Initiation gift from parents
 

I attended a college that did not have sororities, so this is all new to me. Greek Chat's forums have been so helpful through my daughter's recruitment process. Her initiation is approaching, and I would like to send her a gift to mark this special day. We sent flowers on bid day. Is there something customary, perhaps jewelry? Would appreciate any words of wisdom!

It is common in my neck of the woods to see parents give their daughter a piece of jewerly that is symbolic of their particular sorority...maybe an owl for a Chi O, an anchor for a Delta Gamma, a kite for Theta, a five point crown for Zeta, you get the picture. Or you could pay for the pin that will be ordered after the pledging period.

My parents bought me red roses (at the time, our local tradition was you could not have red roses until after you were initiated into AOII kinda like other sororities couldn't have things with the COA) and paid for my jeweled badge for initiation so I've got nothing for you. Try contacting her Big Sis to make sure you don't duplicate something else she will be getting.

I received a bouquet of my sorority's flower for initiation.

I wouldn't discount the value of a thoughtful, handwritten letter. For content, think along the lines of the type of note you would write for her graduation.

My sister's sorority asked my parents to write her a letter to be used as part of her pre initiation week, which I thought was very sweet. I'm not sure if this is a ZTA thing, or just something her chapter does.

In my chapter, family members (and I guess anyone else who wanted to) sent bouquets of flowers that were used to decorate tables during our pre-initiation dinner. I never heard of anyone in my chapter getting anything beyond that for initiation itself from family members. Badges could only be ordered after initiation, so they weren't technically "initiation gifts."

Also, you could ask her big sis for ideas.

Thank you all for your thoughtful suggestions!

My parents didn't really understand the greek system. (My mom grew up in the UK, and my father is anti-greek.) My mom sent me a stuffed giraffe when I was initiated into AEPhi. A sweet gesture. :)

If I had a daughter about to be initiated into a sorority, I would probably send one of: (a) a bouquet of her sorority's flowers, (b) a bouquet of silk flowers (so that they last a long time), or (c) a cross stitch with the appropriate letters, flowers, symbols, etc.

This! Flowers are always lovely, and homemade gifts would also be great!

One idea would be a cross stitched pin pillow so she could avoid losing her pin :)

If the organization's badge has pearls in it, you could always send a pair of simple pearl earrings. My parents bought me a strand of pearls and matching earrings as a holiday gift and I love them. They are classic and I can wear them with anything.