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

[Pizzagirl]

I think the idea of study guides and college guides as gifts for a holiday is yucky. Those aren't "gifts." Give that to your kid on your own dime and your own time, not as part of a celebration.

And as for colorful accordion files -- please! That's not a gift, any more than a stapler or a tape dispenser is. Those are office supplies.

[Pizzagirl]

"And one more: a gift certificate good for mom or dad's help typing a paper at the last minute or running out to the one post office open until 8 or 9 PM or paying for express shipping or getting out of regular chores for one day."

One thing I have noted that is intriguing to me is that you can buy gift cards to the Geek Squad at Best Buy. Given that they've saved my butt, I can see that a future college student might appreciate that (if there is a Geek Squad near their campus). If the student knows where they are going, gift cards to local restaurants, Starbucks, etc. might be fun too.

[fireflyscout]

Season 3 and on of Gilmore Girls - when Rory is applying to colleges/attending Yale.

[HImom]

If you're thinking of bedding/linens, keep in mind that many colleges require extra long twin bedding, so that might be something worth considering. Most kids consider that "school supplies" and aren't thrilled with that anyway.

A "natural" time to get study & college app books is when the family goes to the bookstore & browses. This way the students & parents can have input before the choice is made--much better than having the books gather dust. "Tooth & Nail" is an interesting SAT vocabulary book that my S enjoyed--his sister didn't even open it. I admit S didn't open most of the college app books I purchased for him & D didn't open any of them at all (she just applied as a transfer to one school & was accepted there). In my next life, won't purchase such books for the kids & just let them use the resources at their college counseling center. Donated the books to the public library. <sigh>

[Calcruzer]

Well, my son, who is now a junior, always asks for money so that he can make his own gift choices--but similar to what "theredsmileyface" said (post#38), this past summer we all went to San Francisco's Chinatown (near where we live) so he could pick out a nice teapot set to take back with him to college (in Bloomington, Indiana).

He said it was the thing he needed the most during the cold winter months while studying into the late nights.

[soozievt]

We don't celebrate Christmas and so it is not like my kids get a ton of gifts in December and usually get one big thing that we discuss with them ahead of time.

That said, I think it all depends on the kid but I don't agree with some on this thread that kids would just bristle to get anything college related (juniors/seniors in HS). When my oldest child turned 16, her birthday was the first day of junior year of HS. While not her ONLY birthday present, we did get her the college directories/guidebooks and this was not an "ugh" present but rather an exciting time in her life to begin to look toward college and to explore colleges. Perusing such guidebooks to find colleges that were appealing was rather fun. I admit, I would be less inclined to call SAT prep books "fun"....LOL. But exploring colleges in guidebooks is not so "ugh" to all kids! I'd like to think that it is fun to look ahead at all the options out there and that that is a good starting point for the college selection process, which I think should begin in fall of junior year. Thus, I could see giving a junior college directories as one of their holiday gifts, but if you think your kid would not happily receive such an item, your mileage may vary.

If the student is a senior in high school, then the holidays may be a good time to get some of the bigger ticket items needed for college....be it a laptop, printer, mini fridge, bed linens, desk lamp, etc.

[HImom]

If your child will have to be flying to his/her campus, you may want to hold off on buying bulky items until arriving at the city where your child is located to avoid excessive baggage fees that can add up pretty quickly. It is amazing how much space the gear can take up, bedding, printer, etc. Also, some schools provide a mini-fridge/microwave, which is another reason for holding off on purchasing such items.

Bed linens vary depending on the size of the bed, so you may want to know which school your child will be attending & the size of the beds before purchasing.

[soozievt]

Truthfully, we didn't get any of that stuff for college until high school graduation.

[HImom]

We bought S some XL twin flannel sheet sets on-line on an after-Christmas sale for $10 apiece & had them mailed to us because we figured it was an amazing price & we didn't think it would be as readily available when he was moving into the dorm in the fall. He has saved them & offered them to to his sister when she starts this January.

