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.

Trying to figure out what to get the party girl in your life this Christmas?  Or maybe you’re the one known for throwing back shots like a champ and you need a few things to add to your own wish list?  Either way, we’re on this like we were on the bar doin’ our sexy dance last Thursday.  So whether you want to go big this holiday season or pick up just a little somethin’ to pump up your social life, you’re covered.

Need more ideas? We’ve got a little somethin’ somethin’ for everyone on your list: the BFFs, the boyfriend, the parental units…. And keep comin’ back all week for even more great gift ideas!

Let’s be honest for a moment: house parties and bar hopping are all great weekend (or weeknight…or weekday…) activities, but they can get pretty exhausting for us ladies. We have to primp for hours, wear excruciatingly high heels and tight clothes, and still manage to look good after gettin’ low on the dance floor to whatever Black Eyed Peas song the DJ decides to play.

By the end of the night, our jacket is missing, the backs of our heels are bleeding, and our perfectly straightened coif is now plastered to our foreheads.

Not anymore! We at CollegeCandy have been perfecting the art of going out for a few years now and we’ve finally mastered it. Behold: the party girl’s 5 best friends that will get her through anything, from A (apartment party) to Z (ZBT boy in your bed the next morning).

1. The Wristlet

I’ve accumulated almost a dozen of these over the years, and for good reason. They don’t leave my wrist the whole night and they don’t get between me and double fisting. While my friends scope out a hiding spot for their giant purses that contain important things like money, IDs and house keys, only to lose track of them by the end of the night, everything I need is securely attached to me at all times. Not to mention they’re cute, affordable, and the perfect size! I can easily fit my ID, a wad of cash, my phone, camera, and lip gloss. Which is pretty much all you ever need.

2. Roll-up flats

We know why we love heels: they improve our posture, make our butt and legs look better, blah blah blah. And, let’s be honest, they are just fierce with that mini dress. And that’s all well and good when we’re inside, leaning as far over the bar as possible (to ease the pain in our baby toes/use our cleavage to get the bartender’s attention), but what about the long trek to and from? Sometimes, you’re lucky to make it there alive. Welcome to the best invention since the vodka tonic. Tuck these babies into your purse (or coat pocket) and unroll them when those heels become too much to bear. They even come with their very own bag so you can carry those pumps home in discreet style.

3. Listerine Pocket Paks

These little suckers take up less room than a pack of gum (so they can easily fit into #1) but give you amazingly fresh breath. Perfect for after a few beers so you’re ready for a dark-corner-makeout-sesh, or the occasional morning when you wake up next to your hot T.A. Roll over, give yourself a mental high five, and slip one of these onto your tongue before your morning breath can ruin the moment. Round two, anyone?

4. Boyfriend blazers

So, it’s too chilly to wear that tank to the bar, but you don’t want to lug a jacket around/spend last call searching through 120 identical black North Faces for the one you think belongs to you. Our savior: the boyfriend blazer. It’s cute, it’s trendy, and it’s light enough to wear inside but will still keep you warm on the walk home. And this one is cheap enough that you won’t be too torn up when that girl dumps her vodka cranberry down your sleeve.

5. Oil-absorbing sheets

We all like to think that “girls don’t sweat, they glisten,” but anyone who’s been gettin’ her groove on in a hot, sticky bar knows that girls sweat. A lot. And it ruins both their perfectly cat-eyed liner and their perfectly tousled hair. There’s not much help for the hair (beyond pulling it into some sort of chic, messy bun beforehand), but there is definitely a little something to help with what not-so-affectionately call “greasy face.” You’ve heard about them and now it’s time to embrace the Clean and Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets. Life. Savers. They save your makeup, save your skin, and save you from looking like the hot mess in the bar. And even with all that, they still fit into #1.

Every week I make a list. Not a grocery list or a to-do list, because I don’t really do groceries (Pad Thai take out, helloooo) and to-do lists are totally not my scene, if such a scene even exists. No, this list is a top ten-style countdown about the hard-hitting issues, like which mash-ups are the best ever.

This week, as a partner to The Ten Types of Guys at the Party, I’ve decided to include the female version. All in good fun, ladies! Who am I missing?

10. The Diva.
This girl is at the party, but she is DEFINITELY not trying to party. Pouting with her manicured fingers and heavily lined eyes glued to her cell, Diva will only speak to her tight-knit group of friends dressed in very similar outfits. She will not partake in any of the drinking games, she will not hook up with any guys and she will roll her eyes at those who do. Then she will leave an hour later to go off somewhere “cooler,” “more mature,” and just worthy of her time. 

