We lefties have it rough in this world. We’ve pretty much had it rough since before we were born. How such negative stigmas got attached to being left handed, I’ll never know. One thing I do know is this: we left-handers need support! This year, make your holiday gift giving a left-hander appreciation time, and buy the perfect lefty gift for your favorite lefty comrade! This gift guide will present you with a list of the ten best gifts to get the lefty in your life. Let’s start at ten and work up to number one!
10. A Left-Handed Essentials Kit. These kits typically include some of the essentials of life typically designed with only right-handed people in mind. While it might not seem like it makes a difference, to us lefties the difference is very recognizable. Usually, a left-handed essentials kit contains gift items like a left-handed set of scissors, can opener, cork screw, and peeler. While not particularly the most interesting gift for a college student, it will certainly prove helpful the next time he or she goes to do their next decorating or well-designed project and wants to cut out a perfect circle without having to try to do it backwards, or if they want to be the one opening the New Year’s bottle of wine (Juniors and Seniors only, of course) instead of passing it off to a right-handed friend, or if they get tired of Ramen noodles and want some soup without practically breaking their hands off trying to open the can!
9. A Left-Handed Kitchen Set. Give the lefty college student on your list a nice set of utensils and kitchen items to start off their personal collection of these necessities. We all know that a college student’s second favorite activity besides learning-no eye rolls, please-is eating. With this gift, you can show the left-handed college student that their unique needs are important to you, even when it comes to the kitchen. Not only this but some of these kitchen items are just too cool to pass up! Left-handed kitchen knives are designed with the sharp edge and ridges on the opposite side of your typical kitchen knife. Specialty stores will sell you everything from left-handed forks and spoons to left-handed mugs. That’s right . . . left-handed mugs. This may sound silly, because a mug is a mug, right? Well, no, not quite; the design is usually printed so that a right-handed person always gets to enjoy it, while a lefty has to admire it only while it sits on the table. In any case, any of the gifts in this set will be a gift that keeps on giving; the gift of ease in use is always priceless, especially among hectic college students!
8. SPLURGE: A Left-Handed Computer System. Yes, even the all-famous classic college student gift, the computer, can backfire when you have a lefty who just can’t get comfortable with the mouse in their right hand. Instead of having them reset a mouse so they can use it in their left hand (like I did), why not equip them with an already lefty-friendly system when they head off to school? Equip the computer with a left-handed mouse and even a left-handed keyboard (if the ways of the right-handed keyboard haven’t already been seared into their long-term memory)!
7. Left-Handed Themed Books. This is a great way to not only show lefty appreciation but also entertain a college student with some light reading between study hours.
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‘s of the left-handed themed books out there are both informative and humorous. They encourage lefties to be who they are all the time! Some of my personal favorites among these books are The Left-Handers Handbook and The Natural Superiority of the Left-Hander. These books are sure to inspire countless hours of fun for the left-hander you know, and equally countless hours of encouragement as they see just how normal being left-handed is!
6. Left-Handed Clock. This gift is more of a novelty item, but it also provides a nice dorm room decoration. What exactly is a left-handed clock? Basically, the numbers go counter-clockwise, so anyone who wants to know what time it is must read the time right-to-left. These clocks not only show left-hander appreciation; they also make really fun gifts that will be sure to let your lefty friend spark endless conversations about life as a lefty!
5. Left-Handed Playing Cards. Of course, the third favorite college activity behind studying and eating is playing cards! I know I personally enjoy a friendly game of poker-minus the gambling part, which is hardly a wise choice for the poor college student anyway-or some other card game on a Friday or Saturday night. But as a lefty, there remains a very disadvantageous side to cards; they are only marked on the top left corner. I know this doesn’t really sound like a big deal, but call it a matter of principal! Destroy the right-handed bias in your lefty friend’s life by getting them a set of left-handed cards, on which the card is marked in all four corners to give an equal shot to any and every player!
4. A Set of Stabilo and/or Yoropen Ballpoint Pens. These pens are specially designed to help out left-handed writers. Oftentimes, when a lefty uses a ballpoint pen-even those guaranteed to write smoothly-the ink inevitable stops coming out so smooth and consistently; I couldn’t tell you why this is, but it remains a fact of life for lefties. This can be particularly frustrating for a college student taking an in-class essay exam! These pens are never that expensive, so go in for a complete set. They’re also quite stylish, and help with other issues faced by lefties, such as not being able to see what they’re writing and, of course, the smeared ink!
3. Special Left-Handed Lead and #2 Pencils. As mentioned with the last item, a common problem for lefties is smearing what they write. Specially designed left-handed lead pencils claim to alleviate this problem. Don’t ask me how they do it, but they seem to work! These will come in quite handy during a left-hander’s worst nightmare: the scantron exam!
2. Left-Handed Notebooks. Be it a binder or a wired notebook, the typical collegiate notebooks get so annoying for lefties-myself included-that they’ll go with either a journalist-style notebook (with the wire at the top) or the age-old composition notebook; both of these choices, however, can really be heart-breakers in college (i.e., easily lost pages in one, typically less space to write in the other). Instead, go in to buy your lefty a set of left-handed notebooks specially designed to alleviate this discomfort. These are also great conversation starters, and can be quite stylish; imagine walking around with a notebook that looks like it was put together backwards!
1. Left-Handed Camera. These items tend to go to the top of several left-handers’ Christmas lists. Cameras are always great gifts for college students, to capture all those fabulous memories with, and lefties are no exception. This year, find the lefty on your list the camera best suited for them. These cameras are typically made with the viewfinder on the other side-it’s usually on the right-and the shutter release button is either on the left or on both sides. There are also more and more cameras out there that resemble a remote control (the screen is to the side, while the shutter release and other buttons are on a remote control-like body) that are easily used by any photographer!
Bear in mind that oftentimes left-hander friendly gifts are often hard to find. However, there are several specialty stores both on and offline that I’m sure you’ll be able to find if you look for them! And remember, no matter how hard it is to find the perfect left-handed gift, the recipient will be sure to appreciate it, especially since it will show just how much you care about them and your ability to recognize their uniqueness as a lefty!
Reference:
- Stores and websites selling special left-handed items include: Anything Left Handed (based in the UK, ships anywhere) Anderson Left Handed SideWacky Planet’s Lefty WorldLeft Hand Zone Find a list of left-hander specialty stores and websites in the Yahoo Directory
