It’s that time of year!  It’s funny, I don’t know about you, but when shopping for kids I find it easier to shop for boys.  But as they grow older, women are easier to shop for than men often times.  Maybe that’s just me.  College kids aren’t exactly “kids” – they’re nearly adults and sometimes they are not easy to shop for.  In this next series of articles, we dug deep to find the best gift ideas for College Boys and Girls (note: if you’re shopping for someone fluid or nonbinary, there will be a lot of crossover so the entire series of articles will be useful for you).

Let’s dive in! Because there are a lot of option depending on the personality type of who you’re shopping for.

The R4RR Recommendations:

Magical Mornings Monthly has a cure subscription box that really targets this transitional age well.  She still digs Disney, but prob might not want a mickey mouse stuffed animal.   These are curated boxes that serve as sort of subscription box versions of Disney trips FOR ADULTS.  With Coffee, tea, treats, scented wax, and an itinerary,

Wollemi Leggings are always a great gift for any age.  I call ’em high end yoga pants.  It would be a very rare woman that doesn’t wear these/want these in her wardrobe.

 

Depending on where she goes to school, A Desden Brand University Clear Purse is pretty awesome.   Clear purses are important because they’ll allow her to be able to attend events without security rummaging through her bag one item at a time.

Designs currently available in the following teams:
– University of Texas – Longhorns (UT)
– Texas A&M – Aggies (TAM)
– Texas Tech – Red Raiders (TTU)
– Baylor University – Bears (BU)
– University of Oklahoma – Sooners (OU)
– Louisiana State University – Tigers (LSU)
– University of Arkansas – Razorbacks
– University of Alabama – Crimson Tide
– University of Georgia – Bulldogs (UGA)
– Texas Christian University – Horned Frogs (TCU)

I am a big fan of Trendhim products, and their eyewear/jewelry case is really nice.  Velvet on the inside, faux leather on the outside.  It is super glam.

Now, for jewelry to put in such a case? Bayou Glass Arts is pretty amazing.  They have an impressive collection but check out their pressed flower necklaces!!!

Another favorite jewerly pick is from Joyamo – you can get personalized name necklaces in real silver/gold.   These are high quality, stylish, and really sweet.

Does she like fun hats? Hats By Maddy has a whole array of really fun as well as meaningful hats/caps.  If anything else, you’ll have fun scrolling through the options.   They all have a fun, college-aged, vibe.

Of course, if caps aren’t her thing – French Knot by by Lindsay Mason hit the fix for that ultra high end classy vibe.

GAMES!! What college kid couldn’t use some games! Back in our day, we didn’t have phones with the world at our fingertips – so we got in trouble instead.  Most of what we did to get in trouble is legal now, but still probably not something you want to think about your college-aged family member/friend indulging in (and certainly not in 1990s quantities).  GAMES!  This is where fun games come in, and Taco vs. Burrito is one of the most popular games on Amazon. While this game is great for all ages, and created by a 7 year old, trust me – a room full of college kids will have a blast with this.

Now, what about sometime ultra creative – like a Lizzo puzzle! The Legendary Lizzo: 500-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle illustrated by Stephanie Spartels is a love letter to Lizzo, the queen of self-affirmation, soulful pop bangers, and, of course, the red carpet.  Which is what we are all about at R4RR.

Along the same lines, this Lizzo 1000 piece puzzle is another winner! Blame It On The Juice: Lizzo is a super fun 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle for adults celebrating the iconic musician Lizzo.  It is an official Lizzo product that has been illustrated by Georgia Perry, an Australian illustrator and accessories designer.

Want to encourage her to celebrate LGBTQ+ icons? BINGAY! celebrates the icons with the greatest game known to humanity: Bingo! FeaturesTrailblazers of the LGBTQ+ world, from Marsha P. Johnson to Margaret Cho, Oscar Wilde to Billy Porter, and Laverne Cox to Boy George have gathered together – in a handy game box!

AR Games! The AR Dangerous Artifacts“ AR board game has a strong dominant female character who is adventurous. This 4-person augmented reality boardgame is adding a new level to board gaming. Not only would she see the ARchallenges, but she will have to interact with them as well.  You’ve kind of got to watch the video to believe it:  https://youtu.be/GeGA_EoyUAo

Now, games being said, you might actually be a supporter of cannabis use.  In which case, The Brockton Mk2 Brass Pipe might be right gift for you.  It’s an ultra-high end brass pipe for responsible use that lights from the bottom.  You can at least rest assured she’s not using a cheap vape pen or something worse.

Now, the life of a college-aged person isn’t just fun and games.  There is a lot of stress that they’re learning to deal with.  An excellent gift that helps them develop such life skills and helps provide them some equanimity right away is A Half Hour of Peace.  These are guided meditations that help with stress and sleep.  They’re available in a really nice package if you choose the CD version.  Also, being that CD players are rather hard to find, it is also available on Amazon as a digital download. So in this case, an Amazon gift card would be the route – of course the challenge there would be getting them to actually use it on what you wanted to gift them.   So I highly recommend the CD version PLUS an oldschool CD walkman that they can use specifically for the meditations.

