Is your officer about to graduate from the academy? Help him celebrate his accomplishment with one of these awesome police academy graduation gifts!
You’ve probably been anxiously awaiting this day for weeks. Maybe you’re excited. Maybe you’re terrified.
Whatever the case may be, your officer graduating from the academy is a HUGE milestone – for both of you!
For him, he’s been hard at work learning legal stuff and practical take-down methods (and getting tased and pepper sprayed and whatnot.) You? You’ve been supporting him through it all – through the grumpiness, through all the tests, through everything. You’ve gotten your first taste of what it’s going to be like as a police wife.
As such, you’re probably in search of the perfect gift for your husband to celebrate all you’ve made it through together.
If that’s the case, look no further – because these are the hands-down best police academy graduation gifts you could give your husband!
The Best Ideas For Police Academy Graduation Gifts
Handcuffs
No doubt about it, your officer is going to be using handcuffs a lot. Why not get him a special pair to commemorate his graduation day?
My husband loves Handcuff Warehouse for handcuffs, since they carry Peerless Superlite Aluminum Cuffs. They’re his hands-down favorite. As the name implies, they’re incredibly light – meaning less weight on a duty belt!
Plus, they’re not only functional, but they can be engraved with their name or badge number to make a nice sentimental gift.
They come in lots of colors, too. They have the normal colors like black and silver, but they also have four color coated options that I’m kind of in love with. They’re about $40 each plus $3 if you want to have them engraved
We chose these as a graduation gift for a friend of ours (combined with a batch of thin blue line cake balls, naturally) and they were a hit. We were just going to get the handcuffs, but it came to about $43, and shipping is free over $50. So we added an engraved handcuff key arguably “for free”, since we no longer had to pay shipping. Yay!
Even if your husband isn’t a fan of the superlight cuffs for whatever reason, Handcuff Warehouse is as well-stocked as is name implies. They’ll definitely have something your officer will love.
Thin Blue Line Gear
Being a police officer changes your husband – forever. No matter what, he’s never going to be able to un-see or un-learn everything he’s seen and learned from the academy, let alone what he’ll continue to encounter on the job.
Thin blue line gear can help him show his pride in being a law enforcement officer every single day.
Thin Blue Line USA is a great source of thin blue line clothing. They have a wide variety of shirts and sweatshirts that are super high quality. They’re crazy comfortable, fit great, and don’t fade or fall apart in the wash.
Plus, they’re a company you can feel good about shopping with, because they make donations to lots of different LEO-affiliated organizations, like C.O.P.S. It’s always nice to know your money is going to a good cause!
Pictured: “Remember” Hoodie – Thin Blue Line Flag Hat – Sheepdog T-Shirt
Of course, they’re not the only resource (just my favorite!) You can also find thin blue line-style watches on Amazon, like the G-Shock in the picture. It’s awesome for those who are tough on things (like, you know, officers) because it’s shock-, magnet-, and water-resistant (meaning it’s unlikely to get broken during a scuffle on shift), and it just looks cool, IMO. It’s a classic gift with a bit of a twist.
Regardless, thin blue line gear is sure to be appreciated by any new officer.
Customized Open When Letters
Are you more into DIY gifts? You might like the idea of giving your officer a pack of Open When letters instead.
Not only is it an inexpensive gift idea, but it’s also super personal and sentimental. You know your husband best. You can encourage him when he’s feeling down or help him celebrate the good moments from afar through these.
Plus, it’s not a one-time gift opening event – he can enjoy opening the letters throughout his first year (and beyond, depending on how long it takes him!) So that’s kind of awesome ๐
You can get a FREE printable kit to help the assembly process go a lot more easily. Just print the labels and stationery, use the ideas in the instructions to write them/put them together, and box them up as a complete gift!
They’re available in the Love and Blues resource library, completely free for subscribers (which is also free!) ๐
Lunch Packing Supplies
Exciting? Not necessarily. Useful? Absolutely.
Your husband is about to be so busy that finding the time to eat will be difficult, if not impossible. And by the time he’ll be able to, he’ll either have to stick to fast food or settle for cold leftovers.
Giving him lunch packing equipment that will keep his food at a proper temperature will help him eat better, save money, and make him generally a little more comfortable on shift.
Besides – you can put another exciting gift inside if you don’t think he’ll necessarily go ga-ga for this one. Like candy, or handcuffs, or maybe a gift card or two ๐
Some ideas:
- YETI Rambler Stainless Steel Bottle: These are the best thermos/drink containers ever. It keeps drinks at their proper temperature all day long, so whatever season you’re in, it’s useful! Warning: even though these are available on Amazon, it’s a product that unfortunately gets knocked off a lot, so I’d personally prefer to buy it from the YETI website myself.
