Ideas for xmas present for niece about to start uni

[StrongLikeMamma]

What are you getting your freshers this xmas?

A travel card. Not very exciting but a necessity.

A large box of food?
Amazon voucher?

Nearest supermarket voucher

Coffee shop or Greggs voucher

Money towards something such as campus gym membership.

Ask if there’s any stash they would like relating to a club or society they’ve joined?
Or cash to pay for a trip to a competition relating to said society
(mum of now ex-student who joined dance and cheer societies and needed competition kit, stash and extra cash for overnight stays at competitions across the country)

I saw a brilliant idea on tik tok. A lady bought a scrapbook and on each page put a gift card in and wrote something on each page . For example there was a £10 boots gift card and she wrote ‘for when you need a pamper night’. A Just Eat gift card ‘for when you cannot be bothered to cook’ . An Asda gift card ‘for when it’s a tight week’. There was also a Costa gift card , Amazon, Greggs , Waterstones . There was also a scratch card in there ‘for when you’re feeling lucky’.

A rug. An air fryer (but check hall rules).

Fairy lights.

Heated blanket, cosy blankets and cosy lounge wear.

Mine wanted a fire stick, if she’s allowed an air fryer that would be good, money, takeaway vouchers, other vouchers for going for meals or buying herself something if she’s a bit skint. Nice skin care or things to make her feel pampered and at home. Nice room scents if she likes that sort of thing, a neom diffuser

Things for her room: rug, plug in fairy lights, face mirror with built in lights round the edge, nice cushion/ throw for her bed, nice storage boxes for make -up, pens etc, lamp, mattress topper ( but she won't know bed size yet probably) fake plants/ plant pots. These are all things we ended up getting for dd. The fairy lights were a game changer as they were a warm light and made her room very cosy - and plug in are bestbas theres no need to be buying batteries. Also for her birthday recently she asked for one of those projectors that cast the northern lights type thing onto your ceiling. It cost about 15 quid and she loves it; she uses it in her room and also in the kitchen if she's having a party.

A voucher for M&S if they have one locally, as they can get anything there including basic food if they're on a tight budget.

This is a lovely thought but tenners might be better so there's less admin. Mine would spend £7.26 in Boots, £6.05 in Greggs, forget what all the balances were and end up with a pile of semi used cards to manage🤣 Though not everywhere even takes cash these days.

Coffee shop voucher/card. DSs routine involves purchasing coffee on the way on early lecture days.

Pans with stainless steel bottoms because the hob in halls will probs be halogen

Mascot/cuddly toy - H and M have floorstanding giraffe and alpaca.

Streaming service membership

🤣🤣🤣🤣. That is very true !

I would give cash. Gift cards are a nuisance to spend IMO.

I bought my niece a toasted sandwich maker when she went off to uni and apparently it’s been very well used 😊

A really warm blanket for her bed.

A monitor for her laptop

A whiteboard (the kind on a stand for your desk) and matching markers. Cool stationery, note books, folders etc.

Cool bookends (check out Etsy for ideas)

A really nice thick dressing gown.

Grown up PJs.

Fairy lights are popular but check on regs - some halls are very strictly against them.

A selection of dressing up outfits for freshers week - cowboy hats, fairy wings, white dresses etc (have a look at the social media for the uni she is going to for ideas). Most of freshers week and lots of sports socials seem to involve some kind of dressing up.

Nosh for Students Cookbook. Loads of easy nutritious meal ideas made easy, because all you need to measure everything is a mug. It also has loads of practical information, like how to store food, how long it will stay safe etc, all presented in a fun, student way.
Both my ds and dd had this book, it inspired both of them to cook.

A really good alarm clock. No one else is going to help them get to morning lectures on time.

Brilliant idea thanks.