The Best Gifts for Young Adults in Their First Apartment: Gift Guide 2021

It really does seem like everybody is on TikTok these days and if they aren't, they're thinking about it. This ringlight and tripod stand is perfect for the aspiring TikToker - or for anyone who wants to look good on their Zoom calls.

If they don't have AirPods, trust me they want them. And it has to be the real thing. My gift of the $35 knock-off brand last year was met with deep disdain. Prices are cheaper than ever so go for the real thing and you'll be rewarded with major excitement when they open their present.

Your young adult can use this iPad in so many ways. (And, once again, it has to be the real thing; knockoffs will not be appreciated.) You can use it as laptop alternative when traveling, you can watch Netflix in bed, you can use it to create creative drawings, and you can use it to edit photos you took on your iPhone. If your young adult hasn't had an iPad before, they'll be amazed at everything they end up using for.

We all want to read more books, but it can be hard to find the time and there are so many other things competing for our attention at home. Make reading easier for your young adult with a 3 month, 6 month, or 12 month subscription to Audible. Each month, they can download the audiobook of their choice and then listen to it whenever they have a spare moment. It's the perfect companion for a long commute.

If your young adult's significant other is their beloved dog, they'll love this camera that can let them check in on their little bundle of joy whenever they're away. The camera can detect barking and sent an alert to your phone so you can check in to see what's wrong. Plus, you can toss a treat to your good boy whenever you want.

An Echo Dot is a good smart speaker for someone in their first apartment. They can catch up on the morning news and check on the traffic and weather as they get ready for work in the morning and then get recipe ideas and add items to buy at the grocery store in the evening.

The Roku Streaming Stick+ lets your young adult stream all their favorite shows and movies anytime without the need for a cable subscription. This device can stream all the beautiful 4K content that's rapidly becoming available.

You still need to carry a laptop with you even after school is over, but now your backpack needs to look sleek and professional. This light backpack has multiple storage compartments and a luggage strap so you can securely slide it over your suitcase handle during those business trips or vacations.

Staying hydrated is very important but you also want to think about the environment, right? This water bottle keeps your beverage cool and the protective cover keeps dirt and germs away from the spout.

Even young eyes can feel the strain from looking at a computer screen all day. Change their lives with these blue-light blocking glasses. These are lightweight and allow them to work longer without feeling exhausted.

Coffee is life to the working adult. This coffee warmer and mug set lets your young adult keep the coffee going all day at the perfect temperature. The heating unit can keep the beverage warm from 77°F to 158°F while the cool-touch handle and silicone-wrapped middle keep you from getting burned when you pick up the mug.

Make sure they have at least one friend at the office with these easy to care for snake plant. Plants lower stress and improve air quality and this snake plant thrives in low, indirect light so it's the perfect plant for an office environment.

This easy-to-use massage gun gives a surprisingly effective deep-tissue massage to help ease muscle aches. This massager is cordless so there's no need to fuss with an awkward cord and the battery lasts for up to 5 hours.

When the weight of the world is just too much, this is the perfect weighted blanket to crawl under. This faux fur blanket is soft and cozy and provides a soothing 15 pounds of weight.

Simply place one of these shower steamers on the floor of the shower and you'll be energized and relaxed and ready to start the day.

Look - sometimes you just need to throw on your cozy animal heated slippers and chill out for a bit.

When the going gets tough, the tough need a little self-care kit. This gift box encourages you to slow down and relax. Includes facial steam, essential oil spray, a quartz crystal and bath salts.

If there's one tool necessary to survive in the adult world, it's coffee. This Keurig makes coffee-making so simple, you can do it before you've had your coffee and the small footprint doesn't waste counter space.

This milk frother is perfect for anyone missing their daily coffee house run or for anyone who likes to start the day with a protein shake. This frother creates a delicious foam in seconds and works for hours on just 2 AA batteries. Plus, it comes with a set of templates so you can make your own cute designs on top.

There's no need for an expensive bulky blender unless you're making margaritas for friends on a regular basis. This nutribullet is perfect for whipping up easy morning smoothies to get that quick hit of nutrition on the go.

A home meal kit is an excellent introduction to cooking at home as it takes away the need to meal plan and shop and generally provides good step-by-step instructions each night. Hello Fresh offers several gift cards that can be used towards any of their meal plans.

Sure, you can probably find all this information on the Internet - if you take the time to look and to vet your sources. But this reference book from New York Times columnist Mark Bittman is an essential reference for the beginning cook. Each recipe teaches a basic cooking technique and he also covers how to set up your pantry, knife techniques and really, just everything a home cook needs to know. It's all accompanied with extensive photographs so there's no confusion. This is the book I turn to when I can't remember how to do something or (more often) I never really learned the correct technique.

