Your special student will be delighted by items found at local retailers

Finally earning one’s high school diploma is a huge milestone, and now, loved ones are tasked with selecting a perfect gift to commemorate the occasion.

Local retailers offer a wide variety of gift items. In Andalusia, one can find something as simple as a lovely scented candle to clothes to items to complete the grad’s dorm room while reflecting his or her personal style.

Which is the key to selecting the right gift, said Pink Peppers owner Marianne Dubose.

“The best advice I can give is know who you’re shopping for,” she said. “Know what their favorite color is, what school they’re going to – those kind of personal things.”

For young women, both Dubose and Ansley Place owner Louisa Mann Baker agree one can’t go wrong with anything that’s personalized or luggage items.

“We carry a Vera Bradley campus collection that features shower caddies, laundry bags, luggage and all kinds of summer supplies like beach towel and picnic bags,” Baker said.

At Pink Peppers, Dubose said personalized beach towels, which are available on site, and “basically any bag of any kind.”

For the young men on the shopping list, there are a variety of collegiate collections found at each store. At Ward & Co., owner Mike Ward said T-shirts, watches and sunglasses are great selections.

“Of course, you can never go wrong with a gift certificate,” the three agreed.