One of the handfuls of valuable mementos that your child receives upon graduating from school is a graduation sash. This colorful decoration, which the child will proudly wear draped over his or her shoulders on graduation day, is likely something that you'll want to keep after the ceremony. 

Unfortunately, for many families, the graduate's sash ends up folded and placed in a drawer, where it's rarely noticed in the years ahead. If you really want to celebrate your child's recent graduation, displaying the graduation sash in a frame, along with some other items, can be a good idea. Here are some tips for tackling this project.

How To Display It 

You can either take the sash to a custom framing professional or do the work yourself, but you'll want to come up with a method of display that reveals the sash effectively. A large frame is best for accommodating this piece. You'll generally want to have it folded so that the front side of the sash — which is the side that will carry embroidered words or logos, based on your child's accomplishments in school — is visible. The sash can hang from a dowel or other type of apparatus mounted at the top of the frame.

Other Items To Include

While there's nothing wrong with simply framing the graduation sash on its own, this is a prime opportunity to frame some other items inside the same frame. There's a long list of things that you can frame to celebrate your recent graduate. The student's graduation cap is a practical memento to include in the frame, as is a copy of the child's graduation portrait. You may also wish to include any medals that he or she earned in his or her final year of school, as well as a copy of his or her diploma.

Presenting It

After graduation, your child may be eager to get into the next phase of his or her life — likely, some combination of working at a new job and hanging out with friends or a significant other. Despite your grad's busy schedule, it's important to recognize his or her accomplishment with some sort of family gathering. If you've been able to gather the graduation sash and the other elements without your child noticing, you can then present the display piece as a surprise. It will surely become one of the child's prized possessions and a symbol of his or her hard work.