First Apartment and Dorm Room Gifts
Gifts For Young Adults Who Are Moving Out Of Home
Moving away to university is a big milestone, for kids and for their parents! This year, it involves even more uncertainty than usual. Helping your young adult with their big move and setting up a new home should be exciting, but the apprehension and nervousness is totally normal! It’s just as tough for teens with friends moving away. Along with the excitement of heading off to uni there is also the fear of saying goodbye and losing touch with childhood friends. Having a farewell party or buying a special going away gift is a great way to let a friend know they will be missed. For parents or close family, moving out of home gifts for young adults are usually practical gifts to help them along their new journey.
Studying at uni this year will be a very different experience for many young adults starting out on their own. More lectures will be held online and students will be spending more of their study time in their dorm room or college apartment. If your child is moving away for university and will be sharing a house with others, they might find themselves studying at home more than they like with a mix of face-to-face and online teaching. For kids moving away from home for the first time, it’s more important than ever for them to have a great space to live and work where they’ll feel at home.
Helping your child set up a comfy dorm room or create a home away from home is a good way to reduce your own worries about sending them off to uni. Whether they are living on campus, setting up their first apartment, or hoping to rent a room in a sharehouse with other students, there’s a few essentials every young adult needs when moving away from home.
Going away to university gift ideas from parents
A comfortable study chair, good storage, and a good desk lamp are a few dorm room must-haves that are important. Once you’ve covered those new home essentials you can have fun with more creative leaving home gift ideas. College room décor and student accommodation is often not particularly inspiring! While the essential bed and desk are there, it takes a little creativity to decorate a small space and keep it practical. The best gifts for college students who plan to live on-campus are small homewares gifts, practical things they’ll use each day, or study-related gifts.
Dorm room gift ideas
If your child will be living on campus, check what appliances are allowed in college rooms. If there’s room, a mini bar fridge, kettle, and coffee maker will make a world of difference to their late night study sessions. Setting them up with their own tea and coffee making essentials is a great gift idea. Our compact Electric Espresso Maker is a safe benchtop unit that would work well in a small apartment or dorm room. They’ll enjoy the flavour of stove-top percolator coffee in their own room without having to fight for space or risk damage in a shared kitchen. Plus a convenient and easily portable electric coffee maker in their room means they won't have to make a late night trip to the dining hall for a pick-me-up.
If they can't have appliances in their room, tea or coffee lovers will love, The Big Mug. This is a great dorm room gift for keeping their favourite beverage hot for longer. A tea or coffee made in the common room the night before will stay hot overnight for a quick pick-me-up to get them off to class in the morning. You could pair it with a Wooden Tea Box for storing their favourite selection of teas.
Quality speakers for listening to music, podcasts, and lecture recordings are essential. Most dorm rooms don't have a lot of space, so this Touch Boombox Speaker offers big sound in a little speaker. Wireless bluetooth connection to their phone means they can connect on the go, in the park, in their room, or wherever they are.
Décor gifts for a first apartment
Housewarming gifts for someone setting up their first apartment or moving away from home for the first time need to strike a balance between being familiar and giving them a chance to express their own personality. If you’re looking for inspiration for the best gifts to give your young adult as they move out of home, check in with them to see how they imagine their new room will look. Don’t be offended if they want to break away from their childhood preferences. Their current bedroom might be full of pastels or shades of black, but they might be looking forward to decorating and finding a new style.
Mix and match homewares gifts and classic décor items that go with everything make it easy if you’re not sure what they’ll like and what will suit them as adults. Easy co-ordinating throw rugs are essential sharehouse and dorm room gifts. The Ines Dawn Throw Rug from Bambury will look great decorating their bed, plus they’ll love having their own cosy blanket for hanging out in the common areas of the house and for extra warmth at night.
Personalising their space in a share house is important. Photo frames, wall hangings, and personal knick-knacks help to make their new home cozy. The Larry Llama Trinket Plates Set by Emporium is great for jewellery, a safe space for their keys, ear buds, and other little essentials. If they’ll have a balcony or sunny common area, they might love some quirky plant pots to add a little greenery. The cute Llama Pott is a fun gift to brighten up their room. And the range of Urban Greens grow kits are perfect for small spaces and available in edible flowers, healthy greens, and colourful chilli peppers.
Practical going away to uni gifts
There’s a whole range of practical study related gifts for someone moving away to uni. Study gifts include bookends, tech-related gifts, and presents to help them stay organised like a study journal or stationery. Ideas for little gifts to help make their dorm room cozy and functional include a Felt Bedside Pocket for storing night-time study essentials, an iPad iBed to make it easier to study in bed or in the student common lounge areas, or quirky Star Wars Stormtrooper Bookends for something a little different.
Farewell gift ideas for friends
If you’re planning a send-off for a friend who is going away to uni, you could create a student survival gift hamper of little going away gifts. Chipping in together with friends to create a collection of handy gifts solves the problem of what to get someone going away to college. A survival box for students going to university could include things like a portable speakers, a phone charging powerbank, and an easy recipe book. Even if they’re not into cooking, the 5 Ingredients, Quick & Easy Food By Jamie Oliver is an essential moving out of home cook book for students or those living on their own for the first time. With over 130 recipes and easy-to-understand nutritional information it makes learning to cook healthy meals easy.
The Everyday Survival Tool Set is perfect for being prepared! With a keyring with a mini torch and different multi tools, credit card tool to carry with them, and a handy carabiner, screwdriver, bottle opener, and knife for all those emergency tools they’ll want to have on hand when they move out of home. A photo frame or hanging Photo Clip String Lights are other essential gifts for their moving out of home checklist. What better way to wish them luck than sending them off with a gift to remember you by!
Personalised going away gifts
Personalised leather gifts make great presents for someone going away to university. These are sophisticated ideas for farewell gifts that say “congratulations” and “I’ll miss you” at the same time. Plus, they are compact, don’t take up space, and are gifts they’ll use. A personalised leather notebook holder, monogrammed pencil case, leather wallet, or a gorgeous personalised leather messenger bag are practical gifts for a student or for someone starting a new job. A Personalised Keyring, Monogrammed Leather Toiletries Bag, or Luggage Tags are especially handy gifts for someone living on campus or in a dorm with shared facilities.
Wish Them Luck With A Special Moving Out Of Home Gift
Make their big move one of excitement and wish them luck on their new adventure with the perfect going away gift from Gifts Australia. Browse our full range of new apartment décor ideas and fun going away gifts to find something that suits their personality. Delivery is free Australia wide on all orders over $99. Have their gift delivered direct to their new apartment or dorm room as a welcoming gift, or have it come to you for a personal gift at their farewell party. Studying at uni will be more fun when they're surrounded by loving gifts from home from friends and family.