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The Best Websites to Find Gifts for College Students
Gift shopping for someone in college is easier said than done. Should you buy them something practical they can use everyday? Or maybe you want to find a gift that’s more unique and personal. Where do you even find gifts for college students in the first place?
To make your search for the right gift a lot easier, I’ve compiled a list of some of the best websites I could find on the internet and ones I really enjoyed using when I was in college. If you want to find the perfect college gift for someone in your life, check out the websites below.
Cratejoy
One of the best places to find subscription boxes and care packages for college students is on Cratejoy. It’s basically one giant hub for businesses to sell their own subscription boxes, many of which are high quality and come with some super helpful items for college.
Instead of giving someone in college just one item as a gift, you can give them a whole care package full of items. Cratejoy has tons of college related subscription boxes filled with useful, motivational, and even unique items.
Vat19
I don’t think I’ve seen so many cool and hilarious items in one place before. If you’ve never heard of Vat19, you definitely need to check it out. You could spend hours on their website looking at all the crazy stuff they have. You want the world’s smallest vacuum? they got it. How about an instant photo printer for your phone? They have that too. They even sell a human slingshot.
Desk accessories, unique foods and candies, gadgets, clothes, games, outdoor items, I could go on and on. The best part about Vat19 is that they sell items you didn’t even know existed, and a lot of them would make awesome gifts for college students.
Greek Gear
If the person you’re trying to find a gift for is in a fraternity or sorority, then I highly recommend Greek Gear. They sell tons of high-quality greek apparel items, accessories, and other merchandise at very affordable prices. Just like Vat19, you could spend hours on their website looking at all the products they have.
Some of my favorites are their gift sets, car items, keychains, and flags. They even have a section for customizing your own clothes, drinkware, and other items. There’s also categories for big & little gifts, school supplies, party favors, and jewelry.
Casely
Casely is an innovative tech accessories company that sells premium phones cases, AirPod cases, and other unique accessories. All of their products are affordable and use the finest materials, but what really sets Casely apart from other companies is the amount of unique designs they have for their products, especially their phone cases.
Casely has a variety of different case collections with over a dozen different styles, such as marble, holographic, tie dye, and rose gold — for iPhones and Samsung phones only.
They have cases for all iPhone models that are 6/6s and newer. For Samsung users, they have cases for all the latest Note models. Casely also sells other accessories for phones, such as AirTag keychains, wallets, phone rings and loops, screen protectors, and stickers.
Layla Sleep
College students can always use a better nights sleep. That’s why the super comfy bedding items at Layla Sleep will make great gifts for them. Students can transform their cheap college dorm mattress with Layla Sleep’s memory foam topper, bamboo sheets, and pillows.
It’s also worth mentioning their unique weighted blanket that would be perfect for college students — it can improve their quality of sleep and relieve both stress and anxiety.
They even sell two types of mattresses that use cutting-edge copper gel infused memory foam. The mattresses have a unique flippable design, which means one side is firm and the other is more soft. You can sleep on either side, depending on what you prefer.
DormCo
Pretty much every possible college dorm room item a student will ever want or need can be found on DormCo. They are one of the leading retailers for all dorm essentials. All of their products have been personally selected by people who know exactly what college students need for their dorm.
With the multitude of items on their website, you should have no problem finding a gift for a student’s dorm room or really wherever they live while in college. Some of the essentials they sell include bedding items, headboards, organizers, storage items, different seating options, tech essentials, and much more.
HidrateSpark
The majority of college students usually carry a water bottle with them around campus and to their classes, so why shouldn’t they carry the smartest one every invented? That’s exactly what they’ll get with the water bottles from HidrateSpark. The company sells several different water bottles that all connect to their HidrateSpark App via Bluetooth.
One of their newer bottles even lets you connect just by taping your phone on it. You can use the app to track your water intake, set daily hydration goals, and as a location finder if you ever lose your water bottle. The app allows you to connect with your friends and integrates other fitness apps, like Apple Health and Fitbit.
