As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized how much more I prefer giving a good gift at Christmas than receiving one. I always try to put thought and effort into every gift because there’s nothing worse than watching someone open your gift and being clearly disappointed, as much as they may try to hide it.
This has gotten harder in recent years as my family has made gift-giving into a game: instead of the traditional gift exchange, everyone buys a gender-neutral gift within a certain price range for no one in particular. Then, we play the stealing game, which consists of everyone either picking a gift in a random order or stealing someone else’s already unwrapped gift.
The issue? I’ve got male and female cousins, aunts and uncles and grandparents all playing the game with me. A gift that anyone would enjoy is hard to come by.
Here are a few of my go-to, unisex gifts:
A warm blanket
One thing that everyone does, regardless of age, is sleep. Personally, I take a lot of naps. I know many of my university-aged friends also take a lot of naps. There is nothing better than taking a nice, long nap under a soft, fuzzy, good-quality blanket.
Blankets typically aren’t very expensive, which makes it a go-to, easy to find gift. Every year, Costco releases a new, softer blanket and, every year, I want it. One year, I actually bought the blanket for the stealing game and ended up stealing back my own gift. Oops?
Last year, Costco had a heated blanket and, to this day, I regret not buying it.
Costco’s blankets usually cost about $25, although the heated ones range from $40 to about $100. Depending on your budget though, a heated one just might be the perfect gift for these cold winter days.
Alcohol
Generally speaking, very few people will object to a good bottle of alcohol. Especially students.
An easy way to please the majority of alcohol drinkers is to get a decent bottle of spiced rum, which can be made into a variety of drinks, including daiquiris and mixed drinks.
Part of what makes alcohol such a great gift (besides the fun they’ll have drinking it) is how accessible it is. No need to fight the crazy crowds at the mall two days before Christmas—just hit up your local SAQ and you’ll be done in 20 minutes. If you’re lucky, whoever ends up with your bottle just might share it with you.
White noise machine
This one might sound a little weird, but I received a white noise machine as a gift a few years back and I truly believe it helps me sleep better.
White noise machines emit a sound that resembles television static. Personally, I always need some background noise to fall asleep, so I used to leave my TV on. Unfortunately, that lit up my room which just furthered the endless cycle of no sleep because I also require total darkness to catch some Z’s.
The solution: a white noise machine.
You can get a decent one on Amazon for $45. Most of them come with volume control, an automatic power-off and some even come with multiple soothing tones. Higher quality ones might also include other effects, such as the sound of rainfall or soothing jungle noises.
A white noise machine is perfect for students because it allows them to get a good night’s sleep without being overexposed to more blue light from their phones or TVs. The best thing about a white noise machine is that so few people are expecting to get one, so it’s genuinely a fun surprise.