Graduation season is more than caps and gowns—it’s a major transition for students and their families. Whether it’s a five-year-old moving up from Pre-K or a 50-year-old finishing a degree decades in the making, graduation marks a moment of pride, potential, and deep emotional connection.
As we approach the 2025 ceremonies, brands have a unique opportunity to tap into the shifting sentiment and shopping behavior surrounding these celebrations. Understanding how people are thinking, talking, and spending on graduation gifts allows marketers to shape campaigns that feel timely, thoughtful, and relevant.
Using Quid, we’ll explore the top-mentioned gift categories, standout brands, and emotional language tied to each graduation type—revealing insights that can guide everything from positioning to partnerships.
This growing demographic—adult learners who return to school later in life—is often overlooked but deeply engaged. They may be completing an unfinished degree or more commonly, according to our analysis, pursuing a career pivot. They see the value in “upskilling” and expanding their marketable job skills beyond the scope of their past careers, usually with the goal of earning more money or changing up the pace:
Six-month view (October 2024 – April 2025)
The “graduation gifting” conversation for this audience is not focused heavily on trends, and instead reflects more mature and responsible buying habits. Whether they’re obtaining their first or fifth degree, this older, more experienced group has distinctly different views from traditional college and high school grads as we can see in the Passion Index below.
The “adults returning to college” are intensely, positively passionate about the experience, most likely due to age and maturity, as well as the fact their return to school as adults is completely voluntary; traditional college students experience low-energy, passive enjoyment of their studies, and high schoolers are fairly devoted to being decidedly unimpressed by school and graduation as a whole.
Passion Intensity = ratio of the difference between strong emotions (such as “love” or “hate”) and weak emotions (such as "like" or "dislike") to all emotions expressed about a topic.
Net Sentiment = ratio of positive to negative sentiment about a topic.
Passion Index (January 2025 – April 2025)
But, what does this mean for gifting? Below, we break down this sentiment by a variety of interest areas for each audience subset:
Top interests for this audience that could translate into appropriate gifts include family themes, as applicable, or gifts that are artistic/crafty, sports/fitness-focused, or natural/organic and sustainable (in stark contrast to their younger college peers!). The emotional language present in their posts (below) centers around collaborative success and disruptive technology, which leans into the “electronics” and “technology” interests (above), making technology a great gift option that intersects both passion and functionality.
Emotions expressed by this group online (Jan-April 2025)
Brand tip: Campaigns that separate and appeal to the different audiences in different ways, and position gifts as recognizing graduation for this group as starting a new chapter (rather than a rite of passage into adulthood) will strike a chord with this audience of older grads—and with the loved ones eager to celebrate them.
This next audience subset includes high school and younger college graduates, and show preferences for more traditional graduation gifting: the expectation of highly emotional, or just plain lavish, gifts— in stark contrast with their older peers.
College students’ posts really highlight their lackluster passion intensity to school, as well as a contrastingly positive outlook to their future and gratitude for the opportunities college provides. High schoolers are intense and all over the map emotionally, making their gifting preferences harder to pin down:
College and high schoolers’ emotions (Jan-April 2025)
Fortunately, we can also examine the “things” they post about. This insight, combined with their interests (above), helps us narrow down the focus for each:
College graduates in this group want freedom, functionality, and flair to mark the occasion, from entertaining gifts like humorous tees and iPads, to sports experiences and big ticket presents like a new car or a fancy watch. The purchases here reflect the graduate’s identity and preparing for their next step in the world.
The high school grads mostly want to spend money on gaming, eating out with friends, and random, more trendy purchases, depending on individual interests, ranging from Wrestlemania tickets to Bitcoin. This reflects a more “live in the moment”, “instant gratification” mindset, with much less focus on practicality or responsibility than their older counterparts.
This is where brands can connect value with vision. Products framed as tools for independence—"what you'll need for what's next"—tend to resonate most with the high school age graduates. Gifts that lend to TikTok aesthetics, like creator recommendations, trending skincare products, or the newest clothes, will attract this subset’s dollars. This also opens the door to new campaign types, like partnering with influencers that intersect your brand and this audience’s interests.
Brand tip: Don’t just sell a product—sell a story, a heartwarming moment, the next chapter. Campaigns that reflect growth, freedom, and self-definition will resonate most with this group and their gift-givers.
This last subset might carry the highest emotional stakes—at least for parents. This group spans all other younger age groups, from Pre-K through upper elementary school (often grade eight in the U.S.), and while the “graduates themselves” might be indifferent, the adults in their lives are not.
These gifts often lean heavily into sentimentality and symbolism—scrapbooks, keepsake books, first-piece-of-jewelry moments, or commemorative experiences (like family trips, outings, or performances). Emotional language in relevant posts from the past three months includes terms like “incredible moment,” “how proud,” “adorable,” and, notably, “funniest”—with a website capturing the funniest kindergarten graduations topping the coversation.
Emotions about PreK-elementary school grads (Jan-Apr 2025)
https://x.com/Dekirian3/status/1905529026971656329
And our AI Summary capability quickly surfaces key insight speaking to the cultural and emotional elements:
Kindergarten Graduations as Cultural and Educational Milestones (28%)
Kindergarten graduations are celebrated as significant milestones in a child's educational journey, marking the transition from preschool to formal education. These events are often elaborate, involving creative crafts, memory books, and vibrant attire, reflecting their growing importance in cultural and educational contexts. The celebrations are not only about the children but also involve parents and teachers in planning and execution, emphasizing community involvement. The emotional and social aspects of these graduations are highlighted, with personal anecdotes and reflections underscoring their lasting impact on families and communities.
Brand tip: Messaging that acknowledges both the milestone and the parent’s emotional experience can create powerful resonance. Think “gifts that grow with them” or “first steps toward the future.”
The 2025 graduation season is shaping up to be more personalized, emotionally nuanced, and inclusive of nontraditional paths than ever before. Consumers are looking for gifts that reflect the moment and the meaning behind it—whether that’s a high school diploma or a second chance at a dream deferred.
Quid takes brands beyond basic trend lists—uncovering emotional drivers, emerging preferences, and cultural moments of meaning. Reach out to explore how we can surface the insight that helps your brand create messaging and campaigns tailored for your offerings that speak to this season’s biggest transitions and the people excited to celebrate them.