The HidrateSpark Pro — their most popular water bottle — comes with some pretty awesome features. There’s a smart sensor LED puck on the bottom of the water bottle that glows to remind you when it’s time to drink. The LED puck has six different color combinations, and the stainless steel body of the water bottle comes in several really nice colors.
SmoothieBox
SmoothieBox is a website sells a variety of healthy and delicious smoothies. They also have different protein flavors, a grass-fed collagen, and SuperGreens that can come with their smoothie flavors. Their current smoothie flavors are green, cacao, berry, clementine, and strawberry banana.
The process of selecting a box and what you want in it is quite simple; just select one of the smoothie box options they offer or customize your own box. After that, you’ll have the option to add in one of their smoothie boosters.
Once your first box is purchased, a new one will be delivered every four weeks. And every box will come with 20 smoothie flavors of your choosing.
Pop Chart
Pop Chart specializes in creating unique and super detailed infographic posters that would look awesome in a college student’s dorm room. They have a range of different categories for their print posters, such as fashion, Americana, music, sports, tech, and more.
They also sell some unique scratch off posters. One of my favorites is their US landmarks and monuments interactive map. It’s filled with over 200 significant sights, and you can scratch off any of the ones you visit to reveal a cool picture of the landmark or monument. If you’re thinking of buying a poster, you can click here to get 20% off your first order of $30 or more.
Mead & Five Star
School supplies might not be the most exciting gifts for college students, but they’re essential for any student’s academic success. Both Mead and Five Star sell top-of-the-line school supplies, such as notebooks, binders, and planners. Everything students need to stay organized and prepared can be found on their websites.
All of their products are durable and built to last. I actually used many of their notebooks and binders when I was in grade school and all throughout my college years, so I know personally how reliable they are.
Lovepop
If you want to get your gift recipient in college the most unique and stunning greeting card ever, Lovepop is the place for you. I can honestly say I have never seen greeting cards as impressive as theirs. By combining art and engineering, Lovepop is able to design visually stunning popup cards and other popup gift products.
When it comes to their popup cards, they have ones for different occasions, holidays, recipients, and more. My favorites are their Marvel and Disney cards/gifts, which I recommend checking out.
Besides cards, they have lots of other gift items, including wreaths, bouquets, stationary, and stickers. You can even sign up for one of their monthly subscriptions to receive discounts and products each month.
Diy Gift Baskets
The home for all things gift baskets is Design It Yourself Gift Baskets. They have every type of gift basket you could possible imagine and unique ones you never would’ve thought of. When you go on their website, you’ll see categories for dozens of different gift baskets, such as specialty themed baskets, holiday baskets, baskets for different occasions, and even care packages for college students.
The other cool part about Diy Gift Baskets is that they allow you to fully customize your own gift basket. You can do this through their gift express option or design it yourself option.
Terra Threads
What I love about Terra Threads is how everything they manufacture is completely sustainable and eco-friendly. They make backpacks and bags that are made with Fairtrade Certified Organic Cotton — free of toxic chemicals like GMO’s and pesticides. All of their products are carbon neutral and made in a Fair Trade USA Certified Factory.
Terra Thread products are extremely durable, stylish, and reasonably priced. Some of the specific items they make include laptop sleeves, tote bags, backpacks, toiletry bags, and gym bags.
eGifter
Gift cards make perfect gifts because they provide the recipient with the flexibility to buy what they want. Gift cards also have an element of thoughtfulness to them since you can buy one to someone’s favorite restaurant or store. With eGifter, you’ll be able to browse through hundreds of gift cards from popular brands so you can find the best one for your gift recipient.
They also sell several of their eGifter Choice cards, which can be used for any of the brands on the eGifter website. For instance, you can buy your gift recipient the eGifter Takout Choice Card so they can choose from dozens of well-known restaurant brands, such as Chili’s, Texas Roadhouse, Red Robin, and more.
Additionally, eGifter offers many deals and promos so you can buy gift cards at discounted prices. As if that wasn’t enough, you and your friends have the ability to all pitch in money for someone’s gift card through their Group Gift feature. This lets everyone privately contribute and leave their own personalized message.
