Want to give the gift of health this holiday season? Great idea! But first, a word of caution: There are some pitfalls you’ll want to avoid. I remember the year that I gave “Recipes For a Leaner You” to a friend at work. She’d been complaining incessantly about her weight and I thought she’d appreciate the thought. Instead she took it as an insult. “Why don’t you just say I’m FAT???” she sniffed.
First tip on healthy gift giving? Let people come to grips with their personal flaws in their own time. It may be obvious to you that your buddy Paul needs some insight after his break-up, but giving him a self help book is bound to backfire. One year, a guy gave me 10 Stupid Things Women Do To Mess Up Their Lives after my divorce and I just wanted to smack him one. Even if it was true. So, unless self-exploration and health maintenance are already part of someone’s lifestyle, save the therapy and gym memberships for another time. Think “pamper” instead. I defy anyone to be insulted by healthy and natural luxury items. They are usually made of the best quality ingredients on the market.
Let’s start with the bath. No one is going to shriek, “Are you telling me I SMELL?” if you give the gift of organic lotions or fragrant gels and bubbles. For the price conscious, I recommend browsing Vitacost.com, where deep discounts are available every day on the best healthy beauty and personal care products for men and women. Their shipping is super fast, and comes free with any order over $49.
A quick search on Amazon will take you to hundreds of intriguing products, from Dead Sea spa baskets to hemp fabric lounge wear. Just type in “all natural” before your keyword, and you can scroll through options that will work for anyone on your list. Have a teen in your life? Protect them from potential hearing loss with volume limiting earbuds that come in a rainbow of colors. Want to do a sloth-like relative a favor? You can find great dance and movement video games that will make your gift seem like party time, not punishment.
For those on your list who have already committed to holistic practices, the sky is the limit, although your budget may not be. Some very reasonable options I found are: the Danskin Now Yoga Kit, the Oster 250-Watt Blender and Sports Bottle in one, the Black Mountain Products Resistance Band Set, and the Safety 1st Ultrasonic 360-Degree Humidifier. For the hard core health fanatic in your life, visit kombuchabrooklyn.com for the Kombucha home brew kit. This fermented tea drink is said to help with digestion, sleep and detoxification. What health nut doesn’t love a good detox?
Now, on to a group that you should have no problem shopping for: the foodies in your life. For them, the choices abound. I found some great new sites catering to healthy lifestyles that are a food lover’s paradise. For an enticing array of gift baskets personalized for every food sensitivity from dairy to gluten, check out happyhealthygifts.com. How about a healthy snacks care package for the serious junk food affectionados? A lot of people eat crap simply because they never bothered to try the more wholesome alternatives. Check out naturebox.com. Who wouldn’t want to receive a monthly surprise of such delicacies as sriracha roasted cashews, vanilla bean wafers, salt and pepper pistachios, or dark cocoa almonds? And my old favorite, Vitacost, has a selection of healthy snacks at very affordable prices.
What apartment-bound gourmet wouldn’t love to receive the Indoor Culinary Herb Garden Starter Kit? It comes with an assortment of seeds (like parsley, thyme, and cilantro) for the goodness of fresh herbs in cooking. And for gadget loving foodies, check out the oil sprayers at williams-sonoma.com. These allow healthy eaters to spritz a fine cooking spray with their own canola, hemp or extra virgin olive oil. And the Cuisinart Smart Stick Hand Blender is perfect for making smoothies or purées for gourmet soups.
But let’s not forget that winter is also a time of visits to the ER from overexertion and sprained backs. Show the shovelers in your life that you care with an ergonomic snow shovel. The 18-Inch Suncast SC3250 Shovel with Ergonomic Handle is a wonderful option.
This year, give a gift of health that no one will try to return the next day. And when those litanies of January resolutions begin and everyone wants to get serious, get those self help books ready. This is one of the few times they won’t come flying back at your head.
Love and joy to you all!
