Three types of gifts that are perfect for college students

Are you struggling to decide what to get a college or university student for the holidays? Here are a few ideas to help you choose a gift that’s sure to delight — or at least be useful to — the student in your life.

1. Food
Many students living on their own for the first time struggle to find room in their hectic schedules and limited budgets to eat properly. Consider giving a student an assortment of healthy, pre-prepared meals or gift cards for the restaurants near their campus. Plastic containers for storing food, reusable water bottles and portable mugs for transporting tea and coffee are also ideal gifts.

2. School supplies
Students need a variety of materials to keep up with their studies: backpacks, laptops, pens, pencils, textbooks, highlighters and so on. Consider giving the student in your life one or more high-quality notebooks or a professional-looking backpack that they can continue to use after graduation. Another great gift for students? Noise-cancelling headphones. They’re perfect for studying during finals in a way that won’t disturb other students.

3. Entertainment
If you’d rather give a gift that’s a little more fun, choose something to help the student you’re buying for unwind. Concert tickets, a day-pass to the spa or gift cards to popular entertainment venues — like the local movie theatre — are presents that most students will appreciate.

In addition to all the above, clothing can also be a good choice. Just be sure to stick to basics that will suit nearly any style. This way you’ll ensure that your items don’t get returned to the store.