When a student has been away at school for a few months, parents may begin to feel as though they do not even know them anymore.
This can make shopping for them quite a challenge when the holidays come around.
However, there are a few things that are almost a guaranteed hit with every college student.
Of course, the main thing that college students never have enough of is money.
If a parent does not want to hand cash over to their student, gift cards are always a great alternative.
They could use a Target gift card to buy great things for their dorm room or a gift card to a bookstore so that they can get some pleasure reading in between all of their school work.
Living on campus is a very social environment and having the best toys can make any student the center of their social group.
If a new video game or system is hot for the Christmas season, there is a good chance that any college student would want it.
After long hours of studying, college students love relaxing in their dorm and playing a game with their friends.
Another popular activity among college students is watching television and movies.
DVDs are always appreciated by college students, as well as a subscription to a service like Netflix, so they can always watch the newest movies with their friends.
If they have an old television in their dorm room or, worse, no television at all, a small LCD or plasma screen television would be a perfect gift.
College students may seem difficult to shop for but, in reality, they only want to be entertained when they take a break from the books.
A video game system or television set would be the perfect thing to help them burn off their academic stress.
When all else fails, they are always strapped for cash and would appreciate a gift card to one of their favorite stores.