All I Want for Christmas Is ... [Admissions-Friendly Holiday Gift Ideas] - Page 2

nocousin · 12-02-2008, 08:30 PM

Well, we can all be hopeful and have high expectations of being admitted to our number one choice school, but for many sadly their bubbles will be popped on Christmas week (been there with my D) for the ED/EA decisions that come out. So, in light of that, I think parents should get their kids something that is a great distraction from the bad news, something fun and entertaining, like theatre tickets during the holidays, or a college bowl game ticket, or an NFL ticket or NBA game ticket or something like that. Of course, if you get that dreaded wait list or rejection letter on or before December 24, you need to really buckle down and get focused and work on PLAN B, which is getting as many RD applications completed and turned in before January 1 as you can possibly muster. Its cathartic but also pragmatic. It helps you look forward to new schools and not look backwards, it vents your frustration and it may turn out to be the perfect school for you. But that one nice distraction will take the pain away. At least temporarily. I wish everyone the best this admission cycle. It is stressful for students, parents and friends. But you will get through it regardless of the outcome and come next May 1 you will know precisely where you will be going. Good luck.

leolibby · 12-02-2008, 08:30 PM

Membership at a gym or fitness club...

Exercise will increase blood flow to the brain, making you feel better and smarter, and your mood will be better.

simpson98 · 12-02-2008, 08:31 PM

^Oh, or as a gag gift you could stuff a McDonald's job application into his/her stocking.

spazzity · 12-02-2008, 08:36 PM

simpson98, you are CRUEL. That would not be a gag gift, that would be a violation of the 8th Amendment (not administered by a US governing body, but still).

cptofthehouse · 12-02-2008, 09:03 PM

Son got an extended battery charger that can be used for ipod, cell phone, etc.

Rachacha · 12-02-2008, 09:23 PM

Last Christmas we got our daughter a gift certificate to choose some very nice monogrammed stationery and cards to use for the many thank you notes she is writing during the college process (recommendations, interviews, overnight visit hosts, she even wrote one for a tour guide that she particularly liked). In fact, she is getting another one this year to choose the stationery for the graduation invites/thank yous...

tkm256 · 12-02-2008, 10:04 PM

I was an aspiring musician as a teenager. In my junior year of high school my parents bought me a wonderful flute--solid silver, gold lip plate, very shiny. Five years later I hit a car that was parked over the line at a particularly hectic shopping plaza, and since I had stopped playing when I became a bio major, I could sell this gift to cover the damages. Don't overlook the sorts of gifts that can be resold down the line in times of need....

(This is only half tongue-in-cheek. Certificates of deposit were also a favorite gift from the parents).

vicariousparent · 12-02-2008, 10:14 PM

Long ago when she was in elementary school my D gave me a card/present which had all sorts of hand-made coupons with items like "five hugs", "one time cleaning my room", "one time helping with xx chore", "one day when I won't bother you".

I'm thinking its time to reciprocate with coupons like "five hugs", "one week when I won't mention college", "two late passes to come home after curfew", "one exam grade I won't ask you about".

Glam · 12-02-2008, 10:45 PM

I received a very nice luggage set for my birthday this year that I will be taking to college. For Christmas I'm asking for all my AP study books and the new Chicken Soup book Teens Talk... Getting in to College that has a thread here somewhere. Money for application costs and travel, all purpose gift cards to Target and the Mall for dorm stuff, and a spa day with a hot rock massage for when I finish all these applications (haha, I wish!).

Zetesis · 12-02-2008, 11:09 PM

I told my daughter, a HS senior, that there was a thread on CC about what to give a HS junior for Christmas. That's as much as I got out, when she said, emphatically, Nothing to do with college!!!! There followed a mini rant about the unnecessary pressure and high expectations this puts on kids. She added -- that stuff isn't any fun, and it will all come soon enough.

So, I said, no SAT prep books? If looks could kill ...

