Goodbye Gift under $100
When she arrives at college or university, your sweetie will probably feel homesick. Help her feel more at home with these fun Pineapple Battery Powered String Lights from Urban Outfitters. The LED lights are great for adding a punch of fun to indoor or outdoor spaces. The warm glow will have her feeling more like she’s at the beach than in the midst of exam stress when it hits.
Another gift idea for your girlfriend is to give her the Letters to My Future Self kit. This time capsule features 12 fold-and-mail style letters that have prompts to inspire self-reflection. She can write about her college adventures, from getting lost on campus to meeting her BFF in art class. She will treasure the diary entries in the future and thank you for giving her such a thoughtful gift (she doesn’t need to know it’s only about $10 either).
Or, if you are a DIYer and want to go that extra mile (especially since she’ll soon be miles away from you at college), why not make your own custom picture frame for her? Then put a photo of you two in it for her to display on the desk at her dorm to cheer her up when she misses you. Use this simple photo frame tutorial to create a custom work of art for your favorite woman in the world (shhh don’t tell ma).
Goodbye Gift under $500
Make it easier than ever for your special lady to read college textbooks and papers with the Kindle Paperwhite E-reader. At just under $200, you’re giving your girlfriend a high-value present that will be more convenient to tote around with her in a backpack than those bulky hardcover books, as well as saving her from having to buy the more expensive print versions.
This model has high-resolution display (300 PPI) and no screen glare if she’s reading outside. The long-lasting battery charge will take her through several hours of use and the built-in front light is easier on her eyes than the typical back-lit tablets.
Along with gifting your girlfriend the Kindle tablet, do the research for her on how to use it to the max at university. Tell her about Amazon’s textbook rental for getting the cheapest deal on books. Rather than buying reference books outright, she can just rent them for a third of the price of buying the physical copy. You’ll be saving your woman massive moolah over her school career.
Goodbye Gift under $1000
Give your sweetheart the sweetest looking laptop case ever. It’s perfect for the uber-feminine gal – and practical too. Check out the Kate Spade Calista Spot Polka Dot Laptop Handbag. It fits a 13″ laptop and has all the designer goodness she wants with its Kate Spade New York license plate that tells the world her boyfriend sprung for a big-name item.
This laptop case looks like a precious handbag but carries something almost as precious as her heart – her laptop! She can go from one college class to another with the ultimate fashion accessory. Oh, and the laptop is great for your FaceTime calls too.
What, you didn’t know you can make and receive phone calls on your Mac? Yup, you’re not stuck with the small screen of your iPhone. Now you can see your gal on a bigger screen in all her glory! You’ll need to have Mac OS X Snow Leopard v10.6.6 or later and the FaceTime App from the Mac App Store. Also, your Internet connection must be 128-Kbps or better (upstream and downstream), as well as a microphone and camera that meet the requirements set out in this Apple Support page.