Senior year, S got "What do you say to a naked room mate?" from one of my buddies. He got warm clothing from an aunt & the multi-tool from me. D skipped senior year, so can't say what she would have gotten. She's gotten warm long-sleeved gear this birthday (November) for her to take up to college when she starts next month as a transfer: 2 long-sleeved t-shirts, one lightweight hoodie, one wool blazer. I bought her an ipod. For Christmas, I bought her a thick reversible hoodie, a cordoroy hooded jacket, a down substitute throw, chenille scarf, 2 long-sleeved t-shirts and a flat, folding umbrella.

[paying3tuitions]

Now I'm tempted to tell the D's that they're getting vaccines for Chanukah.

LOL, SlitheyTove, would that be 8 shots? Ouch! Puts the lie to: "hey, we're so lucky, we get eight days instead of just one."

I like to give travel-related objects, because it says you expect they'll be going off on their own someday. If not a small rolling overnight suitcase (perfect for air travel or campus overnights) it could be an organizer for cosmetics/shaving that goes into any suitcase.

Digital camera if they don't yet have their own, which can be used for proms, college visits, and more.

Pocket-sized videocamera, to record a college tour and remember what they see later on.

All of those seem nice to receive, are useful for exploring colleges, but have so many other uses, they don't imply "college pressure."

Here, up North, we discovered our D was cold in her bedroom so bought her a small electric spaceheater, which she popped under her computer desk near her feet. It helped her through writing the apps, and she took it off to her dorm room, too (which turned out to be overheated, so we got her a fan that year..).

Popcorn popper, if you don't yet have one. Buy it for the family; then give it to the college kid to take away freshman year. Meanwhile, kick back and just watch more movies together!

[HImom]

There are some really cool mini camcorders out these days & priced under $200. The prices of digital cameras are really dropping, but with electronics, check out the return policy BEFORE purchasing so you aren't hit with a restocking fee you don't expect.

[soozievt]

There are big ticket items that most kids have in college and so if your kid doesn't have them yet and you can afford them, you could start getting these as holiday and birthday gifts leading up to college (though I bet there are high school kids who already have some of these things): laptop, printer/scanner/copier, external hard drive, digital camera, IPod, headphones, cell phone. These were occasion type gifts for my kids.

[HImom]

Oh yea, noise-cancelling headphones were on S's wishlist for quite a while. Those can be quite pricey but are very individual as to which ones are preferred. External hard drives & jump drives with large capacities (up to 32gb) can be very handy as well.

[paying3tuitions]

Here's another direction to consider: tickets to things they've never seen before, which will give them some confidence that they are people of the world, for example: a symphony orchestra; live theater; professional sports event; industry fair.

Whatever they have not yet attended in their lifetime so far, even if it's a bit outside their comfort zone. If they attend now, it will make them more likely to explore those places on campus visits, and later attend such events on campus.

Consider buying them 2 tix to invite their best friend, rather than go as a family, if you think that'd be happier for them. IT's great to be taken as a child to see The Nutcracker; quite another to be given two tickets to a professional modern dance recital or hear something edgey...like Debussy. with a friend.

You'd be amazed. Our regional theater community here discovered that many young adults had been to movies but never to a live professional theater production, other than high school plays/musicals. They actually paid two sets of college student couples to come and experience one. It was covered in the newspaper.

And in our house, which is all about performance, we had never gone to a single professional sports event. So we all went to see the Toronto Blue Jays, just to see what everyone is talking about with their excitement over spectator sports.

[CountingDown]

Great ideas, P3T. I was so thrilled this fall when S went to see a touring Broadway show in his new city. (the joys of buying large blocks of student discount tickets!) Exposuure to the fine arts or a good lecture, sports event, etc., gives young people context and depth beyond their own experiences.

For the record, I didn't buy my kid a wipe-off calendar or storage boxes as gifts! It was part of the "let's get this %$#@ organized before it overwhelms us" contortions I periodically experience.