Gift-Giving Guide for College Students

Gift-giving as a college student can be complicated. Of course, you'd love to treat all of your friends and family to big, beautiful gifts ... but your budget and time restrictions often prevent doing so. What options are there, then, for college students who want to give great gifts without seeming cheap or lazy?

Gifts Based on Recipients

• Great Gifts for Your College Boyfriend or Girlfriend. It's hard to come up with a meaningful, reasonably priced, personal gift for your significant other.
• Gifts for a College Roommate. A college roommate is like no one else; after all, what other person knows so much about you, puts up with your ridiculousness, and lets you eat their cereal when you're meal plan runs out? Whether it's for a roommate birthday or the holidays, make sure you get something unique for this important person in your life.
• General Gift Ideas for Moms. Be it for Mother's Day or her birthday, getting a gift for Mom is a must-do. Don't forget to make a phone call if you're away at school on the big day, too!
• Gifts for Your Siblings. You may have been incredibly close to your siblings before you left for school, or you may have been glad to have them no longer annoying you at the dinner table. Either way, forgetting a gift for your sibling can be an unforgivable offense!

Gifts Based on Situations

• Low-Cost Gift Ideas. Regardless of whom your gift is for, it needs to fit within your budget. Thoughtful low-cost gifts will make you look anything but cheap.
• Last-Minute Gift Ideas. Alright, so your friend's/roommate's/brother's birthday totally sneaked up on you. Last-minute gift ideas based on someone's hobby or creative outlet can help cover your oops-I-nearly-forgot tracks.
• Unique Valentine's Day Gifts. With so much hype, it can be hard to come up with gift ideas for Valentine's Day that are original and inexpensive.
• College Graduation Gift Ideas. Graduation season can get so chaotic that it's easy to forget to get a college graduation gift that adequately celebrates this major milestone.