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.

initiating the gallery...

What are some other gift ideas that also give back?

Ashley is a UC San Diego grad who is holding on way too tightly to a potential career in magazines and goes to Vegas all too often. She’s fascinated with celebrities and strawberry beer and doubles as a pathological texter/emailer/blogger. Feed the addiction with tweets @cashleelee. Thanks in advance.

I was hoping by now it would be perfectly plausible to put a Christmas robot on my wish list and that we would all have Christmas Dinner out of vacuum packed space-food packages. But that seems to still be light years away. However in case any scientists are reading this (because I hear this website is quite popular in science labs world wide!), here are your future invention priorities.

(Note: I’ve been a good girl this year; I DESERVE THEM.)

Self-Styling Hair

In an average month, I probably manage to style my hair as I like it once. Then I go to sleep, rub my hair against the pillow as I attempt to get comfortable, and wake up looking like I’ve been electrocuted. How sweet would it be to wake up and your hair be ready to go? How much more productive could I be with my day? Or, more importantly, how much longer could I have in bed?

Refillable Cupboards

Imagine that. You reach for the last yogurt and POOF a whole new box appears. You’d never have to trawl through the cold and snow when you’re desperate for a new box of cookies ever again.

Single-guy Identifier.

I don’t know about you, but when I meet a new guy, no matter how well we get on, I’m always convinced he has a girlfriend. Wouldn’t it  be great if they had like a layer of UV paint that showed up in dark clubs to identify the single ones. No more awkward “oh my girlfriend has that dress” moments ever again,

Insta-Boob-job

Running for the bus and they shrink down for minimum pain. Strapless dress and they boost themselves to Double Ds.

Self-cleaning clothes

We’ve all been there. You get invited to a party at the last minute and pull out your go-to party dress…only to find out that it’s covered in salsa from your GREAT decision to make tacos at 4am. Self-cleaning clothes would mean you’d never have to wear your second best dress or creatively tie a pashmina around your chest again.

Painless heels

Okay, magazines are always showing us the most comfortable heels and tips and tricks to make them pain free. But the fact is, painless heels are a bit, fat, blistery lie. We don’t have Barbie feet, for god’s sake.

Sleep-learning Machine

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could study for your finals whilst asleep? Or have your brain absorb information while you have a nap behind your text book in class? And while we’re at it…

Sleep-working-out

You go to bed and wake up looking like Megan Fox. Genius.

Healthy Fast Food

That tastes just as good as the real thing, but with no calories. Kinda like Diet Coke but for food.

Boy Translator

Wouldn’t it be great to actually know what he means before you get into those stupid arguments where you totally change what he was saying? Because surely sometimes when he says “I’m busy right now, can I call you later?” he didn’t just call you fat.

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.

We all have that friend, you know, the one who has the perfect outfit for every occasion. The one whose wardrobe makes your mouth water. The one whose every outfit looks like it stepped out of the pages of Vogue. She spends hours studying fashion magazines and style blogs and would rather be shopping than anywhere else. She knows exactly what she wants and exactly how to make it happen. Style is her sixth sense. So how do you even attempt to go about buying a present for someone with that type of shopping experience?

You get her something else to add to her fabulous wardrobe.

I’ve done some fashion magazine studying myself these last few days and found you ladies the perfect gifts for your fashion forward friends. Not only are all of these items absolutely on trend, but they’re also absolutely affordable, and any one of them would be a welcome addition to a fashionista’s wardrobe.

Get even more gift giving inspiration in CollegeCandy’s Holiday Central!

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.

[Click on any image below to start the gallery.]

Need more ideas? Come back all week for ideas to give everyone on your list (the BFFs, the boyfriend, the party girls in your life…) this year!

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like FashionStake, GoFobo and CourseRank) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

Do you have a large group of friends you want to buy gifts for this holiday season, but lack the cash to get a great gift for each of them? (Editor’s Note: Story of my life, people. It’s hard being this popular!) Secret Santa gift exchanges are a fun solution!