9. The “Innocent” one
Dressed conservatively and drinking a microbrew or weak cocktail, this doll-faced darling looks like she’d rather be holed up in the library than at this very party. Wrong. She goes from “virgin” to skank in 3.5 drinks and will hook up with your boyfriend and cry about it later. Beware of the victim-playing. This girl is faker than her “leather” shoes and has run through more guys than Paris Hilton.

8. The Crazy B!#@$
Whoa. Vodka handle in one hand and the other hand down someone’s pants, the crazy B!#@$ is the wildest girl imaginable. Usually has her makeup smeared on her face, her hair a disarray and wants the music LOUDER! She won’t participate in games, but only because she’d rather dance on the table than flip cups off its edges. She’s the loudest girl on the block and she’s usually yelling something profane.

7. Intellectual smoker girl
This chick knows what’s going on in Iran and she wants to talk about it between puffs of her Parliament Lights. It’s Friday night and she’s giving her thesis on the Palestine/Israel conflict. You are dumber than her. Don’t bother.

6. Puck Slut
She’s down to do it as long as you play a college sport. Beer pong enthusiast, because that’s totally where the jocks hang, right? Doesn’t care if the team you’re on is winning, just as long as you have the jersey.

5. Needs To Party
She bombed her exam. Or her boyfriend just broke up with her. Or maybe her dog just died. Whatever the reason, this girl needs to party and she needs to party hard. You’ll see her taking shots early in the night and won’t see her again until a few hours later when her friends are carrying her out of the bathroom and into a waiting cab. Poor girl.

4. Selfie Sally
All that flashing in the corner has you searching for the strobe light, but it’s actually the flash coming from this girl’s camera. Don’t worry, though; she’s not snapping inappropriate pics of you to load onto Facebook. She’s taking pictures of herself. And her friends. Making funny faces, sexy faces, pouty faces, etc. Over and over and over again.

3. Debbie Downer
She’s sad. She’s alone. Her friends left and she doesn’t know how to rage. Slumped on the couch, pulling at her out-of-season Forever 21 top, she doesn’t realize that people would talk to her if she wasn’t so depressing.

2. The Flirt
She’ll hit on everyone. Looks like she’s gonna hook up with you? Nah. She probably has a boyfriend. She’s not interested, but she will pretend like she is all night. She thinks you’re “sooooo cute.” And him too. And him. And him. And her. And him. Wow, I wonder how she got all those free drinks?

1. That Girl
Enough. Said.

Got an idea for a Weekly 10 Topic? Let me know in the comments or shoot me an email at Melanie@CollegeCandy.com.

Does this look like best friend material?

While we may have known many of our besties since elementary school, they say college is where you meet your bridesmaids. I don’t know who the hell “they” are, but it seems true enough. After four years of late night pizza runs, Friday night pre-gaming and makeup sessions, and spooning in tiny twin beds, you are bound to make those tight knit friendships.

You meet a ton of girls during your college years. Some are your long lost sisters, your soul mates for life. And then there are others, many others, that just aren’t BFF material. If we are in fact meeting our bridesmaids, we have to be careful when making friends, lest we end up with some husband-stealing ho bag who shows up drunk or skips out of the wedding early to make the other two weddings she has scheduled that day.

Here’s the list of girls to avoid at all costs. They will only make your life harder, so save yourself the stress (and the pimple that comes with it) and steer clear!

The Overachiever

"Sorry, I have 4 meetings and a group project today. Maybe we can hang next week?"

Being motivated is a great thing. Being involved in your school is, too. But when her agenda is packed full of events, coffee dates, club meetings and post-it notes to remind her of her itinerary (and her friends), there’s a problem. It’s usually just obnoxious that they feel the need to do absolutely everything, but the real problem comes when you try and be their friend and they make you feel like you’re setting back their whole schedule. You shouldn’t have to fit into someone else’s schedule (maybe they can pencil you in for next Thursday at 3:52?). Just move to the side, and let the Energizer Bunny bulldoze through; it’ll save you the embarrassment of having to admit you’re going to lay in your bed and watch Friends reruns all afternoon.

The One with All Guy Friends

"I like sports and guy things!"

So she can hang with the guys; kick up her feet, have a cold one and watch some football. Cool, right? Only if she can also talk fashion mags over coffee dates, too. Something just doesn’t match up when all of a girl’s close friends are men. Why can’t she connect with other girls? Is it because she only makes friends through sexual favors? Is she a backstabber who can only reconcile with the guys who could really care less if people talk bad behind their back? Not to say that this goes for every situation, but just be careful, it’s a little iffy.

