35 Middle School Graduation Gifts That'll Get You Cool Cred With Your 8th Grader

This is such a sweet keepsake, and one that’ll be even more thoughtful if you get it customized with your grad’s name embroidered on their ear. Jellycat’s bashful bunny is a top seller, so if you’re going to order this one in time for graduation, hop to it.

Their jewelry collection is probably growing rapidly at this point, so give them a pretty little travel case for safekeeping. It holds rings, bracelets, necklaces, and there’s even a handy mirror built in. Choose their initial to customize it.

Add to their stack of friendship bracelets with these words of wisdom. Leaving the safety of middle school and entering high school as a 9th grader can be intimidating, but this gift lets them know that if they just “Keep Going,” they’ll find their way.

This little printer takes photos from their smartphones or social media and prints them onto 2x3-inch sticker paper, which they can use to decorate their stuff or share with friends (no separate instant camera needed). They can also use editing software to add touches like borders and emojis, and it comes in several colors.

Papier has dozens of beautiful cover designs for their notebooks, journals, and planners and the layouts inside are just as thoughtful. If your grad is into journaling these days, get them a beautiful blank notebook, personalized with their name (for free) on the cover.

Somehow, they never get too old for Squishmallows. All of the graduation-themed plushies come wearing a mortarboard cap like Zozo the Bigfoot here. It’s a foot tall and very huggable.

If they’re going be doing sports in high school (or if their current duffel bag is looking worse for the wear), treat them to a sturdy tote from Nike. It comes in red, blue, black, and pink, and you can choose from extra small to large sizes depending on their sport.

For the kid who has built an entire ecosystem in Minecraft, they’ll probably like this real-life take on a Creeper. It also comes with a TNT block and a pig. This set has 665 pieces, and once built the legs and head on the Creeper are movable.

Your kids may already know Mark Rober (former NASA engineer) from YouTube. Now they can get engineering kits that he designed mailed to them at home. We picked this one as a recent Toy Award winner because it “lets STEM enthusiasts take on higher-level coding and robotics projects.” There are several subscription offers available.

RELATED: Good Housekeeping’s 2025 Toy Awards

Whether they're listening to music, watching videos, or playing games, wouldn't everybody in the family be happier if they could do it through headphones? These connect wirelessly using Bluetooth, charge quickly, and come in five colors.

On-trend beauty products are a thoughtful gift for this age, especially if they’re always trying new things and discovering what brands they like the most. Summer Fridays’ lip balms have a sheer color, a bit of shimmer, and the shea butter is moisturizing.

If your grad is into Pop Mart’s Labubu plushies, we’re predicting these Happy Haul bag charms might be up next for the trend. They come in a blind box (you won’t know which color you’re getting) and each one comes with a key ring for hanging on their backpack or purse. Not only are they super cute, “The brand seems keen on keeping the price tag low, which I know parents like me who’ve bought countless others will appreciate,” Commerce Editor Angel Madison says.

RELATED: Move Over, Labubu: These Happy Haul Bag Charms Are the Next Big Thing

In a survey of Good Housekeeping readers, this was among the most worn by teen boys. It has a “head-turning mixture of tried-and-true notes of suede and musk with quirkier top notes of melon and cucumber,” according to Product Operations Manager Nikolas Greenwald.

RELATED: The 11 Best Colognes That Teens are Wearing Right Now

New school=new backpack. The days of cute unicorns and sharks on their bags are now a thing of the past, so get your middle school grad an elevated pick can last them for years to come. There’s plenty of room inside for laptops up to 14 inches, plus a tablet, phone, chargers, and (lest we forget!) books and folders.

Paper airplanes are getting high tech. This one comes with attachments that communicate with an app on their phone, so they can control the flight. They’ll learn how to do tricks and even design their own planes with this unique STEM toy.

Dukes, mom of two teens, says that these are the sneakers at the top of their wishlist, so follow her lead and earn some cool points with this gift. The crisp white is the one to get, unless you know for sure that they’d prefer a different color. They come in women’s and men’s sizes.

Pretty phone chains are the tech accessory right now, and Anthropologie has dozens of styles. Whether they’re into cute beads or sophisticated metal chains, you’ll find one they’ll love.

As they move on to high school, they might need to upgrade their tech to handle their bigger assignments. Thankfully, Apple just released an under-$1,000 MacBook! In our review of the 13-inch laptop, test engineer Alec Scherma calls it “ideal for students who need something lightweight with solid battery life for taking notes throughout the day without constantly reaching for a charger.”

RELATED: An Engineer Tried the MacBook Neo for a Month—Here’s His Verdict