@katliamom, my son bought his girlfriend a Fossil watch, with a big face on it. Seems like “cheaper” watches but big are what’s in right now.
@1214mom, thanks for the tip. I saw some nice big ones at Macy’s… it’s for a young lady I mentor… wanted to give her something nicer but something she can also return in case it’s a misfire. She comes from very modest circumstances so even a “cheaper” blingy item will still be a pleasure to her.
I guess my family is just very practical. My kids send me a list of stuff they want for Christmas and birthdays. I pick off the items I want to purchase and give an item to their grandmother that falls within her spending budget. I want them to have stuff they want and can use more that worrying about a big surprise.
I your daughter isn’t the jewelry type she might not need/want a watch. Watches are more for fashion than practical purposes these days.
At CVS yesterday, I saw watches on sale for $3.99 (marked down from $5). They also had airline pillows marked down from $6 to $3.99! The watches were a wide assortment. I was surprised by the low price, but am not in the market for one. I bought an attractive Skagen watch from TJMaxx and it died after less than 2 years. Took it to a jeweler to change the battery (thinking that is the problem), but he said it is the “movement” and will cost $70 to repair–not worth fixing, since the watch was originally a splurge at $50!
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This is the look many young women love:
I’ve seen watches at Nordstrom Rack for much cheaper than Nordstrom at the mall or other mall stores.
If your young adult has fine bones/wrists like mine do, beware of how big a face you get–large faces don’t fit tiny wrists. This is a problem both S and D have with some watches and other jewelry. S was able to find a a watch that he likes but D has never liked watches at all, so she doesn’t bother with them.
I like the Kate Spade watch, easy to read.
If you choose to make a scrapbook album, I suggest a smaller size that will fit easily in a small bookshelf. That gives your D the option of showing it to others or just tucking it away for those moments she might need a little reassurance of her family ties. A big bulky album can be hard to display or store in a small dorm room.
Also, be sure to send along a few family pics (including the family dog!) that are not in frames or album, when she moves into her dorm room. It seems that a lot of new freshman like to tape some pics up on the dorm walls, or onto a mirror, etc. Make the sterile dorm room seems less impersonal.
My daughter (age 25) told her fiancé she wanted a watch for Christmas. She helped him choose this one:
My daughter is tiny, so he took another of her watches so wrist-size could be measured. (Yes, she likes watches though she hasn’t gotten a new one for a few years. At age 18, she considered a watch a great gift. Her high school boyfriend gave her one her junior year. In fact, that’s the watch her fiancé took to the store for wrist-size measurement.)
I cannot remember what I gave my daughters for their 18th birthdays. I do remember the gift D1 gave herself. She got a tattoo. I told her I would not give permission for the tattoo (which would have been required while she was a minor). I said it was not so much that I disapproved as that I didn’t want to feel responsible if she later was unhappy with her decision. It turned out okay although the process itself and the first few days’ after were uncomfortable.
These fashion watches are supposed to look like a man’s watch on a women’s wrist - oversized and loosely worn. The Fossil watch linked by @ignatius is called the “boyfriend” watch.
My kids are still very much into watch. They would borrow my watches sometimes for special occasions. D1 sent me a link for a very expensive watch a while back, not sure if she was hinting.
For the budget, I like the pearl earring idea. My kids wear their pearl studs often.
I agree with the pearl earrings. We gave some to our daughter and she wears them quite often. And it’s nice to have something lasting for a big birthday.
Are you paying for college? Call me old fashioned, but I think that’s a might fine gift!
(For our DD, I did pick out a modest gift that I thought would have nice sentimental value. I was wrong, and I’m sorry I spent time chasing it down when there were so much other senior year excitement.)
My dad got me $20 worth of scratch off lotto tickets. I made $23 off them and have never bought any since 
My D wears her pearl studs very often - if your D doesn’t have them, it’s a great gift.
Thank you for all the replies. She is a bit funky for pearl earrings today (think industrial piercings and Hot Topic) but I think its something she would treasure in the future. I looked at the Kate Spade watch–they do have a similar one in a white metal that is on sale. I think we may have to take a trip and let her choose.
As far as a book I am not crafty but I may do one on Shutterfly. She did one when her marching band went to Disney.
And @colorado_mom yes we are paying what she didn’t earn in scholarships!!!
So this is what I decided.
- Watch-Kate Spade
- Earrings-pearl from overstock.com
- Hand lotions from Bath and Body
- Bath bombs from Lush
- Pairs of VS underwear
- Pairs of socks
- Packs of gum
- Double A batteries
- Kind bars
- $10 Starbucks gift card
- Dollar bills
- Cans of iced tea
- Gel pens
- Flip flops from Old Navy (7 pairs)
- $15 Sephora gift card
- K cups (half caffeine or decaf)
- Reese cups
- Lottery tickets