If you’re not familiar with Secret Santa (also called Pollyanna or Kris Kringle), it’s a type of gift exchange where everyone in a group draws the name of someone else to purchase a gift for, instead of each person having to buy multiple gifts.

Elfster makes planning a Secret Santa exchange so much easier! To use Elfster to plan your Secret Santa, get started by registering for the site.  Once you do that,  create your gift exchange by filling out the name and description of the exchange, setting a spending limit (optional), and setting dates for signing up and exchanging gifts.  Then, use the site to send your friends an invitation e-mail to sign up and join your Secret Santa!

Once everyone has signed up, Elfster will randomly select names and send them to each participant in a confidential e-mail.

Next, search for gifts by category, price range or keyword, and add them to your own wish list that your “secret person” can use to help select a gift for you.  The site also has a feature which allows you to ask your secret person anonymous questions to help you decide what to get him or her!

By doing all the hard work for you, Elfster lets you focus on the fun parts of Secret Santa: getting (and giving) presents!

Check out what other awesome websites have been getting us all hot and bothered.

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.

‘Tis better to give than receive, right?  Well, technically speaking.  Except when it comes time to figure out what the hell you’re getting the man in your life this Christmas.  And they say we’re hard to shop for!?  Psh, please. Give me a couple Twizzlers and a three-karat diamond and I’m just peachy.  (Sarcasm?)

To ease the process of avoiding iTunes gift certificate and the ever classic “here’s a card and a blow job,” here are a few alternative ideas…

[Click on any image to start the gallery.]

Need more ideas? Come back all week for ideas to give everyone on your list (the BFFs, the parental units, the party girls in your life…) this year!

Fabulous holiday D.I.Y ideas

Is Iceland the new IT destination

Are these cheating students for real?!

7 signs your guy is whipped

How to shop on Ebay

The most awesome Santa ever

Prank gone horribly wrong

Design your very own longchamp

Style advice of the week

Get Zoe Saldana’s look on a budget

And while I didn’t appreciate the early morning wake up call, I did enjoy hearing about all the goodies I’d soon be able to borrow/benefit from upon returning to campus.

Everyone knows the best part of the holiday break is not the sleeping in or the 90210 marathons on Soap Net. It’s the 42 phone calls you make (from that new iPhone, baby!) immediately after opening your loot to tell everyone what you got, then sitting in your room and trying on all the clothes/playing with all the toys while noshing on some of mom’s famous desserts.

Just thinking about it makes me giddy.

Anyways, now that you’ve come out of your Christmas (or Chinese, what up Jews?!) food coma, we wanna know what you got for Christmas/Hanukkah/while you were home over break and your parents were feeling generous.

So… whatcha get?!
And when can I come over to borrow?

Share your best gifts below.

It’s gift giving time and that means one thing: you’re finally gonna get that iPhone you’ve got a lot of wrapping to do. And if you’re anything like me, you’re way too cheap to spend money on holiday wrapping paper. Plus, is it really fair to our lovely planet to waste a tree on something that just gets thrown away? I don’t think so.

I realize some of you probably fold up your wrapping paper and reuse it, and more power to you. But for the rest of us, mostly those of us who tear through our presents without mercy, here’s a way to make your own unique, personal and beautiful wrapping paper without harming the planet or breaking the bank. (It also happens to be really, really pretty!)

What You Need:
- Newspaper sheets, brown paper bags (from the last time you went to the grocery store), or a roll of brown paper
- Catalogs, magazines or Sunday supplements
- Scissors, glitter, paint, fun shaped sponges, glue and ribbon (all optional)

What You Do:

First, you should decide what kind of design you want on your wrapping paper. If you enjoy looking at photos rather than creating art yourself, you can go for a collage-type style of wrapping. If you’d rather get down and dirty with the paint, grab yourself some brown paper and those colorful little cups of poster paint.

For a collage, lay out a big sheet of newsprint and cut out especially eye-catching and beautiful photos and words from your magazines. Place them approximately where you’d like them on the newspaper, then apply a thin layer of glue to their backs with a glue stick, and stick ‘em on. Your object is to cover the whole sheet of newsprint, so you might have to cut out a few smaller pics to fill in the blank spaces. This makes a really gorgeous sheet of wrapping, especially if you don’t go overboard on the glue. When you’re done, let it dry, and wrap that gift!