62n · 12-02-2008, 11:55 PM

Here's a good tip for christmas: if you want your kids to hate you, get them college-related christmas gifts. Sounds like fun! I figure parenting must be kind of tough, but not so tough that you look at SAT prep books and college admissions guides and think "wow, my kid would love that!"

Hint: SAT prep books and college admissions guides are punishments. i.e. anything you get that doesn't make you feel good, or, especially, makes you feel stress, anxious, tense, etc. is NOT a good present. Getting college-related stuff is something you want to do either some weeks before or after the holidays so your kids don't honestly think you are trying to pass them off as presents. When I got my stuff with my parents, we went through the store, me groaning as my mom picked the best candidate for SAT prep book for "most likely to kill someone if dropped off a building" and said "this will probably be a good start."

So I repeat: if you want your kids to hate you, get them stuff that is directly college related.

However, there are stuff that can assist in college but can also be used for a lot of fun stuff. For example, I got an ipod touch for myself a while back which, other than games/music/etc., I get to organize my schedule and homework and keep track of college apps on it. It's been really helpful in organization. Depending on how organized your kid is or would like to be, this could be good (then again, most kids won't put a to do list on it).

Internet access is obvious. We are in the 21st century people. No one uses dial-up anymore. This would definitely help the college admissions process not to mention be something great.

Other than that or some other creative options, I can't say any present that directly aids in the college admissions process is a good one. The best you can do is give your kid real presents (or none. My parents aren't giving me any but we stopped that a while back.), but not too many that would take up too much of their time (i.e. take away from the college admissions).

I'm just kind or ranting. But no matter what you do, don't give SAT prep books or college guides. Remember, a present shouldn't make you want to kill yourself nor hate the gift-giver. If it does, I would not recommend it.

hollyert · 12-03-2008, 12:00 AM

I think you're on the wrong track entirely. What a college junior needs is:
FUN!
MOVIE TICKETS!
EXTENDED CURFEWS!
UGLY SWEATERS!
Anything, *anything* but college stuff.

In my opinion, a scanner/3-hole punch/SAT prep book combo under the Christmas tree would be the WORST present ever.

Those aren't gifts, they're school materials. Christmas gifts should reflect a person's value to you, not their college plans.

I cannot say strongly enough:

KEEP COLLEGE OUT OF YOUR POOR KID'S CHRISTMAS. Please. Dear God please.

faustarp · 12-03-2008, 12:23 AM

This might sound a bit forward, but thinking back to that time, I would have really appreciated a nice friendly book about writing college essays. I was eager to get to started on the fabled "college process," and reading such a book would have been a great place to direct my energy. Obviously, if this is more likely to cause stress it should be avoided, but I'm sure there are also people out there who are enthusiastic like I was. (otherwise, I guess I'm just very weird...)

edit...because the contrast with the post before me is bothering me. I do sound overly chipper don't I? I just like this sort of thing. I only applied to like a few (count on one hand) nearby schools, so it wasn't for some kind of conquest. but I thought (and think) college is cool.

buccaneer · 12-03-2008, 12:35 AM

On Chinese Spring Festival, Children would receive a "red bag" containing money, but they will spend it under parents' surveillance to see whether those money has issued into test book stores.
Though we don't have Christmas, being a son, I highly recommand parents don't do silly things, for even though we perforce have bought test books, once parents' vigliance lost in seeing their trick "successed", we go to that store to exchange back cartoon books the next day. Thence, the only thing adults should do is to give us a feast and SILENTLY support us the thing we need. We are mature enough and capable to handle our future

question_quest · 12-03-2008, 01:30 AM

Hee on the "no college books" things--I'm a college junior, and my mother asked my brother (22) and I to pick at least one thing to unwrap on Christmas (I asked for money to help pay for college/grad school in lieu of actual gifts--I don't really need anything material at this point). My choice for an "unwrapping" gift? A "How to get into grad school guide"!