If you are like me you have a teen, who has friends, who are graduating. And you want to recognize this accomplishment, but don’t have time to search for a great gift for high school graduates. Or money for a truly fancy gift for each one. The closer your kids get to graduation the more friends seem to be graduating. And besides what do they want? Will it be in? Will it be useful? The answer again, for me is money origami. Every graduate needs money (student loan debt is still huge people). So a little cash to send them off into the “real world” wouldn’t hurt.
I have to admit that money is actually my go to gift for many life events. I want every gift I give to be THE gift. That one that they love and adore and just can’t get enough of. That just isn’t going to happen most of the time. (Unless you have been blessed by the gifting fairies. And if so, can I hire you to do my gifting?) I find gift shopping anxiety producing. I surf a few zillion websites and put stuff in a few dozen shopping carts, only to second guess and ditch the carts and give up. Then the guilt sets in that the gift should be meaningful. The gift should be special. It’s like the gift should hold some magical power to stand out from all the other gifts.
Drop the Gifting Guilt
Just embrace giving money. It’s easy, it’s loved universally and it’s super flexible. And as a gift for a high school graduate it is more likely to please. Cause it’s even too stressful to pick the right gift card these days. And with a cool fold like this graduation cap, it will impress far more than it should. Somehow when you make money 3 dimensional people thing it’s worth more than the face value of the bill—I kid you not!
About this folding method
I am the first to admit this is not the most accurate fold in my arsenal. Atone point you are just squashing and mushing and making it work. Sorry the art isn’t precise sometimes. It would be if I were an actual origami artist, but I am a human. I think you can all deal with it. But if you really want to kick it up a notch Sychen has a model that includes the tassel and is way more complicated in his book Green Origami Gifts.
Please post questions below in the comments. Or send me a picture/question on facebook to the Favemom Page or the Origami Foodie Page. I love to see everyone’s work and I want you to be able to make the cap for gifts.
Keep folding happiness into your life,
Annette (aka OrigamiFoodie)