- Crock Pot Lunch Warmer: This portable crock pot is perfect for keeping food warm or warming it up sans microwave. You could even get a cigarette lighter adapter so your officer can have it plugged in in his patrol car, if that’s something you think he’d like!
- Insulated Lunch Bag: While there are lots of insulated lunch bags out there, this one has lots of great reviews. It’s insulated to keep food warm or cold for hours (great to pair with the YETI ;)) and it’s even freezer safe, meaning you can freeze it to help it keep food even colder during the summer.
- Bento Lunch Box Containers: These are great used with an insulated lunch bag. I bought this set a few weeks ago for us to use, and it’s been great for packing lunches for all of us.
Gear Storage Rack
If you don’t want to lose your mind over a gear-cluttered counter in a few short weeks, this is a must have. Unless you’re already super organized and have this covered – and if that’s the case, kudos to you! For the rest of us, Warrior Rack is definitely the ideal solution.
The company produces all-in-one law enforcement gear storage solutions that are perfect for keeping his equipment safe, organized, and out of the way.
One of these racks would be perfect for a police academy graduation gift, as they’re ridiculously useful, and not just because they’ll reduce arguments over the clutter ๐ Having a specific place for gear to be stored also means fewer last minute scrambles trying to find part of his uniform. That will make everyone happier.
They have both free-standing and wall-mounted racks (like the one pictured), and lots of different styles to choose from with customization options, so definitely check it out!
Law Enforcement Themed Home Decor
There are tons of awesome options for police-themed home decor out there, and the fact that he can look at it all the time makes it kind of an awesome gift – because it’ll be enjoyed for a long time to come ๐
The options that are shown in the picture are linked below:
- “HOME” Thin Blue Line Police Badge Sign
- “Blessed Are The Peacekeepers” Personalizable Sign
- 5-Panel Thin Blue Line Canvas Set
- Personalizable Thin Blue Line Foil Print
A Police Officer Devotional
Now, we’ve never actually read this devotional – but I came across it recently, and I’ve heard nothing but awesome things about it, both in the reviews on Amazon and from people in the Love and Blues Facebook group.
The book consists of 365 daily devotionals to help your officer be encouraged and uplifted, and to focus on what matters most when he’s confronted with the worst things of the world.
With what he’s about to deal with every day, he could definitely use that!
You can get it on Amazon for a super reasonable price – which means you can totally choose to pair this with another gift if you’d like!
DIY Gifts
Are you more into homemade gifts? The list is a little too long to add to this post, but I created a separate post a few months ago with 13 DIY gift ideas that are perfect for police officers.
Bonus points? They don’t require you to be super craftily-inclined. Some of them require a little more time/skill than others, but there’s bound to be something on the list you can make happen.
Some of the ideas on the list:
- String art
- Thin blue line chocolates
- “Manly” bath bombs
But I honestly love all the ideas I added, so be sure to check it out here ๐
Other Novelty Gifts
While this list is all about practical gifts, there’s still room for some novelty gift ideas for your officer. And the best part is, these are all incredibly useful, too! They’d be especially great for stocking stuffers, or even just small surprise gifts throughout the year.
- A set of pens specifically for lending to others: My husband is extremely territorial about his nice pens. If he’s forced to let someone borrow one of his Zebras, he watches them like a hawk until he gets it back. So a set of pens specifically for lending would be well-received by him ๐ And these are hilarious!
- A gun-shaped USB drive. I got my husband a USB drive like this last year, and he got such a kick out of it. It’s been super useful, too! And yes, people still use USB drives – in case you had your doubts ๐
- A Leatherman multi-tool. Cops are like giant boy scouts: freakishly prepared for everything, ever. So having a tool that can do a million different things? Totally up their alley. This one is awesome – it has 17 different tools, including a knife, a can opener, a saw, a screwdriver, pliers, and a bottle opener.
- I also found this cool pocket survival tool: it has 11 different functions, fits in your wallet, and is under $5. Perfect for a fun stocking stuffer!
- I got this badge-shaped bottle opener for my husband for Christmas a few years ago, and it remains probably the most used gift I’ve ever given him. And it’s held up extremely well over the years! Even with a toddler who steals it regularly now. So it’s a great gift idea for any police officer!
Last but not least, I want to make sure to say congratulations – to both of you! You’ve got a long, wonderful, exciting road ahead of you ๐
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