The holiday season is coming up and you know what that means! Time to get treat your favourite uni student to something nice!
Whether you’ve got an undergrad, a master’s student, or a PhD student in your life, look no further than this comprehensive guide of gifts for uni students (UK) they’re sure to love.
Affiliate disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I'll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read my full disclosure here.
Note: Where they have distinct websites, I have included links to both the U.S. and UK stores for convenience. Some of these gift ideas are UK-only, so, if they're not available elsewhere, you'll just find the UK link.
1. Stationary
If there’s one thing every student needs it’s more stationary. From planning studies and dissertations to keeping all your notes from your supervision meetings safe, fancy notebooks are the perfect gift. Plus, cute new stationary is super motivating! Here are my favourites:
Constellation Notebook
Papier (U.S. Store | UK / Europe Store)
Papier has HANDS DOWN the most beautiful notebooks and planners around. Seriously. They’re about the same price as other notebooks and you can customise them. They also get new ones in all the time (warning: you may get addicted like me). Here are a few of my absolute favourites:
Paperchase
Paperchase also has some nice stationary (and other little gifts and trinkets), including some super affordable options. Here are some that I like:
(also, don’t forget, Paperchase has a student discount—check out this article for more).
You can also buy Paperchase products from Amazon UK here 🛒.
Note: unfortunately, Paperchase currently only ships to the UK, so you can't buy it from the U.S.!
Moleskine (Buy from the U.S. | Buy from the UK)
Moleskine notebooks are an absolute classic. I like this set personally and get one basically every year.
P.S. You could also buy them from Waterstone’s and get a student discount.
You can also find tonnes of other great Moleskine products on on their Amazon U.S. store and on Amazon UK 🛒.
Kikki.K (U.S. Store | UK Store)
I have been obsessed with Kikki.K notebooks for YEARS and have a bunch of them. Really, you can’t go wrong with any of them, but my faves are the Dream Life series. They've got little exercises in them which are super useful for planning your life.
You can also buy Kikki.K products on Amazon. Check out the official Kikki.K Amazon UK store here 🛒. You can also find a lot of their products on Amazon U.S. 🛒.
Desk Pads and Meal Planning Pads
I have a blank weekly tear-off calendar that saves my life on a weekly basis. I got one similar to this one for my Mom one year and she loves it too! They also have adorable meal planning pads (I should probably get one of those instead of planning my weekly meals on Notes on my iPhone).
2. Caffeine!
Coffee or fancy teas are the perfect gifts to keep your grad student firing on all cylinders. I’d suggest either some fancy beans or a subscription service like the ones below.
Whittard
Whittard has amazing coffees and teas and you can even buy gift sets from them. I’ve previously gotten them for my parents, but a uni student would surely love them as well (I know I would!)! My favourites (and my flatmates’!) are the following:
Coffees of the World Gift Set
🛒 Buy on Amazon UK
🛒 Buy from Whittard
- Other great gifts from Whittard:
- 🛒 Tea Discoveries: A Taste of Tea (you can also buy this on Amazon UK)
- 🛒 Guatemala Elephant Coffee
Note: Whittard doesn't have a separate U.S. store, but they do ship to the U.S.!
🛒 Indy Coffee Box
My friends and I bought this as a gift for another friend for her birthday, and she loves it! You get coffee beans every month from independent coffee companies. It’s the perfect way to fuel that caffeine addiction!
🛒 Pret Coffee Subscription
Pret-a-manger now offers an all you can drink monthly coffee subscription. My boyfriend has it and is definitely making good use of it! It’s only £20 per month and you get the first month free! Plus, you can even get specialty coffees like their pumpkin spice latte!
3. Food-related gifts
Everyone loves food, especially stressed out students! Students love receiving practical gifts that still feel special, so these food items are absolutely perfect.
🛒 Riverford Organics Veg Box
An organic weekly veg box is the perfect gift for a student. It saves them time and money and it’s nice to get a weekly treat in the post! My friend has this one and has made us lots of tasty meals from it.
🛒 allplants Subscription
Ditto for the allplants subscription (this saves them even more time as they don’t even have to cook anything). allplants is a vegan meal delivery service. They prepare fresh, healthy plant-based meals and deliver them right to your door.
🛒 The Vegan Kind Snack Box
The Vegan Kind do a subscription vegan snack box. My friends got me a similar one for my birthday a couple of years ago and it was SO NICE to always have tasty new snacks on hand.