The Gossiper

"She has herpes."

She’s fueling the rumor mill, and you’re probably the next to be on it. She knows just how to get you talking about your private life, and she can twist anything into an ultra-juicy tidbit to pass through the dorms. Hang with her today and you’ll be the druggie, slutty, insecure loser by tomorrow.

The Clubhead /PartyHead/ I Just Want to Drink Head

"Class? What's that?"

I wouldn’t say avoid her all the time. If you run into her at the party on Friday night, she would make a great pong partner and it might be fun to throw back a couple of shots with her, too. But in general, she is bad news. She is uber-convincing that any alcohol related activity is better than doing whatever productive thing you may be doing at the time. That means homework, jobs, exercising and anything else that qualifies you as a successful human being, will fly out the window.

The Drama Queen

"I can't believe I got a C AND lost my cell phone in the day! WAAAAH"

Everything is a sob story, and you’re sole purpose in life will be to console her. She just has so much homework; her boyfriend only gave her chocolate for Valentines Day (where’s the Tiffany’s?!); her parents won’t let her go away on Spring break; wah wah wahhhhh. We all have our problems, but we don’t all feel the need to whine about them 24/7. Honestly? If you cross her path you’ll be recruited as the next Dr. Phil, and none of us need that.

What other girls around campus make you turn and run in the other direction?

It’s that time of year, when people start packing up their lives to fit into the ridiculously small storage closets they call dorm rooms.  For some of us, we will be heading back to familiar sights and sounds, having already navigated our way through a couple years of school.  For the rest of us, it will be the first time on campus and the start of a much-hyped period in your life: the college years.

There have been several books written to prepare incoming freshman for all the crazy shiz that will go down during their first year of school.  Their relatives, friends, guidance counselors and even complete strangers will also advise them on how to stay healthy in the cafeteria and how to sneak alcohol into their dorm room.

To really be prepared for your freshman year, however, you should get familiar with the people that will surround you on a daily basis.  Will your roommate be a Loner or a Homesick Child?  Will your lab partner be an Athlete/Ultimate Fan and therefore too busy checking on player stats and scores to write the chemistry report with you?  Only time will tell, so you might as well be prepared.

Here’s the 10 types of freshmen you’ll meet on campus:

The Party Boy/Girl

These kids came to college for one reason and one reason only: to partaaaaaaay!  They definitely spent too much time watching exaggerated college movies and are expecting nightly games of beer pong and hot, half-naked coeds everywhere.  They will be somewhat disappointed by the reality, but will make up for it by partying extra hard on the weekends.  Expect them to have converted their closet door into a makeshift beer pong table for their dorm room.  This kid is where the party is and always will be.

The Loner

If this kid didn’t go to class or appear in the dining hall once in a while, no one would know he even existed.  He/she is always on their computer with huge headphones on, completely oblivious to the rest of the world.  You’re not quite sure if you’ve ever heard them speak or seen them sleep, but they got into college somehow, so they must be somewhat intelligent.  In lecture halls, they are usually on a hand-held device or on their laptop, always in the corner or back.  Mad props if you hear this person speak or engage them in conversation or an activity of any kind.

The Homesick Child

They miss their mommies.  They also miss their bedroom, their dog, their siblings, all the home-cooked meals and a plethora of other things.  College is full of strange, unfamiliar things and they don’t like that.  The Homesick Child would rather stay in their dorm room and call/text their parents all day, complaining about everything from the cafeteria food to their roommate who “just doesn’t understand.”  On the plus side, they always seem to be getting care packages from home, so they’ll have cookies to share.

The Honors Geek

You’ll find this person in the library, hard at work finishing homework that’s due three weeks from now.  They’ve already accepted a research position for their favorite professor (whom they read about online before they even got to campus) and they are taking a healthy mix of honors and graduate-level courses.  Honors Geeks rarely have time to socialize outside of their labs or research offices, but they are pretty nice kids (once you get past the social anxiety that usually follows them around).  Maybe if you ask sweetly enough they’ll help you with your calculus homework (they’re guaranteed to have a bad ass calculator)…

The Good Kids Gone Bad

These kids were the ones in high school had had pretty good grades, some good friends, and a very normal life.  They then get to campus and are corrupted by the immediate availability of alcohol, sex, and whatnot.  Suddenly, that good kid you knew from high school is doing body shots off that sorority girl and skipping all his morning classes.  Most recover from their lapse of judgment, but some will continue to degenerate even further.

