These class reunion gift ideas are written for the university staff who plan reunion and commencement, usually in advancement or alumni relations. We start with timing, since a bespoke gift has to be started months before the weekend.
This guide serves universities that give gifts at reunion and commencement
If you are on a reunion committee buying a favor for every attendee, a promotional supplier will serve you better. This guide is about the smaller groups within the weekend who deserve something made to last, and the short list below matches each of them to a gift.
The short list
- Reunion volunteers: a lapel pin or a woven club tie.
- Milestone classes: a Saxony wool scarf or a medallion badge.
- Class gift donors: a brass paperweight or embossed leather coasters.
- Commencement speakers: a silk scarf, tie or cufflinks drawn from your campus.
- A dean or beloved professor: a design built from their own words or work.
Count back from the weekend to set your start date
Most Harris Made projects take 8 to 16 weeks. Count back at least 16 weeks from your reunion or commencement and add time for your own approvals. If the date is close, ask us about timing. Each project moves through the same stages.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Brief | You tell us who the gifts are for, how many you need and the story you want told |
| Sketches | Emma Harris draws the designs by hand, starting from your colors and crest |
| Samples | Samples are made for your approval before production |
| Making | Mills and a foundry in Britain that hold Royal Warrants make the gifts, and Emma inspects every piece |
| Presentation | Each gift is hand-wrapped in a branded box with your notecard inside |
The requested minimum is 125 pieces per design, so settle your numbers for each group early and talk them through with us. See how a Harris Made project works.
Reunion volunteers deserve a gift that marks the role
Class chairs and class agents give months of evenings to fill the weekend, and so does the rest of the reunion committee. A gift they can wear at the reunion itself thanks them in front of their classmates.
Ideas for reunion volunteers
A lapel pin, from $15
A custom lapel pin, filled with hard enamel in your exact colors, suits a large committee and marks the role all weekend.
A woven club tie, from $55
Class chairs and committee leaders can wear a traditional woven club tie, with your stripe and emblem carried through the weave.
A silk bow tie, from $42
This one is for the reunion dinner: a self-tie silk bow tie in your motif, folded by hand.
"Thank you Harris Made for providing remarkable quality silk scarves and ties that were gifted with pride; recognition gifts that are still being talked about with excitement and enthusiasm!" Hadley Thomas, Director of Alumni Relations, College of Engineering, Purdue Research Foundation
Milestone reunion classes can wear their colors
A 25th or 50th reunion class arrives as a group, and a piece in the institution's colors lets it look like one.
Ideas for milestone classes
A Saxony wool scarf, from $58
Saxony scarves were first introduced to students at Oxford and Cambridge as a mark of academic excellence, a story that suits a class returning decades later. Ours are woven on the same looms that make the scarlet cloth for the Guards' uniforms at Buckingham Palace.
A medallion badge, from $52
Handmade in gold and silver gilt wire, with a magnetic, felt-covered back. When it is not being worn, it makes a useful paperweight.
A brooch, from $38
A cast and enameled brooch, a quiet emblem of belonging for classmates who will wear it again.
Kent School shows what a crest can do on cloth
For Kent School, we made a silk scarf with the School's heraldic coat of arms and a Saxony wool scarf in its colors, as gifts for alumni and parents. See Kent School's alumni scarves.
"We were fortunate indeed to find Harris Made when looking for special gifts for our alumni and parents. Harris Made delivered items of exceptional quality with lasting appeal and with a special significance, items that are uniquely KENT." Kathy Nadire, Director of Development, Kent School
Class gift donors can be thanked during the weekend
The reunion class gift is often announced at the class dinner, and the donors who made it can be thanked right there in the room, with something for the desk or the home.
- A brass paperweight, from $58. Cast brass, engraved with your crest and built to outlast a career.
- Embossed leather coasters, from $35. Bridle leather, blind-embossed with your crest and stitched by hand.
- A card holder, from $32. Slim, hand-stitched and embossed to order, for daily use.
- A silk pashmina gift set, from $90. Paired and hand-wrapped in a foil-embossed box, for the class's lead donors.
Our page on donor recognition gifts covers gifts for every giving level.
Commencement speakers remember a gift made for the day
The best speaker gift ideas come from the institution itself. A silk scarf or tie can be drawn from campus architecture, and custom cufflinks from $45 or an engraved brass paperweight can carry your crest. A commencement speaker is likely to receive many gifts over a career, so it helps when yours comes from your own campus.
Campus details make the best designs
For the University of Chicago, we drew a silk scarf and tie from a Babylonian lion mosaic at the Oriental Institute. The geometric silk scarf and tie we made for The New School came from the windows of its Manhattan building, and Columbia's pieces, from cufflinks to a paperweight, each drew on a detail of the campus. Our guide on how to design a custom silk scarf shows how a building becomes a pattern.
Honorary degree recipients can share the design
Honorary degree recipients can receive the same piece as the speaker, so everyone on the platform leaves with the same mark of the day. The notecard in each presentation box carries your thank-you message, with the gift's provenance on the reverse. In the University of Chicago story you can see the silk scarf and tie alongside a Saxony wool scarf and a blazer badge, all made for 1 institution.
A dean's own words can become the design
Leah H. Jamieson led Purdue's College of Engineering as dean for 11 years. For her retirement, we made a secret silk scarf and tie printed with her final remarks and her own signature. Read about Purdue's scarf and tie for its Dean of Engineering.
The same idea works for a beloved professor at a reunion, with a piece built from a favorite line in their lecture notes or from their own sketches. For faculty and staff with long careers, see our gifts for years of service.
A budget table matches each group to a gift
| Recipient group | Gift idea | Starting price | When to present |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reunion volunteers | Lapel pin or woven club tie | $15 or $55 | At the volunteer reception |
| Milestone classes | Saxony wool scarf or medallion badge | $58 or $52 | At registration, to wear all weekend |
| Class gift donors | Brass paperweight or leather coasters | $58 or $35 | At the class gift announcement |
| Commencement speakers | Silk scarf or tie, or enamel cufflinks | $65, $48 or $45 | After the address |
| A dean or beloved professor | A silk scarf or tie from their own words | $65 or $48 | At a dinner in their honor |
Prices start from $15, and the requested minimum is 125 pieces per design. Our university gifts page has the full range, and you can start a project whenever you are ready.
Frequently asked questions
What are good class reunion gift ideas for a university?
Separate the favor for every attendee from gifts for the people who make the weekend happen. Give volunteers a lapel pin, a milestone class a Saxony wool scarf, class gift donors a brass paperweight and the speaker a silk scarf or tie.
What do you give a commencement speaker?
Something made for the institution and the day, such as a silk scarf or tie drawn from campus architecture. Enamel cufflinks and an engraved brass paperweight work well too, presented with a notecard that tells the story of the design.
What's a good gift to show appreciation?
A gift that is personal and made to last. The silk scarf we made for Purdue's Dean of Engineering, printed with her final remarks and her own signature, is the most personal kind.
What are good gift ideas for teachers at a class reunion?
For a beloved professor, a piece in the institution's colors, or a design drawn from their own work, such as a favorite line from a lecture printed on silk.
How far ahead should a university order reunion gifts?
Most Harris Made projects take 8 to 16 weeks, so count back at least 16 weeks from the weekend and add time for your own approvals. Ask us about timing for your date.
What gift suits a 50th reunion class?
A Saxony wool scarf in the institution's colors or a medallion badge in gold and silver wire, something the class can wear together over the weekend and keep afterward.