17 great holiday gifts for college students
(MoneyWatch) With Thanksgiving coming unusually late this year, now is the time to start searching for Christmas gifts for college students. On the list are some hot new electronic ideas, some traditional gift suggestions and even jazzy new inventions.
Here are 17 gift ideas for college students to get you started:
1. Anki DRIVE. This new toy should be a huge hit with college guys. Anki Driveis a $200 racing game with a track and cars that players control with their iPhones or iPads. Players use their devices as steering wheels and brakes.
2. 3Doodler. Named one of Time Magazine's 25 best inventions of 2013, the 3Doodler is the world's first 3D printing pen. You can use the pen, which extrudes plastic that quickly hardens, to draw on flat surfaces or in the air ($99).
3. Urban backpacks, messengers bag, computer sleeves. With a gift certificate to Rickshaw Bagworks, you can design your own custom bag with fabrics, colors and designs that are sewn at its factory in San Francisco ($49 and up).
4. Fitness tracker. The Fitbit Orb is a new lower-priced fitness tracker from the makers of the FitBit Flex that tracks steps, distance, calories burned and active minutes. The Orb can be clipped to clothes or worn on the wrist ($97).
5. Fruit infuser bottle. With one of these fruit infuser bottles, you can make your own flavored water. A compartment inside the water bottle allows you to flavor the water with slices of limes, lemons and oranges, mint or any other flavor ($15).
6. Robotic ball. The Sphero is a robot ball that you control with your iPhone. You can set up obstacle courses and a number of games that are programmed into its app ($129.99). To protect the Sphero, you can also order a nubby cover for it($14.99).
7. Colorful stocks. Solmate Socks knits colorful, mismatched socks out of recycled cotton in Vermont that should make just about any co-ed smile ($20 and up). For guys, there is Happy Socks, a Swedish company that sells men's colorful socks ($10 and up).
8. Subscription to Hulu Plus. Hulu Plus offers mobile Internet access to current and archived TV show episodes and movies. With fewer college students owning televisions, buying a one-year Hulu Plus gift certificate could be a great gift ($95.98)
9. Xbox One. Video gamers have been eagerly waiting for Xbox One, Microsoft's new, more powerful gaming console ($500).
10. PlayStation 4. Sony sold a million of its new video-game consoles in the first 24 hours after it was released earlier this month. It's been seven years since the predecessor PlayStation 3 came out ($400).
11. A conversation piece. BeatUpCreations recycles orphaned antique plates into artwork by adding unusual graphics on dinnerware including photos of animals wearing clothes, Mr. T, Pee Wee Herman and a bearded lady ($32 and up).
12. iPad mini. The iPad mini, which is smaller than the new iPad Air, is $100 cheaper and is ideal for reading and watching movies ($400 and up).
13. Tea maker. Yes, you can just dunk a tea bag into a cup of hot water, butTeavana's tea maker promises to make the perfect cup using loose tea leaves ($19.95).
14. Fun jewelry. Urban Outfitters has rolled out some cute necklaces for the holidays, including a spiked big necklace ($34) and a snowdrop necklace ($28).
15. Moleskin notebooks. College students can never have enough of these sleek Moleskin notebooks.
16. Custom stainless steel water bottle. Customize a water bottle for your favorite runner or athlete ($18).
17. Good reads. "The Book Thief," a mesmerizing read about a girl who steals books while surviving in Nazi Germany, has been called one of the most endearing books of our time ($8). "Hyberbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem and Other Things That Happened" ($11), is an absurd and darkly comic book from Allie Brosh, who created the popular blog, Hyperbole And a Half.
