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Do you know someone about to start university? Or maybe you’re a student who wants to treat yourself? It can be difficult trying to figure out what gifts a student would love. Luckily I’ve compiled a short list of suggestions to make that easier for you!
Essentials
Of course, every student nowadays needs a laptop or a tablet. But that’s a whole other pending post. What else would a student need? Well, to start, they would need stationery. Hopefully, you are at least somewhat familiar with the personality of the person you are buying for. Some students only care to have basic stationery that works well. These students may prefer an all-in-one set, like the Helix Ultimate School Set.
Other students, who care more for pretty notes may enjoy more aesthetically pleasing stationary. Ashton & Wright have a beautiful range of co-ordinating pastel stationery supplies, including pencils, rulers, erasers, and pencil sharpeners. This collection pairs well with Zebra’s pastel-coloured ballpoint pens.
Of course, students will need to organise their supllies. A peronal favourite product of mine is the BlayaAdd desk organizer, which comes in several different sizes and models. My favourite is model PB04, which is the one pictured below.
Students will also definitely need a pencil case. For the student who doesn’t care for aesthetics, consider a plain black pencil case. If you’ve opted for the the pastel array, consider gifting them in this beautiful Artline pastel purple pencil case. It’s important to remember that many universities require clear/ no pencil cases during exams. Here is a beautiful Surcotto clear pencil case, so your recipient can stay stylish in exams. Or, consider getting them a pencil case that ties in with their course, such as these hilarious “Midwife at your cervix” or “Nurse in progress” pencil cases.
The final essential university supply of this list is an academic planner. Annual planners are not ideal for students, as they run from January to December, not accounting for the months of summer that will remain empty, and the fact that university years are split between two calendar years. A simple and efficient calendar that I would recommend is this planner from the KMQOY store, which also comes in blue, pink, black, and floral print.
Survival kits
I found two university survival kits, both are pretty different. The first one is more poetic and sentimental, with items that may have a deeper meaning, but aren’t all that practical. The second one is highly practical with lots of objects that are very useful to have on you. The contents of both kits will be displayed under their image.
Kit #1
Kit #2
Books
Honestly, the best book you can buy a student is their textbook. They are getting crazy expensive. But aside from that, there are other books that can make student life a lot easier. For example, a simple cookbook is a great gift to students who mibght be living on their own for the first time. This “Little Book of Student Food” by Alastair Williams comes not only with simple and tasty recipes, but also guidance for young adults who are just starting to learn how to navigate the kitchen. Another great book is “Student Hacks: Tips and Tricks to Make Uni Life Easier” by Dan Marshall. This book contains 130+ hacks. The author lists a few of them, including:
- Ways to make your student loan stretch further
- Tips to help you get out of bed in time for class
- Study, exam and revision hacks, including how to listen to your lectures in half the time
- How to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew – and how to get wine stains out of the carpet
- A trick for changing those pesky duvet covers
- How to store your beer bottles in the fridge without them toppling over
- Drawer and wardrobe space maximizers
- Party hacks
- Food and drink hacks to use up leftovers and make the most of whatever’s hiding in your fridge
Sentimental gifts
We’ve seen some great products, but the best gift is one that comes with thought and effort. I would suggest getting something small and meaningful like a uni wish bracelet, and then write a lovely message for them in a card. There are some great card options for university students available, such as “It will bee brilliant”, “Good luck at university”, “Rooting for you”, and “The world is your oyster”.
Those are all of my suggestions for this blog post, I hope it was a little help to someone out there. So, a little life update: I’ve just submitted my final assignment of the year, meaning I’m now finished for the summer. And, ironically, this means I’ll be posting a lot more content. So please, comment any ideas you have for future posts. I already have a few lined up. I hope you’re all coping well with exams, assignments, or the long wait until the weather is nice enough to really call it summer.
Take care of yourself!
-Cady ◡̈