Graduation gift etiquette

[Anonymous]

Have a HS senior and I’m trying to figure out gift-giving etiquette for his friends and kids of our parent friends. I don’t want anyone to feel obligated to respond with a gift for my kid, but my inclination is to get at least a small gift (like a t-shirt from their college) for kids within our social circle and step it up a little for kids of close family friends. This is basically what we have have done in prior years for the handful of friends whose kids graduated before ours, but I’m worried it will make people feel obligated to reciprocate with our kid graduating this year. Any thoughts on etiquette including approximately how much is appropriate to spend? We are in Bethesda FWIW.

[Anonymous]

We gave each of DS's three best friends about $100 in stuff they'd need for their dorms - small tool kit, flashlight, first aid kit, gift card to a local-to-them coffee shop, etc.

Same for DD's two best friends three years later.