 

A Moon Phase Planner!  (some of you are like “WHAT?” and the rest are like “oh hell yeah! Why didn’t I think of that?”).  I am in the latter camp.  Claire E. Jones makes a Moon Phase Planner which includes detailed descriptions of each week’s season, zodiac, moon phase, retrogrades, and eclipses.  For the spiritually minded, this really helps maximize an upcoming year.

And while we’re on this subject, we’ve GOT to mention the quintessential awesome gift for anyone.  Name a star after her!!  The International Star Registry has named millions of stars for celebrities, royalty, dignitaries and individuals worldwide. Every star is permanently recorded in the only published catalog of named stars in the world. 10 Volumes of the book *Your Place in the Cosmos* have been recorded in the US Copyright Office.  You’ll get a fancy certificate that you can frame with details on the star – quite the gift.

An app to help improve her dancing skills! There is more to dancing than trying to get TikTok likes, you can help solidify that message by gifting some real dance lessons via the Everdance App which promotes a health lifestyle through dance.  Has classes, feedback, info on results.  While this is geared for women, let’s face it – everyone can benefit from such an app.

 

Now how about some fashion! This is R4RR afterall.  We really like the Margo Paige clear crossbody bag made from recycled PVC.   Sustainable and fashionable at the same time.  And useful, as we’ve mentioned before, when attending events.  Clear=you’re in the clear with security.

The Gus and Violet Dolly Fringe Handbag is another really nice high-end gift idea.  It is suede, and has a fantastic 1970’s cowgirl meets Rodeo Drive frequent-er vibe to it.  They have it in grey as well if she isn’t into the nude suede look.

What about her feet?  The Nootkas ‘Astoria’ Women’s Felted Merino Wool Slipper is a super luxuriously soft and warm slipper.  Just be mindful of sizing, if you’re buying from Amazon, they’ll translate into American sizes (or your local country’s sizes) for you.   If you’re in the U.S. or Canada, these seem to be marked in European sizes.  So a 39 is an 8, if that makes sense.  Again, not something you need to worry about if getting it on Amazon.

 

Keep her warm with a Moroccan Blanket! Verve Culture is one of the coolest shops we’ve seen in a long time.  It has an array of multicultural gifts.  In the Moroccan section there is a Moroccan Blanket that is so warm and lush it makes for an excellent gift for anyone.  At first touch you’d think – this can’t be soft enough, is this a decor blanket? But once you throw it on you’ll quickly figure out that these blankets are amazing.  The camel color option is nice because it goes with everything.

WAMA Underwear! I know what you’re thinking “Should I really be buying someone else underwear?” They do have giftcards if that makes you more comfortable, but what separates this underwear from the pack 😉 is that Wama Underwear is the leading sustainable hemp underwear brand.  Hemp underwear, especially if they’ve never tried it before, provides superior comfort, breathability, and even has antibacterial
properties.

Want her to indulge in health”ier” snacks? You can’t really tell someone in College, “Hey, don’t live off pizza and beer.  You need to care for yourself.”

But you can gift some relatively healthy snacks like BeeFree’s Salted Caramel Warrior Mix.  It isn’t low calorie by any means, but it is at least healthy.  A case of these would make for a fun gift.

This Cookie of the Month Club from “Cooke . . Take a Bite!” also works! What better way for college girls to make friends and be reminded of home
than with fresh baked cookies! Instead of just one present, you can
send your special college kid the gift that keeps on giving with a Cookie
of the Month subscription.

An Amba Heated Towel Rack is a gift that will go over EXTREMELY WELL!  It will keep her towel/robes/etc. warm and is hing in bathrooms to dry and warm towels, keeping them smelling fresher and cleaner longer and reducing laundry frequency. Takes about 10 minutes to heat up.

And while her towels are heating, she can also be steeping a cup of coffee.  Yeah, STEEPING! No fancy coffee machine needed.  Steeped is coffee that steeps like tea, and they make for nice gifts.

You can help her be social and collect memories with MyArtKit.   Events@My ArtKit is a way for her to remember the shared
memories with her friends, and have them participate too.
It’s like a college year book where the invited friends share their
memories to a central account. Private and secure.

 

Does she wear glasses? Peepers are super stylish! Lots of varieties, even if she doesn’t you can get 0 pt lenses (just glass) and she can wear them as a fashion statement.

NOW! While this should have been listed up with the other bags, I’ve saved this for last because this is my favorite gift on this whole list.  RICE LOVE BAGS.  They’re not only awesome looking, they serve an awesome purpose.  The entire concept is just ingenious and for very obvious reasons I am all about the charitable endeavor that these bags support.

For every rice love bag that is bought, Rice Love provides 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of rice, which provides the rice needed for 12 individual meals to a family. You even get to check out info on the family you supported!! So far, these seem to be Indian families.  Which makes sense, because these are stellar examples of Indian artistry and fashion that are made out of Rice Bags!!!!  They only partner with factories that respect the environment, have safe working conditions, no child labor, and at a minimum pay the local living wages. India alone has a population of 1.2 billion people. About 450 million, or 37%, are below the world poverty line, living on $1.25 USD per day. This is not something that makes sense if you haven’t seen it in person.  I’ve seen India come a long way, but I assure you this is an amazingly beneficial cause.  And even the cause aside, they are STELLAR BAGS! If these were on the shelf in a boutique you’d still want them.