It's time to relinquish your wallets (credit, debit and cash) to the world's most expensive holiday. Buying gifts can always seem tedious, especially if you’re dealing with a picky HBCU student or alum—it’s an entirely new ballgame now. But don't fret. Here’s a guide to get the HBCU student in your life the perfect gift.
1. A Juvia’s Place Eyeshadow Palette
Juvia’s Place is perfect for a makeup lover. Anybody following makeup knows Nigerian-born Chichi Eburu’s cosmetic line lives up to the hype surrounding it and then some. Her highly pigmented eyeshadow palettes feature African-centered labels like Fula andWodaabe. Whoever you buy this for will love you forever.
2. Revoke Their Black Card (They'll Get It Back, Eventually)
Black Card Revoked is essentially the Black version of Cards Against Humanity. It tests your knowledge of common and uncommon aspects of Black culture with questions like “what insult will women most often use when flirting?” Is it “A. Hey Ashy" or "B. Hey Big Head?” Filled with hilarious questions and unpopular opinions, this game is a great gift for anybody, especially your HBCU fam.
3. Allow Them To Rep Their Set With School Apparel
You can always tell who went to an HBCU because they'll always talk about going to an HBCU and they're rocking school paraphernalia any chance they get. But those school bookstore prices are a little up there. So use this holiday season as a chance to stock up on some school gear so they don’t have to break their bank when trying to showcase their (slightly obnoxious but always illustrious) school pride.
4. Tools For A Quick Fenty Beauty Slay
Makeup lovers weren't meant to go through this life without Fenty Beauty. Rih knew. Lipgloss, eyeshadow, highlighter, foundation—we support it all and we want it all. It doesn’t even matter what the product is, just make sure the shade is right.
Legendary Rootz is a Black-owned online store that has everything from Black-oriented office supplies, clothing and home décor. The site features content for all genders, so you can find something for everybody. Whether they’re rocking a Legendary Rootz backpack or sporting one of their crop tops, they’ll be turning heads and breaking necks.
It’s common knowledge that maintaining natural hair ain’t cheap! Gifting someone with their favorite hair care products will have them smiling from ear to ear. What better way to go back to campus than with popping curls?
7. Let Them Dance The Pain Of Academia Away With Concert Tickets
Travis Scott, Nao, Ari Lennox, The Internet, Noname, Gunna, you name it. The time to for your HBCU love to go to a concert is now.
8. Spoil Their Melanin With Skin Buttr Skin Care Products
Skin Buttr is a Black-owned skincare line offering butters, scrubs and face products. With scents like ginger lemon, cocoa vanilla, strawberry coconut, and honey almond, these body butters are sure to be a hit with everybody. Plus, nobody wants to be that person having to ask peers for lotion because their hands are ashy.
9. Black Lit Is As Lit As It Gets
If they've gotten just a smidgen of a taste of Black literature, trust they're feigning for more. Ask what’s on their reading wish list and buy some books for them—reading can be expensive. Pro-tip: you can never go wrong with Toni Morrison.
10. Video Games
The gamers in your family will love you. There have been a ton of new releases this year — Madden, 2K, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Red Dead Redemption 2, just to name a few. They run around approximately 60 dollars. Find out what games they’ve been eyeing and bless them!
11. Fight The Powers That Be With BLK MKT Vintage Collectibles
BLK MKT Vintage specializes in vintage collectibles like original Black Panther Party newspapers and first edition novels. The site hosts a massive range of artifacts ranging from vinyls, art, furniture and beyond—perfect for any HBCU student.
12. Let Them Live Their Collegiate Truth With Don’t Sleep Interiors Pillows
Don’t Sleep Interiors’ Pillows are the perfect addition to any dorm room. The pillows are Afro-centric, many riddled with quotes from Black intellectuals like Malcolm X or Patrice Lumumba.
Effie’s Paper is filled with stationery sets, office supplies, lapel pins, makeup bags and more. The Black-owned site is filled with cute notebooks, to-do lists and post-it notes that will make your college student want to get their life together. They even have holiday gift sets for less than 30 dollars!
14. A Polaroid Camera So They Can At Least Pretend They're Of The "A Different World" Era 
Every HBCU student has seen and fallen in love with the vintage photos from their school. We’re all a bit obsessed with the 20th century photos of alum laughing on the yard or hanging out in a dorm room. A polaroid camera will give that nostalgic look and feel to all the beautiful memories they’ll be making at their college.
15. But all a student really needs is the money
We all want it. We all need it. If you’re stumped on a gift, a card with a few bills is all you need to have a happy student. Venmo and CashApp work just as well.
We'll take it all.
If you like this article check out this other content:
7 Great Holiday Gift Ideas For The Young Black Millennial
Black-Owned Businesses to Shop This Holiday Season
Blavity's Favorite Things: Some Of The Best Black-Owned Companies To Gift From This Holiday Season
