25 Amazing Gift Ideas For College Students Under $25
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This post is about affordable holiday gift ideas.
The holiday season is a fantastic time of year, especially if you’re a college student.
When you’re a financially troubled college student, getting useful gifts during the holiday season makes a world of difference.
If you’re buying the college student these gifts, don’t stress. There is absolutely no need to buy a college student an expensive gift. Instead, there’s tons of super useful gifts that are an affordable price, and they’re perfectly laid out in this post.
In this post I show you 25 amazing gifts perfect for college students, all equal to or under $25. These fantastic holiday gift ideas are affordable, perfect for all college students, and are guaranteed to be loved by all!
Here’s 25 holiday gift ideas for students under $25.
HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR STUDENTS
1 – REUSABLE STRAWS
We all know that the insane amount of plastic we use every day is just one of the variables that’s killing the planet. Are you guilty of using straws constantly? Make the switch to reusable ones! Or better yet, gift them to someone!
Not only are they affordable, but they make a perfect addition to any other holiday gifts.
2 – YETI MUG
Yeti is super popular, especially the water bottles. However, I think the yeti mugs are super underrated! If you know a college student that loves drinking tons of tea or coffee, this is the perfect gift for them.
3 – COMFY THROW BLANKET
This lined throw blanket is perfect for a college student to put in a living room, or snuggle up with on their dorm bed.
If the college student you’re buying gifts for lives somewhere especially cold, this is an absolute essential gift for them!
4 – TRENDY SCRUNCHIES
As of lately, scrunchies are back. I LOVE all of my scrunchies! They’re super cute as bracelets, and in my opinion they are a lot less damaging to your hair than traditional hair ties due to the fabric covering.
Here’s my absolute favorite light options for dorm rooms.
5 – NEW PHONE CHARGERS
Phone chargers are constantly breaking, and you truly can never have enough phone charging cords.
These are my favorite, and they last quite a while!
6 – TILE KEY FINDER
I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I have lost my keys and literally spent so much time trying to find them that I would end up being late to whatever I was going to.
In college, everything is a new space and losing things gets that much easier. I feel like keys are the worst victim of this!
A tile key finder is fantastic for finding your keys, no matter where they are. I wish I would’ve had one of these so much sooner.
7 – MUJI PENS
I cannot give these pens the review they truly deserve – there isn’t enough stars in the world.
Ever since I began using these pens, it’s honestly difficult for me to use anything else. These pens are fantastic, and I promise they will not disappoint. If precise lines and letters are your thing, these pens are a must have.
8 – ESSENTIAL OIL DIFFUSER
Essential oil diffusers are the perfect gift for college students, especially students who are living in the dorms.
Essential oil diffusers are perfect for adding a nice fresh scent to a dorm room or apartment, and I especially love using mine when I’m studying.
9 – TRENDY, CUTE HAMPER
A trendy, cute hamper is a gift that is never wrong for college students. I think this would be an especially good gift to give a student who is a current senior in high school and is planning to attend college in the coming year.
10 – SWELL WATER BOTTLE
Swell water bottles are so trendy and popular, and they come in a ton of different colors. Not only that, they’re under $25!
12 – TWIN XL SHEETS
This gift is perfect if the student is living in the dorms currently, or will be living in the dorms in the future. Every dorm room in America commonly has twin xl sheets.
I really like these microfiber sheets, especially in the winter!
13 – HOLIDAY MUGS
Buying gifts for a coffee lover? Getting them some holiday themed mugs is a perfect way for them to finish off the holiday season.
14 – CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY
Cards against humanity is an absolute classic game in college culture. If you’re looking to get a college student a gift that will truly keep on giving, this is that gift.
15 – MEAL PREP CONTAINERS
Encouraging a student to meal prep is fantastic for both their wellbeing and their wallet. Beginning to meal prep every week has saved me tons and tons of money and time.
When I first started meal prepping, I quickly realized that having a set of glass, square, airtight containers was absolutely essential. Here’s my favorite!
16 – CHAPSTICK SETS
Dry lips are a serious issue, especially in the winter. I absolutely love being gifted chapstick! It gives me the opportunity to try a new chapstick, and lets me stock up in the various places I like to keep chapstick around my life.
Here’s some of my favorite sets, perfect for the holidays.
17 – TRENDY LAUNDRY BAG
A laundry bag is a fantastic holiday gift idea for a high school senior that’s planning to attend college in the coming school year.
I absolutely love trendy laundry bags, especially when they’re functional! Here’s my top picks. I personally have the rolling laundry hamper, since my apartment is literally on the opposite end of the laundry room in my apartment building.
18 – DESKTOP POWER STRIP
When it comes to power strips, you can never have enough in a dorm room or any other college housing. There’s tons of options surrounding power strips, but I personally love this desktop option. It has 4 USB ports and 3 regular outlets, and it’s fantastic for sticking onto a desk with command strips and never having to worry about moving furniture to get to an outlet.
19 – CHAMPION SWEATPANTS
If I’m ever at my house, at all, I’m wearing these sweatpants. I have a pair of black ones and a pair of gray ones, and they are the most comfy pants I have ever owned!
These are affordable, unisex joggers with a little bit of a high waist, which makes these sweatpants also perfect for wearing with a crop top sweatshirt.
20 – STRING LIGHTS
String lights are the perfect holiday decor gift, especially for a student. When it comes to living in a dorm or other college housing, there is absolutely no room for a ton of seasonal decorations. Therefore, buying students decorations that can be used on much more occasions than just the holiday months is perfect!
Here’s my favorite string light options.
21 – SLIPPERS
A pair of nice slippers is perfect for gifting to a student that has to deal with cold dorm floors or a cold apartment during the winter months.
I only had a pair of Birkenstock sandals for the winter months last year, which worked just fine, but I definitely invested in a pair of slippers for this round of winter. Here’s my favorite picks.
22 – PERSONAL BLENDER
There is absolutely no point having a full sized blender while you’re at college, unless you plan on sharing one in a communal kitchen with roommates. However, if you love smoothies or anything else you would eat regularly that needs to be blended, this personal blender is perfect for you.
23 – HIMALAYAN SALT LAMP
I really love the look of these pink salt lamps, especially for keeping in a college dorm. They can help purify the air a little more, and they’re perfect for some late night lighting in a dorm room with harsh over head lights.
24 – LIGHTED MAKEUP MIRROR
It’s no joke that dorm room lighting is an absolute joke. If you’re as lucky as I am, the lighting will only get worse once you move out of the dorms. This lack of lighting ends up being pretty manageable, except for in the case of applying makeup! This problem is easily solved with a lighted desktop makeup mirror.
25 – DOUBLE HAMMOCK
If you’ve read my recommendations page, you’ll know that a double hammock holds a special place in my heart. My current partner, Ian, who is an absolute person of perfection, took me hammocking in a double hammock on our first date. I love them for this reason!