What to Get Your College Student for Christmas

Caught in the middle of a transition from youth to adulthood, college students can be kind of hard to shop for. They aren’t necessarily picky, but finding something they want and need can be a challenge. You can’t go wrong with gift cards or cash, but if you want to get your college student something special this year, consider the ideas below.

Pricey But Practical

As if a smart phone and laptop aren’t already enough, throw a new gadget into the mix this year. A Kindle Fire is not only a great tool for surfing the web, streaming movies and checking email, but its a tablet your college student will use in and out of class for studying. Students can purchase or rent e-textbooks by downloading them on their Kindle Fire, and have the same information available to them without the hassle of lugging heavy books to class.

Depending on their circumstances, college students can generally get around their first year of school without a car. But as they head into sophomore and junior year, students begin to venture off campus for part-time jobs and necessary internships. Help them get around, save money and develop green habits by surprising your college student with a used electric car, purchased at one of the many Peoria car dealerships around. Fueled by electricity instead of gasoline, these cars won’t pollute the earth with emissions, and students won’t be spending large portions of their paychecks at the fuel pump. With charging stations popping up around campuses around the country, your student will have an excuse to stay at the library longer: their car is still charging.

Inexpensive and Appreciated

Great for the gym but even better for the library, noise canceling headphones are on every college student’s must-have list. Nothing is harder than trying to focus on a lit paper with a group of rowdy conversations going on behind you. Help them drown out their roommate’s snoring or the party going on down the hall by easily popping some ear buds in.

Most college students are on a fixed budget. Whether they are working part-time or have a scholarship that covers room and board, they don’t like to spend their precious pennies on boring stuff – like toiletries, cleaning supplies and bread and butter. This year fill a laundry basket with household items you know your student needs. While it might not seem like the most exciting gift, laundry soap, easy to fix foods and a six-month supply of toilet paper will make your student see one thing: (saved) dollar signs.

All for Fun

Sometimes college kids just need a break from all the studying and stress. A simple but very much appreciated gift that will last all year long is a subscription to Netlix. Now that the service can stream movies and TV shows straight to the computer, Xbox and Wii, students can easily take a break at the library or in their dorm and enjoy a flick. Plus, having a subscription may come in handy for class – some courses offer extra credit for watching and writing about topic-related films such as Shakespearean plays.

Without an Xbox or Wii, college students are left to watch Netflix on the small screens of their laptops. While this has its perks, watching a show with their friends and roommates is much more enjoyable on a bigger screen. But don’t buy your college student a gaming console this year. Instead, choose a streaming media device called Roku. Found at Walmart and other department stores for about $49, the device plugs into the back of a TV and using the Internet, streams from Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and more.