In just a few weeks my little (big) girl will be graduating college. It took us some time to get here, but she’s finally made it.
Twenty-two years ago I gave birth to a baby girl, and at the time I had no idea what I was doing, and sometimes even now after having three other children, there’s still so much to learn, because each child is different. What I can say is that consistency with parenting is the key and makes a huge difference.
Kristal started college straight out of high school and by the second year decided that she’d had enough and didn’t want to go back. Imagine my horror. I had no idea what to do, it seemed that she had her mind made up, so I enlisted my brother to speak with her, as I had made that same mistake many years before. See, I dropped out of college my final year, and it took a few years to get back on track, and I didn’t want the same thing for her. Each year would find me saying “this is the year I’m going to finish my degree” and the year would go by without it happening.
Sure you can get by in the world without finishing college, after all, many millionaires have done so. Take, for example, Mark Zuckerberg, Ellen DeGeneres, and even Steve Jobs. What do they all have in common? They never got a college degree, but they all had something going for them. They had an idea and a plan. My daughter had a dream, but no plan, thus my reason for wanting her to have a degree so she could have something to fall back on. And after many long and tiring discussions, she finally made the decision to stick with her degree. She may be a semester late in graduating, but I’m excited that she made it! So while she’s walking down the aisle with the class of 2019, she’s a graduate of the class 2018.
I couldn’t be more proud, and of course, wanted to do something for her to show my appreciation of her hard work and determination. So what are ways you can commemorate this colossal day with your graduate? Here are three effortless ways.
- CREATE A MEMORY BOOK
Do you remember when your graduate was a little one? Do you have photos to show? Get them all together and create a memory book of your graduate through the years. From the moment they were born to their first steps, maybe you have those Kindergarten photos, and those where they’re missing their front teeth for Christmas. How about their high school prom photos where they went on their first date, and now they’re finally graduating from college. Gather them all up and have a “Through the Years” photo book that will bring back memories and maybe even a few tears to your eyes.
- ENJOY A SPA DATE AND DINNER
Nothing says I appreciate your hard work more than a dinner date. However, before you do so, how about relaxing at the spa? Consider receiving a therapeutic massage to get the kinks out, enjoying a relaxing manicure and pedicure, and getting all glammed up for your night out on the town. Be sure to take some pictures to commemorate your big day, because they deserve it!
- THROW AN AMAZING GRAD PARTY
Nothing says celebration like a party. Gather a few close family and friends together and have a fantastic time. Get personalized with it! Create personalized invitation cards with your graduate that they can use as keepsakes, and even get a customized banner for the big day.
That’s where Kodak Moments have you covered.
It’s the perfect resource to create personalized gifts, greetings, and even décor to celebrate the special graduate in your life.
Kristal and I paid a visit to our local Target where a Kodak Picture Kiosk is located (they can also be found at your local CVS) and got started on our designs. Before we arrived, I had downloaded the Kodak Moments app on my cellphone to make the process easier. The Kodak Picture Kiosk offers everything needed to create unique and personalized graduation memorabilia in minutes. You can wirelessly transfer images from your phone to the kiosk with the Kodak Moments App, upload the photos you want to create your personalized items via Bluetooth, WiFi, or a USB connection.
The Kodak Moments app and Kodak Picture Kiosk offer premium personalized photo products like magnets, calendars, and announcements/invitations/thank you cards in a number of designs and themes, including graduation. Even though Kristal was walking down the aisle with graduates of 2019, she decided that she wanted the year 2018 since that was her graduating year and she was only one semester over, instead of an entire year, and it was very simple to create it exactly how she wanted it. We not only printed banners and invites but also some really cute magnets that we plan on passing out to family members to decorate their refrigerator. These we did not put words on, so yes, you have the option of leaving them blank, just in case you were wondering.
To get you ready to celebrate your own grad moment, Kodak Moments has some amazing graduation promotions just for you!
From April 28 to May 25, receive 30% off banners in-store at a Kodak Picture Kiosk;
And the Week of May 5 – May 19th, receive 30% off cards, photo panels, and magnets.
