Lost about what to get a college kid on your list? Take it from someone who teaches them . . .
I did a quick survey at the end of the semester about what college kids might want as gifts from "other than parents." Yeah. They hit the "folks" up for cars, iPods, TVs and other big ticket gifts though many clearly understood that families had big bills with college and were fine with things like DVDs or CDs. Overall, the college kids were pretty modest in terms of what would make them "smile." They're just "people" too though gift choices do differ than looking at the little kid or adult age group.
One thing that was mentioned over and over was "gift certificates" for restaurants. It does get old eating at the cafeteria every day, especially at small colleges where there are not loads of on-campus options. Even on big campuses, it's nice to order out.
It's a good idea to check the town where your college buddy or relative hangs. Different towns have different restaurants. It doesn't take long to check. If you're really not net savvy, just call the college and ask what restaurants are favorites close by. Someone can and should tell you.
In terms of dollar amounts, the kids seemed to think that $10 or $15 was great for general folks who would give something at the holiday. If you are a real casual contact and hit them with $5 (about enough to get a meal most places), then that was good too. Higher dollar amounts were definately appreciated. The MAX out dollar amount where college kids were blown away seemed to be $50. For a restaurant tab or for a big box store like WalMart where they can stock up on snacks, the kids (young people perhaps I should say) thought $50 was a fortune.
If you do have a college kid on your list, you really can't go wrong with food. OK. I'm from the south, but many of my students come from across the country. They love to have food money - no matter where they come from. The WalMart gift cards (which include food) and gas cards rank high overall. The college kids also like t-shirts and hoodie jackets but mostly with sports teams, so you'd need to find out what team they liked with that. A campus bookstore gift certificate (call and check) could mean they get the school logos and also could be used for books (we can hope) and other small fun things.
