The Ultimate Gift Guide for a Broke College Student
Image credit to @nina_mercado via Unsplash
As the most wonderful time of the year approaches the calendar, the nation’s department stores are setting us up to blow all of our money on overpriced holiday-themed items. We love to get our friends and families gifts galore, but there’s a way to do so without placing our wallets on the naughty list. We’ve combined our unhealthy obsession with retail therapy and our goal to be elves on a budget this year into a comprehensive gift guide just for you. Let’s get the sleigh bells ringing and the credit transactions jingling with approval this year ladies.
Skin Care for Your Product-Obsessed Bestie
We all have that friend with obnoxiously radiant skin and a knack for collecting cute packaging. So, as the amazing gift-givers we are, let’s go all out with adorable, affordable skincare items to keep our gorgeous gurus glowing.
Perhaps a caffeine mask from 100% Pure will do the trick. Utilizing our campus survival essential, caffeine, to calm irritated skin and hydrate sun damage, this company is reeling us into a great gift for a reasonable price.
Or, if your bestie is too hyper for a caffeinated product, you can go the ~calming~ route with an aromatic jelly cleanser to start and end the day. Rumor has it that cocokind’s aha jelly cleanser removes last night’s frat makeup with ease—and keeps those pores under control at a comparable cost. And, it comes in a pretty pink bottle.
Emotional Support Totes For Your Main Character Comrade
There’s nothing like drinking an absurdly expensive, mediocre latte while tripping over your platform shoes on the way to campus with a custom tote bag swinging effortlessly over your shoulder. We all have that friend who wears a scraggly bookstore tote that’s made it through three breakups and is on the last of its nine lives—so it’s time to do ‘em a favor and inspire a new pet tote.
Personally, we are mesmerized by this floral tote from Amazon, and we know your high school English teacher would approve of the aesthetic.
To be honest, we’re also a bit choked up over how cute this redbubble picnic frog tote bag is. How can you be sad if you’re carrying around a frog eating a charcuterie board all day? The serotonin this gift will bring is worth the $13.00, trust us.
Aesthetic Book Paraphernalia for your Reading Roomie
If you have a reader in your life, you know the absolute chaos that ensues in their bedroom’s makeshift book spaces. Everything is a bookshelf for these devoted literature lovers—including all available surfaces, corners, and closet space. Whether you live with this bookworm or not, help them out to clear some space and display their precious paperbacks with style.
What’s cooler and vibier than vinyl record bookends from Etsy? That’s a trick question because these are the coolest and vibiest bookends you could get for your fellow reader. For under $15.00, the recipient of your gift will be able to hold up timeless classics and lovingly dog-eared novels for years to come.
Or, if you want to really curate a book-loving atmosphere, you can go with these wonderful literature candles from Uncommon Goods. Imagine the excitement in a classic reader’s eyes when opening a Gatsby-themed candle. Perhaps burning the candle will help your reader write something as great as F.Scott Fitzgerald did when he put us in our feels with the line: “I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”
Whether you’re shopping for someone you know incredibly well, or looking for a safe gift to buy for the ol’ stereotypical secret Santa party, we hope this guide helps inspire your elf energy to pop off while remaining financially sustainable.