Well, nothing that is really "essential" but somehow he and his mom thought it was...
They include...class ring...senior portraits...announcements...cap and gown rental...the parents page in the yearbook...
All of which I'm sure set my parents back no more than $200 for the whole year.
We went with the minimum for the yearbook thing. There are actually parents who spend $800 for a full color page. IMHO they're idiots.
As for the senior portraits, I let the Mrs. handle the arrangements for those. Let's just say I shouldn't have.
Class ring? I didn't realize they did those for high schools... guess that makes sense. We sent announcements when I graduated but they were cheap 'fill in the blank' sorts. Actually I take that back, it was when I graduated community college, but I was 18 so same basic thing. That was the spring before the Hobbit Hole.
Senior portrait? Is that different than the usual school picture? At least the cap and gown rental I can understand though I'm sure it's too expensive.
And - $800?! That's... inconcievable.