🛒 Pret Coffee Subscription
As I said above, Pret-a-manger now offers an all you can drink monthly coffee subscription. It’s only £20 per month and you get the first month free!
Vegan Cheese Box
La Fauxmagerie (the first vegan cheesemonger in London) does gift sets that are DIVINE. My friend got one for me as a housewarming gift and I’m obsessed. Seriously, if you give this to any vegan students you know, I guarantee they’ll love you forever.
4. Self-care gifts for uni students UK and subscription boxes
Any sort of pampering gift set is sure to be appreciated by your student recipient! I love receiving fancy body washes and lotions especially now that I’m on a tighter budget. Here are some I’ve received or purchased for friends:
🛒 Fabfitfun Box (U.S. and UK shipping available, woo!)
The Fabfitfun Box only costs $50 per season and you get $200 worth of full-size products inside. Best of all, they now ship to the UK! One recent box featured items like Kate Spade earrings, Lilly Pulitzer mugs, a super cosy blanket, a full-sized Laura Geller palette, and other treats! And, best of all, you get to customise it to include things you’d like best!
Face Masks
You really can’t go wrong with face mask sets for students (or anyone, really!). Here are a few of my favourites (note: they're not all vegan, sorry, guys, but I loved using them before I was vegan!):
- 🛒 MISSHA Super Aqua Cell Renew Snail Hydro Mask
- 🛒 SOKO GLAM 7-Day Sheet Mask Challenge Set
- 🛒 Benton Fermentation Mask Pack
- 🛒 Leaders Brightening Recovery Mask
P.S. They ship to both the U.S. and UK from the same site!
🛒 The Vegan Kind Beauty Box
My friends got me this for my birthday last year and I discovered so many new vegan beauty products! I love getting subscription boxes as gifts because they really are the gift that keeps on giving! I’ve gotten so many nice face masks, eyeshadow palettes, scrubs, and other products in here.
5. Supermarket / department store gift cards
Gift cards for department stores that also sell food are a great shout for students. That way, they can choose whether they want to spend it on things for their home, clothes, or food!
I’d recommend one from either M&S or John Lewis/Waitrose (you can use them at both).
You could also get them an Amazon gift card so they can also use it to buy things from Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods.
Let’s be honest, gift cards for clothing stores wouldn’t go amiss either. Something like this H&M Giftcard will be sure to help them to find something they love.
6. Gifts to help them sleep
Students are notoriously sleep deprived. Here are my top suggestions for gifts to help your student sleep better:
A Lumie (an alarm clock that simulates sunrises and sunsets)
I’d recommend 🛒 this candle from Asos as well (available in the U.S. or UK using that link).
Pro tip: Wolf & Badger has lots of nice gifts as well, from homewares, to jewellery and clothing, all from independent designers. Click here to shop in the U.S. or click here to shop in the UK.
7. WFH Essentials
We’re all working from home more than usual these days. Here are some perfect gifts to make it easier for students (or anyone!)
- Cute loungewear sets. I like these ones from Asos (again, the same link should work for U.S. and UK shoppers!):
- A dressing gown. Students notoriously try to save money by not turning their heat on as much, so this is the perfect remedy!
- 🛒 This one from Asos is super cute.
- My partner 🛒 bought me this one from M&S for my birthday and it's SO SOFT (that's the UK link; if you're shopping from the U.S. 🛒 this one is similar)
Slippers!
These ones are INSANELY soft (you can 🛒 buy them on Amazon in the U.S.)
In the UK, 🛒 you can get them from Anthropologie here.
8. Plants
I love my plants! Plus, they supposedly improve your mood and purify the air. They’re a good décor option as well for students who want to liven up rented accommodation.
In particular, I find herb or veg plants useful and love to get them as gifts. For example, you could buy an herb growing kit.
Note: for pot and the cactus, you can use the same links to ship to the U.S., you just need to change your country at the bottom of the page!
The Conran Shop has loads of nice plants. As a bonus, they also have LOTS of other amazing Christmas gifts (though they tend to stock more luxury items) and it's worth a trip to Chelsea to see their Christmas gift displays.
Note: the Conran shop ships to the U.S. from their UK store!
You could also get them a seed subscription box or plant delivery subscription box.
9. Alcohol
Let’s be honest, alcohol is pretty crucial to many for surviving uni and it makes a great gift. In particular, a 🛒 beer advent calendar, 🛒 gin advent calendar, or 🛒 cocktail subscription box would be nice. Or, when all else fails, try 🛒 personalised Champagne!
