It's graduation season! Whether you're celebrating the little ones' moving up ceremony or congratulating those headed off to university, you're going to need a good gift. Let's go over what's hot right now.

1. Hoodies & t-shirts

Students love wearing their school pride; that's nothing new. But don't you want to buy apparel that's fashionable? Motivators offers trendy promotional clothing that your recipients are sure to fall in love with.  

2. Electronics

Kids these days are more tech-savvy than ever. If you want to give the graduating class something they'll really use, shop for popular electronics products and accessories. For example, at Motivators.com you'll find everything from iPad cases to microfiber cloths.

3. Kitchen & houseware

Need a little something to give to college graduates? Help them get started on life after school with gifts for the home. There are lots of options to choose from, including drinkware, measuring utensils and even ornaments.

Once you've chosen the perfect graudation present, be sure to add your school's name and logo. Students will hold onto your gift for the rest of their lives!

We all know the common or typical uses for our promotional items and what they are all "meant" to be used for. A mousepad to make it easier to slide your mouse and a tote bag to carry your groceries. By definition, a branded coaster is meant to prevent your drink from "sweating" on the table, but is that the only use? With this blog, I am challenging you to change it up!

To give you a little background that qualifies where I am going with this, my sister has seriously curly hair that takes a really, really, long time for her to do on her own. Because it is so curly/wavy, it requires extra TLC each and every time she does it - for example, relaxing balm, hair dryer, hair iron, repeat. With that being said, there is nothing that makes her more happy than going to a salon or "Dry Bar" as they are now called, for a quick blow out!

When my best friends came to me for suggestions for a graduation present for Stacey, I recommended a gift certificate for the Dry Bar near her apartment in Los Angeles. Apparently, I was not the only one. Two of her friends had the same idea, and she ended up with almost TEN blow-outs!

Here is where we get creative! Instead of a standard gift card, thedrybar.com had something else in mind. They sent out branded coasters with all the details on the gift certificate, as well as a barcode that the salon can easily scan when the blow-out is redeemed. Not only do they get extra points for being creative and different, but they get a bigger bang for their buck! Typically, after a gift card is redeemed, they are thrown away. In this case, the Dry Bar can scan the barcode and then give the coasters back to their original recipient! Sounds pretty fabulous to me! Can you think of some other creative uses or "outside the box" ways to use promotional items? I'd love to hear from you!

Next week is a really big week for me! Not only is my sister graduating from USC, but my boyfriend is also graduating from the University of Miami Law School. Unfortunately, I cannot be in two places at once and of course, their graduation takes place on the same day - just my luck! Both of them were very understanding of the situation and did not make me feel bad or guilty. With that being said, I will be flying out to Los Angeles to watch my sister graduate Cum Laude -YAY! (Note: Please do not feel bad for my boyfriend who has 10 of his best friends, plus his family, coming into town.) Fun weekends are planned on both coasts and I cannot wait to partake in one and be there in spirit for the other. Being that I love giving gifts, I am in search of the perfect present for both of them and need some help. Besides a custom Photo Friends Graduate Bobble head, what are some creative graduation gifts?

My sister, Stacey and Eric with their Rice Crispy Houses!