The Fraternity/Sorority Whore

Her mother was in Kappa Gamma Iota and his father was in Delta Chi Omega (both of those are completely made up, btw), so they will be rushing from the moment they step foot on campus.  They speak constantly about the sister/brotherhood, only wear clothes donning their precious letters, and go completely MIA for weeks due to rushing/pledging/whatever else they do in that giant house of theirs.

The Athlete/Ultimate Fan

This student came on either an athletic scholarship or on the love of your university’s football/basketball/hockey team.  They are the loudest at any sporting event and have been known to paint parts of their body in school colors.  Good luck getting them out of their dorm room on the weekends, because if they don’t have tickets to the game, then they’re gonna park it on their couch in their college colors rooting on the boys.

The Tortured Artist

You’ll be able to identify the Tortured Artists by the sketchbook/DSLR camera/guitar they tote around with them everywhere.  They hated all the droids of high school and the conformist society that surrounded them, so they’re already ingrained with a sense of community loathing.  This will make for awkward conversation in dorm hallways/lecture halls/cafeterias.  However, the Tortured Artist always has something interesting in their room (maybe a still life set up for photography class homework or a naked model for sketching) and they chain smoke like nobody’s business, so if you ever need a cigarette, go to them.

The Hippie Stoner

The Hippie Stoner doesn’t quite know how they got into college, but there’s a bunch of weed here so they’re not complaining.  This dude/chick never seems to leave their room and is always surrounded by a cloud of smoke. Whenever you come by to visit, they invite you in for some video games and invariably offer you some MJ.  Although the Hippie Stoner never attends class, he/she tends to major in Philosophy, Art History or something similarly useless.

The High School Wannabes

These are the people who graduated physically from high school, but haven’t left it mentally.  They still hang with all their high school friends, go home on weekends, and are probably dating someone who actually is in high school.  You’ll probably hear them in the cafeteria or on the phone reminiscing about the “good ‘ole days” back before they graduated.

Hi sweetie. Long time no see. I take that back. I saw you last Friday. Same place, same hazy look in your eyes, different black dress that falls down to expose your bra. This one doesn’t have vomit on it… yet! Congratulations.

As much as going out and drinking in college is an integral part of your experience, I don’t think you serenading a fraternity with “Like a Virgin” into your half-empty Smirnoff handle (your makeshift microphone) while balancing on a coffee table is necessarily the right way to spend your Tuesday night.

You were very stylish at the beginning of the night. Your dress hung perfectly, eyelashes were curled, hair was straightened, heels were spotless and your jewelry matched. However, after those three, four or five shots of Patron? That sexy little dress you picked up at the Saks sale is riding up and showing off your embarrassing leopard print boy shorts. The mascara you so diligently applied is now running down your face after your tearful breakdown about how much you “love everyone sooooo much” and “like, can’t wait to have you all as my bridesmaids.” You seem to have more hair in your face than in your ponytail and one of your high heels is nowhere to be found. Check yourself, honey.

Is that pimply beast of a guy you’re making out with in front of everyone your boyfriend? Hope not, because you just made out with his best friend four minutes ago when you assaulted him against the beer pong table. Yes, beer pong winner is impressive, but it’s not like he just saved a child from a fire. Speaking of, can we talk about your beer pong game? It’s called beer pong for a reason. Not “mass amounts of vodka and a splash of cranberry” pong. When you’ve reached that point where hard liquor in the beer pong cups seems like a good idea, you’ve gone too far.

No, no one wants to split a supreme pizza with you, go to the strip club “just for fun,” drunk dial the Dean’s office or add a rule in any drinking game that involves getting naked. Drunk girl, it’s the middle of the week and don’t you have a final tomorrow? And stop yelling at the poor guy who made your drink – there is plenty of vodka in there and not his fault that you just can’t TASTE it anymore.

I love you, drunk girl. Because, sometimes, I am you. But even when I’m not, I still adore you because I have a great time making fun of you and drawing penises all over you when you pass out on the floor of some random living room amidst a Tila Tequila marathon.

XOXO,
Melanie

Melanie currently interning in NYC, taking full advantage of all margarita specials and those blonde summer boys. Stalk her on Twitter: @tinkermellie

Is it true though? Or are the tabloids just running exaggerated fantasies to harpoon mass appeal? It’s hard to know because these grandiose lifestyles are perpetuated by the attention drawn to them (unless the celebrity is actually talented). Case in point — the Kardashian sex tape.

Bad publicity is good publicity, I suppose… especially for the venues that become associated with celebrity attendance (who doesn’t want to go to places where you might see a rockstar in a bar fight or catch Paris Hilton stripping down to… well… a slightly more naked version of her usual self?).

