Whether it's on his commute, gym time, weekend trips, or just at the office, you can be sure he'll get a lot of use out of these fan-favorite headphones, and they'll be something he holds onto for years to come.

On average, a laptop has a lifespan of about four years. If you've just attended a four-year institution, your own laptop may be on its last legs. Since most companies give their employees work computers, it's not totally necessary to go get another. But for streaming Netflix or surfing the web at home, an iPad can be a budget-friendly alternative that better suits their lifestyle. I bought one for myself as a senior in college, and it's basically all I use at home now almost a year after graduation.

If he's interested in records and nice drinks, "Booze & Vinyl" is a unique and thoughtful gift. It's a collection of cocktail recipes, plus a record that pairs perfectly with each drink. It also has photos, lyrics, and games like connecting the drink to the artist. Pick it up on Amazon.

One of the easiest ways to personalize a suit is with a pair of bright, unique socks. Pick up a set of four to add some fun to the monotony.

Bespoke Post's Refresh gift set includes everything he'll need for a great morning routine: a 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner, soap, toothpaste, facial cleanser, and the Blue Co. Dopp Kit — which we ranked as the best overall dopp kit you can buy in our buying guide. It has a thick and rugged wax canvas exterior, a waterproof and spill-resistant ballistic nylon lining, and a full-grain leather carrying handle. You can pick up just the dopp kit on Amazon, but it's often more expensive than the set.

A lot of graduates are coming out of school with little knowledge of cuisine or the human palette as it pertains to tastes not including mac and cheese or $1 pizza (yes, it exists). A cookbook is a nice way to make sure they can get off on the right foot post-graduation, maybe eating some vegetables and enjoying the activity itself rather than relying on the same cheap eats out of habit or lack of know-how.

Sonos makes some pretty great speakers for recent grads. They work well, can be used as a sound system, have useful features like a morning alarm that may sound more pleasant than their phone, and are not so expensive that they can't possibly build upon their collection. If he's planning on entertaining friends, the Sonos One is a great option, especially since it now connects with Amazon Alexa. You can read our full review here.

Post-college is a lot of fun and a lot of excitement, but many recent graduates will find that they miss the clear goals given in their 15 or so years of schooling. The Best Self Co. Journal helps people map out their five- or 10-year plans in a tangible, easily managed way. It's a nice and low-pressure way to provide growth and direction after graduation.

Gifting a Kindle will complete a similar task to gifting graduates some of the books every young adult should read. Learning is an ongoing process, and graduation shouldn't be the end of it. Giving them a Kindle means they'll have the tools to keep being curious in their lives by having both the device that makes it an easy and affordable process and the reminder.

If they've already got a Kindle or they read on their phone or iPad, you might look into gifting them a Scribd membership. It's lesser-known than apps like Audible, but it's a better deal and will give them access to hundreds of thousands of books and audiobooks.

If what you really want to do is just give cash but are looking for a nicer equivalent, an Amazon Gift Card is a subtle way to accomplish the same freedom and utility. Amazon has virtually everything a new grad could desire (really, there is everything), so you know that no matter what they'll be getting something they genuinely want — which, in a lot of cases, is best since they know what they need better than anyone.

After graduation, you enter the "real world" and the real world will include putting together furniture, Googling how to fix leaky faucets when your landlord avoids your calls, and enticing your friends to help you mount your living room TV with pizza. It's not the most strictly "fun" gift, but it will absolutely be necessary. He'll be glad he has the tools to handle whatever life throws at him confidently, and this is one gift he may not immediately buy for himself, but which you really want to have before the very second you need it. Thoughtful and useful.