Gift cards. It may come as no surprise, but gift cards can be considered one of the most practical and useful gifts for college students. Families can purchase gift cards for on-campus food establishments or off-campus food establishments for their students to use once they return to their residence hall or apartment. FSU families can give students gift cards to places such as Chick-Fil-A, 4 Rivers BBQ, Starbucks, Madison Social, RedEye Coffee, and more.

FSU merchandise. You can never go wrong with some FSU merchandise for the holidays! All over campus, students are caught sporting FSU t-shirts, jackets, shorts, backpacks, sweatshirts, phone cases, and more. There is almost no end to the FSU-themed items you can buy, and there are several stores open to the public and operating online in Tallahassee that allow you to purchase FSU gear for your student. FSU families can shop at the FSU Bookstore, Alumni Hall, Garnet & Gold, Bill’s Bookstore, and Barefoot Campus Outfitter.

Technology. As many students continue to complete courses remotely, gifting some pieces of technology for your student isn’t a bad idea. Many students have opted to use popular headphone and earbud options to survive their online classes if living with other students. Apple, Beats, Sony, and Bose offer a variety of styles and designs, ranging from cordless earbuds to your standard over-the-ear headphones. 

In addition to headphones, many students have found tablets and iPads to be very useful school supplies--some students even use their tablet over a laptop. Tablets offer a lightweight and interactive alternative to a laptop, and allow students to take notes, view videos, and watch lectures. Accessories such as bluetooth keyboards and styluses make using a tablet for class even more accessible to some students.

Blue light glasses and blue light screen protectors are great tools for students to use as their screen time increases. To avoid eye strain, disrupted sleep, and headaches, blue light glasses and screen protectors can assist students with their physical help as they continue to work remotely. 

Streaming Services. If your students’ favorite pastime is watching movies, tv shows, or listening to music, then giving your student a popular streaming service for the holidays could be the perfect gift for them. Since the COVID pandemic began, many students have found comfort in streaming shows and music off popular streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Apple Music, Disney +, Amazon Prime Video, and more. Consider pre-paying or purchasing a gift card for one of these streaming services as a gift for the holidays. 

Apartment and residence hall accessories. With students that live in residence halls and off-campus apartments, there are tons of gift options that will help them decorate and make their space feel like home. Keeping up with some trends right now, your student might be interested in plants and decorating their space with a few indoor plants, greenery, and succulents; add a cute pot for the plant and you have one gift down for your student.

Another popular room decoration for students has been LED lights. These come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but many students opt for the adhesive strip lights so they can stick them to the top of their walls or around furniture.

For the student who loves playing music, a great gift that never goes out of style is a good, old-fashioned record player. Record players come in so many attractive designs and are easily portable. Many current artists even continue to produce their music in vinyls because of the increase in popularity among record players. If you're looking for something a little more modern, an Alexa, Echo, or Google Dot are great speakers for your student to play music through. These speakers also offer a variety of other functions as well. 

Hobby-oriented gifts. If your student has picked up a new hobby during quarantine, indulge their new pastime and consider giving them some supplies or accessories. 

If your student has taken an interest in cooking or baking, they might be interested in some cooking supplies or some recipe books. You could also consider giving your student some family recipes as a gift so they are able to make their favorite dishes at their home away from home.

For students that have become interested in creating artwork or journaling, there’s a variety of options to give them as a gift. Your student might enjoy some nice color pencils or markers, acrylic or watercolor paints, stencils, stickers, or washi tape to use for their next creation.

Has your student turned to athletics or exercising during quarantine? Perhaps giving them some new exercise equipment or some new workout clothes will help them as they continue to pursue their new hobby. 

Many students have become interested in making their own coffee at home, and there’s a lot of accessories that are great options for gifts. On top of a standard coffee pot or single-cup coffee machines, your student might want some coffee grounds or k-cups, syrups and other flavorings, a milk frother, and fun coffee mugs to drink their coffee out of.