<p>Little thumb drives always make nice stocking stuffers. For girls, little manicure kits are nice too. Some girls also like scrapbooks. For boys–those fleece throws in school colors are always nice to get, as well as fleece or flannel pajama pants.</p>
<p>Before you start buying things for college, consider whether your child will be going “far” away for college. D1 ended up on the East coast, and S2 seems to be headed in the same direction. We will end up purchasing most of his college supplies when we arrive for orientation. I think cash will be the graduation gift of choice.</p>
<p>Noise canceling headphones (high quality to wear for hours), the Samsonite tote a Ton duffel bags. (No wheels but amazing in what they will hold, and incredibly light and strong…great for packing in and out of the dorm every year). For a less expensive gift, my daughter loves her quirky power strip. Basically, can wrap the power strip around the edge of a chair or desk to have it handy…very space efficient. A Brita pitcher. A small, strong flashlight. For stocking stuffers, 3M hanging products, a lint brush, a tiny toolkit, a new cosmetic bag for traveling back and forth…</p>
<p>I love all the suggestions. I agree - not knowing where they are going - I don’t want to buy room accessory ‘stuff’ - but I think several ideas they can enjoy now - plus take them to college. I especially love the rolling duffel bag - they can use that this spring when we do the final ‘overnight’ visits at the final college, weekends home, weekends to friends, etc. I’m going to get a size that works within airline guidelines.
The noise cancelling headsets (yeesh - those are pricey - anyone have a reasonably priced set they love that isn’t $300?!), the ear buds with microphone for skyping…lots of great ones.
I’ve tried to get my book-loving daughter to entertain the idea of a Nook or Kindle. She loves to collect books and her shelves are overflowing. She hasn’t embraced the idea - still wanting to hold on to her books. I wonder if that will change once she’s at college…?
I’m just trying to look ahead for some of the ‘college nice-to-have items’ that I may not be able to afford once we’ve packed them off to college and start making tuition payments.
I’ve enjoyed reading through ALL the ideas!</p>
<p>Quirky power strip? Sounds convenient! Where do you find those? I’ve also seen posts about families going out last minute and having to buy an ether-something-or-other for the computer? Not sure I’d make that a Christmas gift - but while on the subject of power cords - is that a standard need most kids have or does it depend on the dorm/school/internet connection?</p>
<p>Blueslipper, yes, an ethernet cable is a must! Many schools boast wifi connections but the fact is with everyone in the building trying to use the same network at once, Internet becomes unusable. Ethernet cables are definitely the way to go when trying to use the Internet in a res hall room.</p>
<p>This might sound stupid, but for my fairly disorganized daughter, using a purse for college was important. So a gift would be a cute shoulder bag big enough for a wallet and a phone and not much else. I wanted her to be in the habit of carrying one before she left for college.</p>
<p>From a college freshmen:</p>
<p>Something that gives students a break, or something useful is always good.</p>
<p>College bookstore giftcard
Staples or Barnes and Noble giftcard
Coffee basket/Movie basket
Subscription to Netflix or Amazon Prime (maybe too useful)
Something climate specific - a nice coat, rainboots, leather gloves
A nice bag or backpack - very useful
Something personalized to the location - local stores, restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores
Real or unique jewelry, makeup kits</p>
<p>Here’s the link to the Quirky - for $29 it is not the kind of thing that would be tops on a students need list, but boy is it handy!
