My wife is a big proponent of buying gifts. She believes gift cards are not very personal. However, I believe a person can get exactly what they want rather than me having to guess.

So with seniors almost ready to walk that line, I decided to come up with a few gifts they might be inclined to want and actually enjoy as they prepare for work life or college.

Headphones: You can't go wrong with a good set of headphones. I have several pair that I alternate when I am going to the gym. As most will be heading off the college, why not give them a nice set of headphones to listen to music as they are traveling back and forth to their classes and be able to talk with their overly concerned parents at the same time?

Bluetooth Headphones

Alarm Clock: Sure, they may not want the big clocks we used to have, but these days there are Bluetooth-capable alarm clocks that will wake them up just in time in the morning and allow them to wind down to some of their favorite jams at night.

Bluetooth Alarm Clock

Pressure Cookers: When my son moved away from home for school, his mother wanted to make sure he was not going to miss any meals, so she purchased him a pressure cooker. This would allow him to be able to do a chicken, vegetables, and other fulfilling meals that could last for the entire week. As parents, we know they want the home-cooked meals from mom, but at least we can help supply them with something to allow them to have a small taste of home.

Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Blankets: When you are staying with roommates, there can be a tussle of the thermostat and the controlling of the temperature in the room. I have several cozy blankets for that particular reason. We all remember Linus and the infamous blanket he used to carry on Charlie Brown. I believe we all like to have a little protection, so definitely consider getting them a nice blanket or even embroidered one so they will know it's theirs.

Blankets

Backpacks: We have to make sure our students have a reliable backpack to carry their books around to their various classes. You don't want it to be to bulky, but you do want to make sure it is big enough for them to have everything they need when moving around. We all know how that walk back across campus to your room is not necessarily the shortest.

Backpacks

Those are a few things I recommend to get the young adults off to a good start. It goes without saying they'll need supplies for the classroom and their personal living quarters. Also food, now that's a no brainer. Obviously, if you want to be a big spender, you can of course look at that car for your student or make sure they have a few dollars in their accounts for an Uber or Lyft.

LOOK: Here are the biggest HBCUs in America

More than 100 historically Black colleges and universities are designated by the U.S. Department of Education, meeting the definition of a school "established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans."

StudySoup compiled the 20 largest historically Black colleges and universities in the nation, based on 2021 data from the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. Each HBCU on this list is a four-year institution, and the schools are ranked by the total student enrollment.

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