TK Maxx collated a ‘uni essentials’ list for 2026, and it’s even more chaos than you’d guess

I don’t really think of TK Maxx as a quick stop when you’ve got a uni shopping list to whiz through. I think of a TK Maxx trip as a metaphysical experience, or an intense team-building exercise. However, TK Maxx have dropped a “uni essentials” list for 2026, and it’s just as chaotic as you’d expect.

Now we’ve passed judgement over the poshest things on John Lewis’s uni essentials guide, and the most pick-me items on the Urban Outfitters list, it’s time to dissect TK Maxx’s attempt.

So, here are the most random, least essential items lurking on TK Maxx’s “The ultimate student and uni essentials guide“. Woah, even the title is extra.

Black candy jar – £12.99

(Image via TK Maxx)

If you have time at uni to decant little sweeties into an ugly pot, then handwash said pot after the whole flat stick their filthy paws inside, then you’re not doing enough studying. I shall be phoning your tutor x

Skulls of my enemies t-shirt – £7.99

(Image via TK Maxx)

No, this t-shirt is not cool in 2026. No, you should not bring any clothes to uni that are “hand wash” only. It’ll just fester on your clothes chair until you go home for the holidays, and your parents incinerate it.

Handmade napkin rings – £9.99

(Image via TK Maxx)

These are super pretty, but I’ve yet to meet a student who takes fabric napkins to university, lays the table formally each mealtime, and launders linens every few days.

Bitty Pop Bitty Pop soundwave and rumble figure – £9.99

(Image via TK Maxx)

When I saw this among Tk Maxx’s recommended tech and gadgets for university, I assumed it was a quirky speaker, or some sort of novelty lamp à la the Urban Outfitters list. But no, it is genuinely just a Transformers action figure.

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Ceramic ball pot – £39.99

(Image via TK Maxx)

What’s a student meant to do with a 35cm x 35cm vase? Pass it to the flatmate who loses Ring of Fire, ready for when they make retching sounds?

Coaster painting kit – £6.99

(Image via TK Maxx)

*Would* I buy a Battersea Dogs and Cats Home coaster-painting craft kit? Obviously, yes.. *Should* you buy a Battersea Dogs and Cats Home coaster-painting craft kit, and lug a box of ceramics and paints to university in lieu of stuff such as pans, or pants? Probably not.

Your beautiful illustrations of puppies and butterflies will not survive a single Freshers Week party. I swear the sweat of an intoxicated rugby boy can dissolve paint.

K-pop cuties colouring book – £4.99

(Image via TK Maxx)

Was this put on the “back to uni” list instead of the “back to school” list by mistake?

Staying alive ceramic mug – £4.99

(Image via TK Maxx)

To be fair, this is an accurate representation of me in a 9am lecture.

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