Friends don't let friends buy knives in block sets. Teach your young adult the pleasures of using a decent knife with these two versatile knives and honing blade. These Swiss knives are high-quality blades sold at a reasonable price that many chefs use. The bundle includes a chef's knife and a paring knife which can handle most kitchen tasks so they're perfect for beginning cooks.

This is a great beginner's cookware set as it contains a variety of pots and pans for almost any cooking need and it's an amazing value for stainless steel cookware. Plus each pot comes with a tempered glass vented lid so you can see what you're cooking without lifting the lid and there's no need to worry about your pots boiling over.

This butter keeper lets you keep your butter out of the fridge so that it's always soft and creamy. My kids saw mine at home and demanded their own.

These olive oil and vinegar bottles offer easy drip-free pouring, plus the measuring guide at the top pours the correct amount every time.

There's nothing more frustrating than being in the middle of cooking a meal and realizing the recipes calls for a spice you don't have. That happens a lot to beginning cooks who are just starting to build up their spice collections. This spice rack comes with 20 basic spices (plus offers free refills for 5 years) and its revolving design minimizes the amount of counterspace it occupies.

All the chopping and dicing can intimidate a beginner cook. This vegetable chopper has a variety of blades and attachments to slice, dice, and grate a variety of vegetables and cheeses. Plus the attached container can store what you've chopped until you're ready to use it.

This versatile piece is meant to add some extra storage in the kitchen and it's the perfect size to hold a small microwave along with some dishes or other kitchen items. But it's also the perfect size to hold a printer or to be used as an end table next to a sofa. The middle shelf is adjustable which further increases its versatility.

Your young adult will love being able to impress their friends with their Instagram-worthy cheese boards.

Any new entertainer will love this cheese board, which also comes with a full set of serving pieces.

Share the joys of an organized entryway with this wall-mounted key holder with a wire pocket for mail and other essentials.

Vasagle is a brand sold on Amazon known for well-made but inexpensive industrial style furniture and most of their pieces are perfect for a young adult in their first apartment. This 4-tier bookshelf is no exception - the price is incredible and the bookshelf is just the right size for books or to display a collection.

This cocktail shaker set has all the tools a budding bartender needs and the mahogany stand helps keep them organized and beautifully displayed.

The best gifts are ones you wouldn't buy yourself so give your young adult the gift of a luxiourous night's sleep with these surprisingly affordable set of 100% combed cotton sheets. The more you wash these sheets, the softer they'll get!

Turn shower time into spa time with this soft and thick cotton Turkish towel set. These towels will last for years and be a much better alternative than the cheap discount towels your young adult might otherwise buy.

This cordless vacuum makes vacuuming ridiculously convenient - just grab and go.

Oh, the places you'll go with this sturdy canvas weekender bag with tons of space, including a separate shoe compartment. Almost 500 reviewers on Amazon have given this bag an amazing 4.8-star rating, making it an astonishing value.

Nobody has room for an iron and an ironing board anymore. Even I can't remember the last time I actually ironed anything. But you still need to take the wrinkles out of a shirt or dress from time to time and this steamer is perfect for emergency wrinkle removal.

Grown-ups take their oral health seriously but that's no reason you can't help make it fun with the gift of the stylish and sleek Quip toothbrush. Each quip lasts 3 months on a single battery so there's no need to charge every night and the company sends you a new battery and brush head every 3 months. Plus the brush itself vibrates so you know when to move to a new section while brushing and the built-in timer ensures you brush for a full two minutes, the length dentists recommend.

Swiss army knives aren't considered the essential items that they used to be so your young adult may need a little explanation of how they can be useful in day-to-day life. Just explain that a Swiss Army life is handy in the following situations: food in the teeth (included toothpick), battery replacement (included screwdriver), opening wine (corkscrew), opening beer (beer opener), cutting off price tags (scissors). Also, there's a knife. Someday your young adult will pass this knife along to their grandchildren.

Someday, maybe not today, but soon and for the rest of their life, your young adult will need to use a tool. And on that day, they'll be glad you gave them this handy toolset which contains a full set of allen wrenches so they don't need to use the crappy ones that come with the Ikea furniture they bought and a variety of screwdrivers for almost any need.

Setting a new life in a new apartment requires a lot of new purchases so maybe the best gift of all is the gift of an Amazon Prime membership. And don't worry - you don't have to fork over the money for a full 12-month membership (although it's awesome if you do!) For just $39, you can help your young adult with a 3-month membership that includes free 2-day shipping, free movies and TV shows with Prime video, free music streaming, and so much more.