University Essentials

[aibutohavethisusername]

Apart from a decent backpack what would you say the essentials are.
Thinking of Christmas gifts for DD. Thanks.

Hate to break it to you MrKlaw but if your DS is watching any live TV on an iPad or iplaying BBC programmes he probably needs a TV licence.

Travel mug (Contigo is the best), water bottle and food boxes for lunch. I have Sistema ones which have compartments for dips and things. There are also very small ones for snacks such as nuts. A nice rucksack. Kanken are popular at my local uni but they are £80!!! A nice gift to send her away with is posh tea and coffee, with mugs to serve it in.

DD bought herself a Kanken recently.

ZandathePanda

If I tried to put our cat in fancy dress, I'd be the one needing the first aid tin.

Towels, cook set, cookery book and lessons if needed, stationary, bedding, iron, kettle, winter coat, boots. But warning they may not appreciate it so early!

Oh and a reusable mug John Lewis has no leak ones, and stay cool water bottle

I can just visualise those university kitchens with 8 toasters, 8 slow cookers, 8 blenders, 8 sets of kitchen knives, 8 sandwich makers and so on. It’s really sensible to hold off getting any of this stuff!

I got a new lap top for mine - I think it might have been an 18th birthday present too (as they just had old ones that would not have been suitable).

Ironoaks yep had to open the box of plasters 😁. It was placing a toy stethoscope on the cat chest so not that ambitious. Definitely didn’t attempt the nurses cap though! I was car booting Dds old early learning centre drs kit so was being sentimental. Cats have no sympathy.

Scissors (kitchen pair and general use pair)

Serious talks about alcohol poisoning, looking out for your mates, drugs, condoms, etc. Because nearly everyone learns by getting it badly wrong at least once, and she needs to minimise the chances of permanent or damaging consequences, not just for herself but for her mates. And you can't do this in one embarrassing lump just before they go. Start now and reinforce over coming months.

Small tool kit, ( I got one from middle aisle in Aldi) , has varied screw drivers etc , have used mine for years!
Fleece blanket
Extension lead
Battery operated fairy lights
I gave my 3 dcs old pots/ pans / cutlery as unlikely to see them again!
and bought myself new ones

@SurpriseSparDay

from that website:
Do I need a TV Licence to watch TV away from home?
If you’re watching away from your home on a phone, tablet or laptop, and:

your device is not plugged in (i.e. you’re watching or recording live TV programmes on any channel, or downloading or watching BBC programmes on iPlayer, using devices powered solely by internal batteries) you will be covered by your home TV Licence.

I've told DS he doesn't need one.

Re pots and pans - it's not unheard of for student accommodation to have induction hobs, so 'normal' cast-offs may or may not work and again best not buy new until you know the details.

I was going to suggest reusable coffee cup (my uni has a 25p surcharge on all paper cups) but get a short height one - the big contigo type ones can’t be used in the coffee shops on our campus as they don’t fit under the coffee shop machine nozzles (I’ve had to stop taking my beloved contigo one in and am now using a smaller one I got from uni as a freebie - they gave one to any fresher who wanted one). Also one of the nice refillable water bottles.

Decent headphones to block out noise when the library is full of knobheads using it like a secondary school common room (can you tell my current pet hate on campus at all)

I am a cowbag & won't get my DD most of this.
cookbook?! They all look online instead.

Any linens or towels will be our old spare stuff.

In no universe are fairy lights 'essential'.

No way DD will use an iron. etc.

Each to their own ragged, I got the fairy lights to make her room feel homely.

I’ll probably get her some towels and bedding, I work in a Supermarket.

TBF, quite a few of the items mentioned aren't 'University Essentials' - some of them are more fun or luxury items which are good for Xmas presents.

Actually the one that seems to rank number 1 of the "stuff I really need and didn't bring when I went to university" judging by the number of them I've seen being carried back across campus from town in the last few weeks is a clothes airer. It's become a bit of a standing joke with DH (who didn't believe students needed such a thing) about how many I've spotted en-route back from Wilkos to halls each day.

A not too tall coffee mug and decent headphones (loads of our lecturers post things like youtube clips or videos of previous lectures to watch back) would be my absolute must-haves though.

A spare laptop and phone charger. DD has had to panic buy a laptop charger today.

Oh yeah, with a nice long power cord if possible. There's a scramble at the end of a long day for seats where you can plug a laptop in!

Door wedges, exam survival kit (ear plugs, focus balm, rescue remedy), we made a treat tin too (chocolates, sweets, stationery bits etc. I do “Mum Mail” through the year, just to keep him going and he loves getting a little parcel of goodies when he’s not expecting them, so you could promise that through the year too! Good slippers too for when they are chilling in their rooms!

And (cringe) I made him a book of notes, how to work the washing machine, emergency phone numbers, easy cooking stuff, basic health/first aid stuff, reminders to look out for friends etc if they are ill, and an emergency £10 note which he hasn’t used. Have no idea if he’s used it but made me feel better knowing I’d “told” him.

Tagging along for ideas, I’ll be doing this next year.

So far I have bought food storage boxes for both, twins.
Individual coffee brew thing, like a tea infuser you put into a mug, for one.

My DD loves her heated throw. Her room isn’t very warm really so she stays cosy without breaking rules on heaters. It is on it’s second student as it was DD1’s when she was in uni. As were the fairy lights