Dear Tuffy Luv,

What do I get my new guy for Christmas? We’ve been dating for a month and a half. I don’t want to come on too strong but I also don’t want to look cheap. Thanks!

Gifter

Dear Gifter,

Okay, I love it!

You’re totally right. You don’t want to come off as a creepster. So no, like, gold watches or new Adidas or helicopters or something. But you’re also right you don’t want to look disinterested by getting him, like, a plastic piece of poop. So walk that line!! Here are some guidelines lil’ ol’ Tuffy done thought up:

1. Keep it around $30. That’s the right amount at this stage. It’s thoughtful but not over the top.

2. Keep it personal. Think about something he told you he liked. Loves a sports team? Get him a team jersey. Extra points if you can get a signed ball. Does he like hiking? Get him a new backpack. He will be so thrilled you were listening (and you better be listening!!) and that you went out of your way to get him something he’d really love.

3. No personal hygiene products. Magazines tell you he’ll love it. Magazines lie. He wants something that’s fun. He’ll brush his teeth after the New Year.

4. Tickets are generally good. Tix to an event that HE is interested in (very important that HE is interested in the event!!!) that you can get to together is a totally sweet surprise. For the ticket thing, you can go a little over $30 if you need to, since you’ll be sharing in the gift. HOWEVER!!! Do NOT get anything too far in advance — too clingy! The event should be within the next few weeks from when he receives the gift.

5. Be genuine. Get him something because you WANT to. If you find getting him a good, personal gift to be too much of a chore, maybe it’s time to break the floop up and find someone you really care about.

Happy holidays!

Hearts & Skulls,

Tuffy Luv

Question?! Answer: Ask Tuffy Luv.

We college kids are absolute masters when it comes to stretching the dollar—we share textbooks, swap party outfits, take rolls of toilet paper from public bathrooms and chug as much beer as we can when playing pong at other people’s apartments. So when we give gifts this holiday season, we’re definitely making sure we’re getting as much bang as we can for every single one of our bucks.

Which is why I figure that this year, we should give gifts that also give back to others around the world. If you’re gonna buy something for someone, why not buy the something that also helps someone else? It’s basically multitasking—you’re crossing people off your Christmas list and making a positive difference. And if you shop online, you can do it all without even getting out of bed.

Read More »

The holiday seasons are all about eating too many dips, spending way too much money on frenemy gifts, and watching Elf on repeat. This year we’re prepared to take the stress and the frustration out of holiday gift giving by giving you the ultimate gift guides to buying the perfect presents for your favorite people (and we’re splitting into 3 different price ranges so you can choose the gift based on how much you actually like the person!). So set this series as your favorite because all week we’re bringing you the best.

Parents are notoriously difficult to shop for. I mean, how do you do justice to the people who brought you into this world and then continued to give you everything? A homemade “free back massage” isn’t going to cut it, ladies. Luckily, our guide will help you show the love and gratitude with gifts that are appropriate, thoughtful, original and, most importantly, wallet friendly. Read More »

We all have that super-environmentally conscious person in our life, lovingly (most of the time) referred to as the Tree Hugger.  While they’re always giving back to Mother Earth by reminding you to recycle, to take shorter showers or turn off the lights, they are not so easy to give to.  It seems like there are many ways to offend your favorite tree hugger during the holidays, be it by using non-recyclable gift wrap, too much packaging, or buying them a gift that somehow depletes the ozone layer.

But they still deserve something this holiday, right?

Let me take the guess-work out of buying for the environmentalist in your life, with a few eco-friendly gifts that even Captain Planet could love.

But first, a few tips:

Tip #1: Look for products with sustainable materials and processes.  Items made from recycled materials (there are tons of these on Etsy!) are very environmentally friendly, as well as unique!
Tip #2: Consider where the product was made.  Items made in your area require less fuel to reach store shelves, and therefore have a smaller impact.  It’s also good to know whether an item is fair trade.
Tip #3: Redefine what constitutes a gift and give to a charity in your recipient’s name.  Use Charity Navigator to make a donation to an environmental organization your tree hugger supports.
Tip #4: Think about how you’re wrapping the gift.  Gift bags can be reused, or you can reuse newspaper for a free way to wrap your present.

And now for some fun gifts! Read More »

Yum!

I don’t know about you, but this year I’m in serious money-saving mode.  As much as I’d love to go buy my biffies matching pairs of Alexander McQueen’s 10-inch Alien Heels (if you don’t know what these are, you obviously haven’t seen Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance video), college girls don’t have tons of moolah to buy the most fabulous gifts out there.

Besides, gifts are most meaningful when they require time and thought. And they’re even better when people know that you put blood, sweat and tears (and maybe even a little pee pee if looking through old pictures really makes you laugh) into them.

So if you’ve got tons of people to give to but not tons of money to do it, try some of these DIY gifts on for size. They’ll work for absolutely everyone on your list and you won’t have to drop serious cash or serious elbows at your neighborhood holiday sale.

1. Photo Collages
Photo collages are meaningful gifts that can be given to anyone – family, friends, boyfriends.  Now, I don’t mean just some poster with photos erratically hacked with cheap scissors and doused in Elmer’s glue. Get a cigar box and some Mod-Podge (a specific glue excellent for collages) from a craft store, plan the arrangements of photos before you start cutting, and use a paintbrush to glue them down. Then paint a thin layer of Mod-Podge on top of the pictures,  let it dry and – Voila! – you’ve got a super cute jewelry box full of your favorite pics and memories. You can even get some cute puff paint and embellish.  Cheap, cute, and sure to impress! (This also works with frames, mirrors, boxes, or anything else that you’d wanna personalize!)