10. Kitchen stuff
I always appreciate receiving nice kitchen items that I don’t necessarily need more of (or fancy versions of) and wouldn’t buy myself. For example:
11. Rain gear
If you live in the UK, you know that rain gear is a must.
I’d definitely appreciate receiving a cute rain coat like this one from Joules I have.
🛒 Buy it from the U.S. store here
🛒 buy it from the UK store here
A 🛒 nice and compact umbrella (Amazon UK link) would also make a great gift. 🛒Click here to buy the same one in the U.S. from Amazon.
12. Tech
I think everyone appreciates receiving tech products for the holidays and students are no exception. They might find something like:
- A new iPhone: 🛒 Buy on Amazon U.S. | 🛒 Buy on Amazon UK
- An Apple Watch: 🛒Buy on Amazon U.S. | 🛒 Buy on Amazon UK
Noise cancelling headphones are also a LIFESAVER and are often outside of a student’s personal budget, so they make a great gift if the giver is willing to splurge a bit!
You can buy my favourite noise cancelling headphones 🛒 on Amazon U.S. here or 🛒 on Amazon UK here.
13. Cultural gifts
Another nice gift I’ve given friends before is a National Art Pass. Other friends of mine have received an annual membership to Kew Gardens. Both offer a nice way for students to unwind and enjoy all that London has to offer. Plus, you can bring a guest with you!
4. Rent-friendly décor
Since students tend to be in rented accommodation, decorating can be difficult. I’d appreciate receiving a 🛒 nice wall print from Society6 along with some command hooks to hang it without damaging the paint (You can buy command hooks 🛒from Amazon U.S. here and 🛒 from Amazon UK here).
15. Hobbies and crafts
Hobbies and craft kits are always a fun gift to receive. I have given, received, or would buy these ones from Not On the High Street in particular:
(As a side note, Not On the High Street is a great place to find unique gifts for students and others in your life alike! Also, you can change to your preferred currency / country easily at the bottom of their site though a lot of items are only available in the UK, unfortunately.)
A lot of people also still love getting Lego sets as adults! Check out these ones friends of mine have received:
16. Games
Games are another thing that I appreciate having as a student, but probably wouldn’t buy for mysellf. What better way to bond with flatmates than a rousing round of 🛒 Pictionary, 🛒Uno or 🛒Cards Against Humanity?
(Note: those links go to the Amazon U.S. store. These links are for 🛒Pictionary, 🛒 Uno, and 🛒 Cards Against Humanity in the Amazon UK store.)
🛒 Puzzles are also a fun Sunday activity to do as a house and make a great gift for students who just want to turn their brain off every once in a while.
17. Monthly subscriptions
For students who prefer receiving more practical gifts, you could pay for a cleaning subscription service for them, a gym membership, or for their Oyster card for a month.
For cleaning, I recommend 🛒Helpling, which is like the Uber of cleaning services. You can see reviews and ratings of cleaners in your area and book, pay, and message directly through the app. Best of all, they have great discount codes and you can get £20 off your first clean using the code trhe63.
🛒 PureGym is my favourite affordable gym in the UK and paying for a month or two of a membership would make a great gift for any student.
For the 🛒 Oyster card, if you have access to their physical card, you can register it online and pay with your own card for their monthly transport.
18. Accessories
As a student living very far from home, I’d definitely appreciate receiving a weekend bag or luggage as a gift.
My mom gave me this Longchamp one that folds up and I love it! You can 🛒 buy it from Amazon U.S. or 🛒 from Selfridges in the UK.
A fancy card holder also wouldn’t go amiss! I like this Kurt Geiger one (you can 🛒 buy it from Selfridges and they ship to the U.S. as well)
19. Travel
It’s no secret that travel can be expensive, particularly if your student is far from home. Why not pay for their train ticket or plane ticket home as a gift?
Pro tip: I always use Trainline to book my train tickets in the UK and Skyscanner for flights!
20. Education
I’m always happy to receive books and educational subscriptions as gifts and expect many students are the same. You could get your student a Data Camp subscription or a Coursera Plus subscription, for example.
Books are also always appreciated, or a gift card to a bookstore.
Pro tip: the Waterstone’s one can also be used at their café!
Have you given or received any of these gifts? Or do you have other gift ideas for students? Let me know in the comments below!
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