In honor of "Black Friday," I'm taking a break from the Newbie writers' series this weekend to share these gift ideas. This is a reprint of an article that I wrote with the assistance of my Divas and Diva Dudes from Romance Divas. I consider it priceless! Look them over and tell me about your favorites.
Looking for healthy gift ideas? Well, you’ve come to the perfect place! Here’s a list of 50 holiday treats to boost the physical and mental health of your loved ones.
*
cookie mix layered in a jar, with instructions on the tag
*handmade soap, lotions etc
*chili or soup mix layered in a jar, with instructions on the tag
*bath salts
*herb seeds and those little peat pots (and maybe recipes to make once the herbs grow
Seeley DeBorn of Romance Divas
1. Wii Fit Video Game
2. Juicer
3. Grill Pan
4. Vegetable Steamer
5. Puzzles
6. Exercise Video
7. Nutrition Counseling Session
8. Running Shoes
9. Gym bag packed with new water bottle, workout clothes, iPod and gift gym membership.
10. Subscription to health magazine
11. Day at the spa
12. Massage
13. Books (we could get a list of them ranging from physical and mental health books to relaxing novels)
14. Financial portfolio session
15. Relaxing jazz (we could get a list of some faves)
16. Trial gym membership
17. Mini vacation (weekend stay at a hotel)
18. Planning session with a professional organizer
19. Tuition for a community step, ballroom, or belly dancing class
20. Gift certificate for yogurt shop
21. Health journal
22. Tuition for a community stress management course
23. Season tickets to university or city arts events
For kids: Seeley again
Science kits, like crystal growing kits.
Anatomy colouring books
Geodes
Dinosaur bone dig kits
For Men:
Booze made from organically grown products. We have organic vodka, hemp beer, hemp vodka at our local liquor store.
Hand made shaving soap and aftershave balm (this is a hard to find product!)
Massage GCs
Fair trade coffee and hand thrown mug made of local clay
Chaeya gave me these:
1. Trial yoga membership
2. Music for Yoga and Other Joys - Jai Uttal (CD)
3. Coffee gift cards
4. Power vs. Force by David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D. (Book)
5. Nature hikes (some areas host edible herb tours)
6. Digs (depending on where it is there are places where you can go dig for gemstones)
7. Tai Chi or Qi Gong class
8. Pilates
9. Reiki Session
10. Gift card for vegetarian restaurant
11. Suze Orman - The Road to Wealth (Book)
12. Gift card to iTunes or Rhapsody Membership
13. Sessions with a Nutitrionalist/Dietician
3jen gave me these:
Ooh, Seeley's idea made me think of a home brewing kit. A male friend of ours is really into making beer.
One of my favorite gifts is the stylin' reusable shopping bags I use myself from Envirosax. They fold up really tiny and are cool enough to use as a bag anytime.
Golf clubs (and $10000 cash for course time )
Sled/skis/skates for kids (winter, and all that)
Yoga mat & video
Aromatherapy oils and burner
The Hunger Site (www.thehungersite.com) and it's affiliate sites have a lot of cool gifts. I especially like the gifts like "Send two girls in Afghanistan to school for a year" or "buy a Rwandan family a goat" and they have stuff like that in all price ranges. You could check out the site just for ideas. Great gift for the guy who has everything "Sweetie, here, I'm giving you a goat." "What??" "Don't worry, someone else will milk it for you. On the other side of the world." )
Organic/free trade/recycled clothing items (something seasonal, like a scarf made from recycled milk jugs would work)
Nature guide (i.e. birds, trees, whatever)
Star gazing guide
My 7 y/o daughter adores Folkmanis puppets. Not sure if they're "healthy" but they're incredibly beautifully made and encourage creativity. You can have a really fun time with just one.
Dance Dance revolution (if that's not too old-hat)
Musical instrument (for kids) ie bamboo flute, bongo drums, etc
Scrapbooking kit might be a fun gift for a girl--papers, stamps, ink, etc. My DD loves that stuff.
Other art supplies too. Watercolor paints and paper, clay, anything that people wouldn't normally buy as school supplies would be fun for kids (and maybe adults too)
Nell Dixon gave me these:
Men's ideas - a smoothie maker, a stunt kite
kids - roller blades, pavement chalk
December Q/Anna J. Evans gave me these:
A food dehydrator, maybe?
A mortar & pestle to grind fresh herbs?
Beeswax, coca butter, almond oil, and a small double boiler--that sort of think, like a make-your-own-lotion/lip balm kit?
A lot of toy stores carry kits for kids to make that kind of thing, too.
And for men you can get those make-your-own-beer kits. So they can drink beer with no preservatives or anything like that in them. (Not that women don't drink beer, of course. I love beer. It's just you asked about men.) They have winemaking kits too.
Rob Graham gave me these:
For adults who could use a good read that can reset your mental state, I always recommend The Doubter's Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense. It never fails to make me smile and calm me down when I read it. It's the heretic's Bible.
For kids I think there's only one choice, The Chronicles of Narnia. I can't think of a better choice to bring the joy of reading to a young person.
Allow me to add that other great gifts include a copy of copies of Got Wolf? Anthology 2: Taming of the Wolf, gift certificates to The Wild Rose Press.com, and gift certificates to Black Classics Books and Gifts (251) 476-1060 :)
Don't forget to tell me about your favorites!
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