8 Great Gifts for Grads + Win the JBL Pulse Bluetooth Speaker!

It’s graduation month, and all that pomp and circumstance isn’t complete with a few gifts on the side. So make sure all the pain of finals and term papers was worth it for your grad with one of this year’s finest. Alternatively, you could win the JBL Pulse wireless speaker for the grad in your life. We’re giving one away here. After all, with its built in LED light show, could there be a better party gadget to celebrate the fact that your grad made it through and survived? We think not. So enter to win one below.

Congrats to our winner Amanda S. @aes529

Moto X College Edition

Help your grad enter the exciting world of being an alumnus (that’s probably the most exciting I can make post-graduation life sound) with a new phone that will show off their school pride. Motorola now has licensed college versions of their endlessly customizable Moto X, along with cases, in case your grad might want something a little less permanent. You might want to work with your grad on this present, though – with a valid .edu email address, you can get a special college discount that knocks the price of the Moto X down to $339. The cases are $35 each.

Pebble Smart Watch

Don’t know what to get your grad? The next Thing is usually a good bet. This year’s big trend is wearable technology, specifically the smartwatch. The Pebble Smart Watch works with both iOS and Android devices, and gives the wearer a quick look at any notifications coming through their phone, along with controls for music apps. You can grab one from Target.com, which is the only place you can find it in Arctic White, for $150.

Polk Hinge Headphones

A new pair of headphones needs to be a fashion statement, too. These new Hinge headphones from Polk fit the bill. A real leather headband and a metal hinge are combined with top-notch audio technology to create something that grads will love to wear outside – better known to grads as that one place that isn’t the library. A little hunting around your local massive electronics stores should yield a pair.

HP Pavilion 13 x2

The hybrid – a clear choice for many. After all, if you can give a tablet and a laptop all in one, why not? The HP Pavilion 13 x2 makes that decision even easier – a 13” laptop with a detachable keyboard, so grads can have a lightweight tablet, too. It has solid enough specs to satisfy most, and that $650 price tag looks pretty good. Grads will love the versatility, now that they’ll finally be able to do things other than studying, which usually requires a fixed position and a desk to bang one’s head against.

1:16 Porsche 918 Spyder Remote Control Car

Graduation – from here, it’s time to grow up, become an adult, and start thinking about your caree-hahahaha no, it’s time to start playing with remote control cars again. That’s the first lesson about adulthood, anyway – there is no being an adult, you just become an older kid increasingly surrounded by less fun things. So, don’t let that happen to your grad. Don’t let them be surrounded by not fun things. Give them a remote control Porsche, because it is fun, and more importantly, because it means you’re not getting them an actual Porsche.

The Lightweight

So, the good thing about college is that it’s always time to drink. There is no socially unacceptable time to drink. After graduation, this changes (see above, re: less fun things). That means the new favorite number of any grad entering the working world (hey, lucky them, though) will be 5. So, get this watch. Get it for your grad because the only number it has is the only number that matters. Best part is that it’s cleverly disguised as a professional, dignified watch to be worn with proper attire. The Lightweight, which will help grads learn about how to tell adult time, costs $125.

Casio OmniSync STB1000

For the active grad, there’s the Casio OmniSync STB1000. This is, more or less, Casio’s entry into the smartwatch market. Grads will get notifications from their phones on the watch, and they’ll be able to take control of music apps. But, the best part of this watch is that it syncs over Bluetooth with the Wahoo fitness app – you’ll be able to view fitness stats like heart rate, cadence, and distance traveled on the watch itself, or on the app later on. This way, grads can get daily fitness information at a glance, without having to dig out their phones. It has all the bells and whistles of a usual Casio, too, like water resistance, multiple alarms, and world time.

Xbox One – Kinect – Titanfall Bundle

Whether they’re graduating from high school or college, your grad has probably been through a lot. School is brutal, and I’m not just talking about the exams and the papers and the studying. They had to spend years trying to navigate social life, and figure out who they are in the process. You remember the process. You know it’s not easy. So, you can always go big with your grad gift, and go with the Xbox One Titanfall bundle. Because, at the end of the day, there’s no better place to blow off all that steam than from the pilot seat of a huge mech.