College is a new life with demanding deadlines, so a watch is a great idea for a college student. Watching the time is important for students. An academic planner is also an excellent gift.



Planners are good for keeping track of assignments, projects, notes, phone numbers and addresses. A dry erase board is a necessity because students like to leave messages for one another in the dorm.

This is their first experience on their own in the world. Buying a basket and filling it with things such as calling cards, a prepaid cell phone, stamps and envelopes, stationary, or a pen will help them communicate with friends and family. A map of the new area is also an excellent tool.

Another special gift is a laundry kit. You could assemble a basket filled with detergent, fabric softener, a stain stick and a jar filled with quarters. You could even include embossed towels and washcloths.

College students love to eat! Sets of dishes, pots and pans, silverware, potholders, can openers, and plastic containers come in handy. Gift certificates for McDonalds, Starbucks, Wal-Mart or any other major retailer are great, too! But if they are going out of state to college, you might want to find out which retailers are in the area.

Getting sick and having no one to take care of you really puts a damper on things, though. Give a basket filled with Tylenol, cough drops, flu medicines, chicken noodle soup and a nice warm blanket.

A tool kit, spare light bulbs, tape measure, extension cords, flash lights, batteries a small fan and a cordless phone are things that many students not even think about. They may seem like strange gifts at first, but I guarantee that they will be welcome when they least expect it and will make dorm living better.

A gift certificate for the university bookstore to help with the first textbook shopping is a wonderful idea. If the recipient already has textbooks, supplies are available at the bookstore with sweatshirts and other things.

Most of these gifts are inexpensive and special. They can be grouped in baskets or other unique containers with your special touches added to them. Going to college is exciting but stressful. Giving these kinds of gifts helps alleviate some of the demands of student life.

Think about magazine holders. A magazine holder has colorful organizers.

It lets the recipient to keep his or her magazines organized, eliminating problems such as the torn pages. The holder can stand on counters, tables or bookshelves.

Revolving desk organizers make anyone who works at a computer happy. The organizer helps tidy the desk and provide storage for clips, pencils, pens, cards, markers, scissors and other useful things. The great thing is that the organizer rotates, bringing you to the station of interest.