Not an artsy fartsy? Don’t worry! You can do it all online, too! Read More »

Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, right now.

This time of year brings two things to mind:

1. Gifts you need to get for everyone on your list (and, uh gifts you found for yourself while shopping for said gifts)
2. Show-stopping outfits to wear to holiday parties, high school reunions, or your cousin’s bar-mitzvah, which his parents just happened to plan on January 2nd. In another state. And your parents are making you miss NYE to go.

Well luckily for you, this week’s The Know hits both of those must-gets on your to-get list. Read More »

Give to those who need it most. And who are really cute.

With the holidays comin’ round the bend, I’m sure most of us are starting to think of gifts both for ourselves and for others.  And although receiving is arguably the most enjoyable part of the gift giving tradition, we must not forget others that need our help during this time.  Giving money or volunteering with any charity is awesome regardless of its cause, but I am an advocate of environmentally-geared charities.  Here are some of the top causes and their most reliable charities to get you in the giving mood this holiday season.

Forest Preservation: Because what would the holidays be like without trees covered in snow (or twinkle lights, if you hail from California as well)?  Forests form important ecosystems for many species of wildlife and plants.  Plus, trees are a great source of oxygen and an effective method of carbon sequestration which can lower greenhouse gas levels in the air.  Some of the top rated charities in this arena are: American Forests, The Pachamama Alliance, and Trees, Water, and People (TWP).

Ocean Protection:  The ocean is the world’s last frontier.  There are thousands of species that we do not fully understand or even know about yet.  The ocean exemplifies diversity in an ecosystem and is very essential to our life on earth.  Plus, dolphins are just adorable.  Help protect them and their habitat by donating to one of these charities: Oceana, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, The Surfrider Foundation, and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS). Read More »

Finals week drained me of a lot – my last pint of Cherry Garcia, my final cup of Folger’s, my sanity – plus the extra cash I had stashed in my wallet all semester. Cash that was supposed to help buy gifts for well, everybody, on my holiday gift list.

But it’s the holidays and sometimes magical things happen. So I’d like to extend a big THANK YOU! to the Holiday gods for sending this little gem my way: SwapStyle.com. It reminds me of my junior high days when my BFFs would bring over extra clothes for me to model and “borrow.” We all knew that “borrowing,” however, actually meant my friend would never see her A&F tee again. And she was cool with it, because she only brought it over because it made her look fat.

Yeah, so it’s just like that only on a much larger scale. Thanks to the information superhighway you can “borrow” clothes from women from all over the globe! That means you’re not limited to extra large, ratty Mickey Mouse T’s and super-flare Mudd Jeans from your somewhat-frumpy best friend’s wardrobe. Instead you can “borrow” Coach bags, Forever 21 dresses and MAC eyeshadows.

Plus, clothes-swapping is super environmentally friendly (you are reusing other people’s things instead of wasting new materials!) and the site is easy to use. Did I mention it’ s free to sign up?

Check it out here.

Remember the days that you could glue pasta onto a piece of paper and call it a Christmas present for Mom and Dad? Those days are long gone, and choosing gifts for parents has become harder than ever. Not only do they always tell you, “I don’t really need anything,” when you want some answers, but you’re a student, and by Christmas that generally means you’re broke.

And, um, you only have a week left! Let us help:

Tips before you buy

-If you can make something your parents will appreciate, go for it. If you’re an art student, consider making a one-of-a-kind piece for your parents; it’s cheap and shows you are putting your education to good use.

-Before you go shopping, set a budget. Decide how much you want to spend on each parent and stick to it. Chances are your budget isn’t going to be very high, so if you want to splurge a bit, consider combining resources with your siblings. Not only will you have more money to work with, but your parents will appreciate that you are mature enough to cooperate.

-If your parents are together, consider buying one gift for both them. It can be something they can enjoy together, and you can either save money or get a more meaningful gift. Read More »

Midterms have passed, and yet we’re still weeks away from winter break. This week, if you’ve been feeling bored, restless, or just plain anxious for the term to end, you too may be suffering from the Fall Semester Itch! Leaving campus was just one of the alternatives we at College Candy considered, along with opting for community college and even ditching academia altogether. Hey, we’re just trying to keep our options open.

But if you’ve got The Itch, then we’ve got the remedies. College Candy prescribes a heavy dose of mindless entertainment. This week, we got all the facts on the hottest celebrity cat fights, contemplated the progression of Disney starlets to Hollywood harlots, and watched some real heavy drama on The Biggest Loser.

After a few good laughs (and maybe seeing Amy Winehouse look like a hot mess), it was time to spruce up. We relaxed our wild tresses with these tips for curly hair care, raided our closet for high-waisted pants, and upgraded our wardrobe to be sexy for winter. And once we got the dirt on down-n-dirty hookups, we were all prepared for a night on the town.

If all this hasn’t relieved that Fall Semester Itch, this week we also looked longingly to Thanksgiving (with this pumpkin pie recipe) and brainstormed ideas for holiday gifts! With this week in the books, the excitement of the holiday season lurks right around the corner!