[quirky</a> - Pivot Power Flexible Power Strip](<a href=“http://www.quirky.com/products/44-Pivot-Power-Flexible-Power-Strip]quirky”>http://www.quirky.com/products/44-Pivot-Power-Flexible-Power-Strip)</p>
<p>The other item that is GREAT is a nice ID/Key holder for popping downstairs to eat without needing a purse and other things. We bought one with a small pocket for money or a card for the T, but the small size is critical so they can jam it in their pocket. Some students prefer lanyards and they all got the lanyard type at graduation, but they tend to be inexpensive, and the plastic breaks. As far as I know, she has only had to go down to the lobby in a robe once, where of course the crew team happened to be. Joy.</p>
<p>Are you sure they are all going to college, or to a residential college? In my community, I would make sure first, so as not to hurt any feelings.</p>
<p>what size rolling duffle bag? The airplane carryon size or a giant one to pack all their stuff?</p>
<p>For more expensive gifts: Nespresso coffee makers are popular here, and also Longchamp Tote bags (it seems like all the girls are carrying them at the NE colleges these days).</p>
<p>For this post they are my kids - so the plan is they will be in college. :)</p>
<p>Carla 2012 - Thanks for the mention about the Tote bags. It’s funny you mention that’s what everyone at the NE colleges are carrying. We visited Miami U last month and my daughters immediately noticed all the girls wearing flat leather boots with their skinny jeans. That is now on their birthday list. :)</p>
<p>I’m debating on the rolling duffel size. Opinions?</p>
<p>I know you are looking for things for your child and this answer is more for their friends at their graduation parties but we thought it was a very cute idea.</p>
<p>When my twins graduated from high school, our neighbor who had a college student in the house, got them a gift basket filled with a few cute things: first she got a trip tic from AAA with directions from our home to their college as well as a map of the city of the college, she used tissue paper in the basket with the college colors, she had a corning ware bowl and plate that were great for microwaving soup or leftovers. She had things like tea and microwave popcorn, and each thing had a little note with it. For example, the tea had a note " for those days after your tests when you need to relax" or something like that. The trip tic, even though we have a GPS, really was a cute, personal touch and showed that they went out of their way to put this together. You could make up individual ones for each of her friends. You could put it in a basket they could use at school, and even include things like “survival guide at college” books and a jar of peanut butter.</p>
<p>I was thinking about getting DD a small Keurig coffee maker to take to college but I don’t know how far in advance I want to buy this stuff. There is a lot that they need and unless you have storage for it all, it just ends up messing up your house for months :D. DD wants to redo her bedroom for her Christmas present, which I am fine with since it will be all set for another guest room then :D.</p>
<p>Just a thought, my S will be going away to college next fall. He won’t say it, but I can tell he’s getting a bit anxious. While I am terribly excited for him, I’m considering making this Christmas just a regular “last ditch chance to be a kid” Christmas and save the college focused stuff for graduation and birthday time (June). </p>
<p>Probably just my kid, but I think if I made this Christmas about college (which I would LOVE to do), it might actually decrease his pleasure. I sort of feel like this is his last year to truly be our kid at home. Although I know he’ll be back over Christmas break from college, this year sort of feels a lot like the “last” for a lot of stuff. We ran into this last week when I made the mistake of yelling at him to be nice and help his little sister as this is likely the last year he’ll help her carve a pumpkin. :o(</p>
<p>Not sure I’ll be able to keep myself from buying a sweatshirt from his school of choice if we know by then, but I will try my best to keep Christmas in the here and now. </p>
<p>Just a thought.</p>
<p>Something else I just thought about, since you want to spread the costs out over time, get more disposable items, not so much for Christmas but just to have ready to go, shampoo, soap, feminine products, laundry detergent, etc. OR, think about things you need to buy, if you see something cute at a store, say bedding, put that amount of money in an envelope, stick it in your dresser and when the time comes, you will have put aside money for what you need.</p>
<p>I have to agree with Momom2 that if we started buying too many “college” things for Christmas the kids would be a little more anxious about leaving the nest. Their birthday is in the spring so we could probably get some things then.</p>
<p>Blueslipper, if you don’t want to buy a Quirky power strip online, another option is to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond–that’s where I got one for my son this past summer (and you won’t have to pay for shipping).</p>
<p>My S D is currently a college sophomore. We had only had one or two “family” computers the whole time she was growing up. So, about halfway through her senior year, she spent some of her own money to get her own laptop. </p>
<p>Part of her Christmas gift that year was accessories to the laptop: a lapdesk cooling thingy, earphones, empty CD’s, flash drives, anti virus protection, all sorts of things. These don’t have to be viewed as “for college” so much as “because you now have your own computer”.</p>