By Briana Williams–
Lots of us remember our elementary days when we’d write everything we wanted for Christmas and hand it off to our parents. From there, they were responsible for hopefully sticking to the list and making Christmas morning the best time of the year.
As students, we still want and need gifts, too.
Flex points or Cardinal Cash are great gifts to ask for from your family. We’ve all had moments when we weren’t sure if we had enough flex to get something from the SAC. Asking for some will save you from those moments. Or, at the very least, you’ll be able to splurge on meals.
Another gift to consider asking for is simply a care package. There are a lot of websites where you can customize your own box and all your family has to do is purchase it. If that’s too complicated for them, you can always have them pick up your favorite snacks and candies, put them in a box and wrap it up.
You can also ask for next semester’s textbooks. Not only will this save you money next semester, but you’ll avoid the long lines at the bookstore. With all the money you save, you can get things you actually want. If you’d rather have books you read for pleasure, you could consider asking for specific ones or gift cards to Barnes and Noble or Half Priced Books.
College students have to buy a lot. Sometimes, getting a new backpack isn’t going to make the list of what you can afford. But if you’re going to carry them around everywhere you go, you might as well like them. Since it’s the holidays, your parents may splurge on a really nice backpack.
Not all of your gifts have to be school-related. Asking for clothes and shoes is another simple gift that most parents won’t mind buying their kids. Or if you’re into television and movies, you can ask your parents for a year’s worth of Netflix. That way you can stop mooching off your friends’ accounts.
Your list can also be practical. If you’d rather not pay for “adult things” like gas, oil changes or household items, asking your parents for them is the perfect alternative.
If you want to go all out, consider asking for a homemade cleaning kit that contains cleaning supplies, brooms, mops, vacuums and soaps. No one wants to buy those, so asking for them during the holidays will save you a trip to buy them yourself.
If you don’t trust your family to buy you things you actually want, just ask for money. Money is impersonal, but you’ll be able to decide what you do and don’t want to buy with the extra funds. Plus, you can always save it for another time in the future where you may really need.