When talking about club publicity, nothing turns up the temp on a particular venue more than the drug habits of the celebrities. The scandalous behaviors of one Miss Britney Spears has made headlines for a variety of clubs in New York including an all time personal favorite, Marquee. Yes, she has been caught using drugs in the public bathrooms all around town and she’s not the only one. The question then becomes, of course, how many drugs are being done in these places? Certainly you run a high risk (pun intended) of being caught abusing drugs if you are a celebrity, but what about us ordinary folk? Are drugs swimming through the clubs as the tabloids would have us believe?

The answer is YES. I would never consider myself a drug abuser, but I know first hand that almost every club I have been to has it’s own underground microcosmic drug scene. Club Stereo was closed last year after several cocaine busts, though this came as no shock as Stereo was known for being “pot friendly” and leaving the club was like opening the Scoobie Doo van (smoke pouring out). Tenjune turns the other cheek when it comes to smoking the reefer in the VIP section and won’t ask why there are so many girls leaving the bathroom with runny noses. The real shocker comes from Le Souk where I witnessed some special k being snorted in the wide open.

I have also witnessed people getting arrested. Again, Club Stereo, you win in this department with flying colors. On two — no three occasions I witnessed drug raids there, but in the end, drug use was far far more frequent than the arrests that were made. This can probably be said true for almost any club and can be said especially true for celebrities. Amongst my celebrity encounters few involved sobriety (or much respect for, I dunno… THE LAW). Indeed, the Studio 54 mentality lives on in places like Bungalow 8 (where you might just order “a rum and coke.. hold the rum”).

These scenes are often under the radar of the public because of tight security. It’s nearly impossible to get in unless you know someone, ARE a celebrity or (at the very least) have your very own assistant. Places rarely have to answer to the law because undercover cops simply do not fit the demographic of these super-dooper (more like super-doper) high-end venues.

This doesn’t mean that the celebrity lives we read about aren’t embellished to perfection, but it certainly adds validity to the stories. The truth of the matter is, we aren’t living lives so separate from those we read about and if anything can be learned from the tabloids, it’s two things: 1) where the drugs are 2) where people get caught doing them.

When I was younger, I ended up being friends with one of those perfect girls. Well, perfect in most senses….(she was a party girl, after all)….but she got the best grades. She was gorgeous. She excelled at every sport. Every guy wanted her. Every girl wanted to be her. And her clothes..GOD. I wanted her wardrobe. But my mom wasn’t about to take me to the mall for a shopping spree. No way.

So when this girl revealed to me once that she ACTUALLY got all of her clothes at The Goodwill; I was in total shock.

“Are you F*%king kidding me?!”

All of that time, I had been envious over clothes that I could most definitely afford, but wasn’t grabbing because I thought the only thing worse than buying my clothes at Wal-Mart would be to buy them at a thrift store.

How wrong I was.

She and I started going on adventures together to The Goodwill and everything in the universe started to harmonize all of the sudden. (Okay, maybe it wasn’t THAT life changing, but I certainly started to learn a thing or two about fashion.)

To this day, I buy at least 80% of my wardrobe at thrift stores. And the compliments are pretty consistent..even here in New York. And to tell you the truth, I get a jolly old kick out of telling snobby 5th Avenue type chicas that I got my coat from a thrift store.

There are some serious fashion basics that are all available at your local thrift store. So know what to look for and go out and get it:

-PURSES

Unless you’re one of those “I’ve gotta spend $800 on my bag” type of gals, why get your purses any where else? At thrift stores, you can find every kind of purse that has that perfect vintage look.

-BELTS

I’m sorry, but those 1993 Circa “Blossom” floral print belts really do it for me. No, I am not kidding.

-SHOES

So ya like boots? And you want them to look authentic? Well, to be frank, I have no idea where else you CAN get a pair like this other than a thrift store. Go ahead and THINK you can get them at Urban Outfitters. And then tuck your pretty feet under your seat when two other babes are wearing the same ones at lunch.

-JEWELRY

From shell-shaped teal earrings to thick layers of pears; it’s all at the thrift store and for less than a dollar.

Of course thrift stores are also chocked full of other treasures than can turn you into an instant fashionista. For instance, huge men’s sweaters…. tie a belt around that shit at your waist and you’re Mary Kate Olsen. YOU decide if this is good or bad.

So let the Barbies be Barbies with their fake nails and Tiffany charm bracelets. Meanwhile, you can revamp your whole wardrobe for $40. And before you know it, you’ll be excelling at every sport, acing your classes, and scoring all the dudes.

Well, maybe.