BY JILLIAN DESOUSA // DEC. 11, 2012 // 

Curry College students may be too old to believe in Santa Claus, but they are certainly not too old to make a wish list. According to many on campus, technology and clothing top their lists for holiday gifts.

“I want a one-pound Hershey bar!” said Ana Oliveira, a sophomore criminal justice major.

Beats By Dre headphones is a popular holiday gift item. // COURTESY PHOTO //

OK, some requests are unique, but students may want to shoot higher this holiday season. The iPad mini is a great choice, said Antonio Jones, another sophomore criminal justice major. It’s slightly less expensive than the normal iPad, but allows users to download all the same great apps, as well as to access the Internet and read books and magazines. Depending on the amount of gigabytes you want, prices ranges from $329 to $659.

Beats By Dre headphones are also on Oliveira’s wish list. They come in an array of colors, with a flash of red on all. The headphones come in either buds or full-on headphones, and costs range from $99 to $399.

“And socks, because you can never have too much of those,” Oliveira added.

Zappos.com offers more than 1,000 different types of socks, from crew to knee-high, from wool to cotton, from sporty to silly. Prices range from $5 for ordinary socks to as much as $100 for hiking and skiing socks.

Of course, asking for clothes—any clothes—is tricky. Style, after all, is in the eye of the beholder. So, according to students, the better holiday gift request is for cold, hard cash or gift cards. That way, you can shop for yourself!

“I want money, because the gift card might not be to a place that I like,” said Joleen McNamara, a freshman nursing major.

But don’t think for a minute that the holidays are all about you. There are countless people far less fortunate than you. And here at Curry, students like to give as much as they enjoy getting.

For example, Jones said he plans to donate some of his time this year to a food pantry. “Because if I can help, it might make their Christmas seeing that someone cares about them more than anything else,”
he said.

FoodPantries.org is a great Web site that lists different food pantries throughout the state, including the Braintree Community Food Pantry and the Milton Community Food Pantry. Most organizations like this are always eager for an extra set of hands this time of year.

“I donate my service to the senior center in Marshfield,” said McNamara. “My grandmother works there. I want to work with geriatrics, the elderly.”

According to charity-charities.org, other area nonprofits that could always use additional volunteers are Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts, located in Boston, and The Women’s Lunch Place, a shelter for women who are homeless or just poor and in the need of a nutritious meal.

No matter how you spend your holidays, remember this: It’s not what you get, but what you give. Of course, getting a new iPhone wouldn’t be so bad!