Leaving the luxuries and comfort of the family home to battle with new unknown tasks such as washing clothes, ironing and cooking! A scary and life changing phase for all! Mysteries and problems will occur along the way such as 'How long should I cook a chicken for?' and 'Can't I just throw all my clothes in the same wash?'. Inevitable incidents of food poisoning and red dyed clothes will follow. But then, its all about learning life's skills, not just achieving that all important qualification at the end of it...well that's what parents tell themselves!



No doubt, they'll have nights to remember and meet people who will become life long friends. They'll also have nights they'll want to forget or that they can't remember at all...but then, they are usually the best ones!

It seems more and more people are going to Uni than ever before, with over half a million people applying for full time UK courses in 2008! So it's highly likely you'll definitely know someone heading on their way to University Life. But what if that person is your son, daughter, friend, brother, sister or even your boyfriend or girlfriend? You want to wish them well, send them on their way knowing they have everything they need, whilst also trying to hide the fact you are going to miss them like crazy!

So what gift can you get them? How do you help someone get ready for entering their new student life?

Parents will probably stock them up with endless boxes of food, washing powder and socks, just in case they don't have shops in their new University city! Along with those essential last minute parenting tips that are quickly wiped from the memory of their 'student to be'...don't drink too much, work hard, ring home lots...and such like.

It's a tricky one for finding a gift, it doesn't quite 'fit' into the usual gift categories. There's occasions like Anniversaries, Engagements, Babies, Weddings etc but strangely enough, Leaving for Uni doesn't seem to have its own category. There's no clearly labelled group of appropriate 'Uni' gifts for you to pick from for your 'soon to be student'.

A great approach to this dilemma is to look to online shopping and what unusual gift ideas you can find that aren't on the High Street. With just a few searches and clicks you should be able to discover online presents that are unique and related to the big 'Uni' event. In particular, to make your gift hunting even easier, you can now buy ready made gift hampers on all sorts of themes. These all in one hampers do all the hard work for you and have great combinations of gifts. All sorts of gift sets now exist beyond the traditional ones such as new baby gift baskets, so it is definitely worth having a look.

Whatever present you decide to give your loved one, just remember, going off to University is a great, exciting and life changing moment for them. In all the hustle and bustle of getting ready to go, remember to mark the occasion. Throw them a party, let them know how much you care, and make sure you give them a send off they won't forget!