Holiday Gift Ideas For Your Roommate

By Danielle Wirsansky on December 13, 2017

In college, you make a lot of new friends that will become lifelong relationships. It could be those kids in your science class, your favorite student group, or even your roommate. Your roommate holds a special place in your heart. This person knows a lot about you, from your eating to your hygienic habits. They know your schedule, they know your flaws, and they still choose to live with you anyways (at least until the lease is up). With the holiday season in full swing, you will want to get a gift for the roommate who is acting as your pseudo-family while you are away at college. Not sure what to get? Read on for some holiday gift ideas your roommate will love!

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Coupon Book

You have probably heard of giving a coupon book as a sort of gag gift. In the sitcoms, little kids present a handmade coupon book to a parent only for hilarious hijinks to ensue. Make a book by hand, listing out coupons that your roommate can trade in for, like “1 Week of Taking the Garbage Out.”

They can be chores that you will do for them, like “Cleaning Out the Oven” or “Reorganizing the Tupperware Cupboard.” It can also be for goofy little things that you and your roommate do to each other, like “One Public Serenade (song of your choice)” or “One Free Noogie.” It can also be something your roommate trades in so that you can spend time together or do something fun, like “One Dinner Date” or “One Midnight Ice Cream Run.” Make them personal to you and your roommate’s relationship so that they are all the more thoughtful and meaningful.

There are many free templates available online for you to customize and make your own coupon book. Wikihow also lists steps you can take to make your own. The steps (in a nutshell) are listed below!

  1. Determine how many coupons you would like to put in your book.
  2. Think of some coupon ideas.
  3. Make your coupons.
  4. Put your coupons in the order you desire.
  5. Punch two holes on one side of each coupon.
  6. Tie ribbon or string through the hole-punched holes.
  7. Finished.

Apartment Cleaning

Cleaning is something not a lot of people enjoy doing. It can be thankless, it can be gross, and it can be a hassle. So offer to take some of this weight off your roommate every once in a while. If you want, you can offer to do a deep cleaning of the apartment, washing the carpets, cleaning out the cupboards, disinfecting the sinks, scrubbing the stove. If you are good at it, know what you are doing, and have the time, offer it! Show them that you care and are trying to make their burden a little bit less. You will have to purchase supplies and put in a little bit of elbow grease, but it is a gift that everyone can appreciate.

However, you can also offer to hire a cleaning service to come in and clean the whole apartment as your gift to them as well. It can also be considered a gift to yourself too, since you will reap the benefits of clean common spaces, can get your room/bathroom cleaned too, and then do not have to do all the work and cleaning yourself. You can also often find holiday discounts for a cleaning service to come in around this time of year. Handy.com is a great resource to find a cleaning service in your area!

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Something Personal

Another way to show your roommate how much you appreciate them (whether for paying their half of the rent, putting up with you, or both) is to get them something personal. By personal, we mean something that connects to who they are as a person and aligns with their interests, hobbies, passion, career and more.

You could just get them a gift card to Walmart so that they can buy whatever they need. Or you could give them a gift card to their favorite clothing boutique. You could just get them a pleasantly scented candle. Or you could get them a candle in their favorite scent with matching bath soaps.

There are always way to ramp up an average gift and make them more personal so that they more closely align with what your roommate wants. Show that you know your roommate well enough, that you pay attention to them, that you care enough about them that you are willing to take the extra step to get something that they will truly cherish and enjoy.

Giving a gift that is personal shows you really care and put time and effort into their gift and it makes your gift that much more special and unique.

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