You can do painted paper one of several ways. Start with a base of brown from a long sheet of packaging paper or a paper bag that you’ve cut apart at the seams. You can use a template or stencil you make yourself to paint a design on the paper with a sponge, or create a potato stamp and use it to apply a pattern. If you’re really ambitious, you can actually draw pictures and do art on the paper, which is obviously the most special option… but also the most time-consuming. For my personal favorite alternative, dip those fingers into the paint and go crazy. Finger-painted wrapping looks really fancy and everyone will love it!

They'll never know how cheap it was...

So we all have those people in our lives that we get excited to buy gifts for. I’ve had my best friend’s present picked out for months, I can’t wait to deck my mom out in a new dress and some chic matching accessories, and I always love browsing the department stores and getting my boyfriend the watch he’s been eying or the latest must-have men’s scarf. (What? I love the way a guy looks in a scarf…)

Then there are the other people. Like your brother’s girlfriend who apparently got you something even though they’ve only been dating for three months and you barely know the girl (and they will probs break up in a week, anyway) so what the eff do you get her? Or that weird aunt who’s coming to the holidays this year. Or the guy in the mail room who’s always hand delivering those giant packages from home…

You don’t want to look like a grinch and show up empty handed. You don’t want to be impersonal and hand out gift cards. You don’t want to look cheap. But most importantly, you really don’t want to spend a lot on these people. So what do you do?

Here are some affordable, fun ideas for all of those “others” on your holiday gift list this year. You’ll look generous and thoughtful and sweet and kind and anything but cheap. Way. To. Go.

Twistbands

$10 for a pack of 3

These clever, stretchy hair bands can be used as hair ties, headbands, or bracelets! In addition to solid colors, they also come in fun designs including holiday themed, tie-dye, zebra and embellished. Order a couple sets, put them in a cute gift bag and keep them on hand for any fashionable girl in your life that you might have forgotten to buy for (believe me it will save you the awkward, “I forgot your present at home” spiel).

Anthropologie Home Goods

Ski Cap Candle Pom Poms: $18.20, Fiat Luxe Felted Soap: 14, Paisleys Spoon Rest: $10

The minute your recipient sees the Anthropologie bag they will shout, “You shouldn’t have!” Something about the store just oozes sophistication, plus they will (adorably) gift-wrap for free, making your gift look even better. Any mother, aunt, or kitchen-saavy friend can be taken care of with one of these gifts.

Free People Gem Earbuds

Gem Earbuds: $16

Whether you know the person well or not, you can be 100% certain that she’s got an iPod. You could go the iTunes route, or you could not be boring and lame and grab some adorable earphones… that sparkle! These gem earbuds are stylish and probably a welcome change from their worn-out , generic, iPod-issued ones that always fall out of their ears. Did I mention they sparkle?!

Forever21 Hat Scarf Set

Heathered: $9, Plaid: $9

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with a hat and scarf set. A matching set always seems more substantial than just giving one or the other. Forever 21 offers decent quality for the cheap price, and no matter who this guy is (a friend from home you haven’t seen in awhile, your boyfriend’s brother, or that weird cousin you never could pin down), he is bound to get cold in the winter months so this gift will most definitely be appreciated.

Holiday Coffee Mugs

Assorted designs: 7.99 Per Dozen

Stockpile these mugs in your room and you’ll always have a last minute gift at your fingertips. They cost less than a dollar each but are super cute and perfect for anyone on your “others” list. Fill it with hot chocolate mix or candy for a younger cousin, and with tea bags or coffee beans for someone older, then wrap it up in cellophane and attach a little note card. It will look store bought and profesh… no one will know.

Initial Earrings

Earrings, Urban Outfitters: $16

This is a gift that you can guarantee won’t be returned the next day. Well, assuming the person receiving it actually has their ears pierced, of course. These earrings are cute, (seemingly) personal, unique and cheap!