Advice, cookbooks and emergency pot noodles: Your best gifts for university students

When it comes to sending a child or grandchild off to university, it can be tempting to fill their room with every conceivable gadget. So to help, we asked the Telegraph Recommended Community for their best gift recommendations and their suggestions ranged from desk lamps to cookery books and supermarket gift cards. Here are the essentials worth buying. Kitchen basics From cupboard essentials to electrical appliances and cookbooks, most readers say they’d gift kitchen equipment. Thinking back to his university days, reader TJ, 43, from London, says “the main essentials are around kitchen items and good long lasting food”. “It’s nice to have some bits to cook for others as well and to make friends quickly,” he adds. Susan, 54, from the West Midlands, agrees, recommending “basic cooking equipment” as a key staple and “distinctive cutlery, plates and cups that are easily identified”, which are particularly useful for shared accommodation. “A box of store cupboard ingredients such as olive oil, soy, stock cubes and spices to use when cooking,” is also well-received, she says.