It’s the holiday gift-giving season! If you’re looking for feel-good wellness gifts for your loved ones, I have an exciting gift guide series coming up, starting with today’s first installment. These are all products I personally love or am giving to my own friends and family this year.
First up is this gorgeous incense assortment pictured above. The pretty packaging first caught my eye and then I realized it was from Nippon Kodo, a brand considered iconic in the fragrance world. The company was founded nearly 80 years ago, but its devotion to making fine incense follows a long and honored tradition that started more than 400 years ago in Japan. SCENTSUAL is their collection of incense made of meticulously selected plant-based fragrances found in nature. This assortment box of seven different scents is the perfect gift for anyone who wants to burn it while meditating, relaxing, or unwinding.
How gorgeous is this Stoneware Incense Dish by Incausa? Each one is handmade in the USA, made from northeast stoneware clay, wood fired hand thrown on a wheel. Perfect for burning different size incense, palo santo or sage bundles. I first spotted it at my favorite neighborhood gift shop, November 19, which is a must-see spot in the Lower East Side.
For your friend who keeps commenting on their poor sleep quality and then revealing they have a 2am Instagram habit. This Twemco Flip Clock from Schoolhouse will help you finally cut ties with your phone by putting it in another room while you sleep because you’ll no longer need it to check the time. Stylish and functional, it’s a great tool to help you get a good night’s sleep, which is something we all deserve.
This baby here is a cult classic for a reason. I’ve been using Weleda Skin Food Ultra-Rich Body Cream on my hands for the last several years and it’s been an absolute savior to my dry, cracking winter skin. It makes a great stocking stuffer or something nice to give to your coworkers, friends, or your kid’s teachers. It’s thick and luxurious and has a really pleasant smell.
This Shakti acupressure mat is something I’ve had my eye on for quite some time and I recently had a conversation with a fellow health coach friend, Lindsey, who swears by it. “It really hurts the first few times doing it, but I get so zen after a while, it keeps me coming back for more,” she says. The mat is designed to give you a deep and restorative acupressure session while targeting deep tissue and melting away tension.
I’ve been following Nicole Berri, also known as Bonberi on Instagram, for several years now. I love her recipes and approach to eating intuitively. She’s the first person who introduced me to the concept of Food Combining as well as so many other health and wellness tips. She came out with her book, Body Harmony: Nourishing, Plant-Based Recipes for Intuitive Eating earlier this year and it’s a cookbook I keep coming back to. I plan of gifting it to a few friends and always dog-ear my favorite recipes, including Nicole’s Dulse Caesar Salad (p. 64), Korean BBQ Mushrooms (p. 107), and Creamy Cilantro Rice (p 203). All of them are so good!
Nothing like a good pair of leggings to get me excited about working out! These High-Waist Airlift Leggins from Alo are on my wishlist this year because I’ve only heard rave reviews about them. Apparently, they’re buttery soft and make you look svelte and composed, which is always nice to have whether you’re sweating it out or just lounging around. They’d make a great gift for your sister, friend, or workout accountability partner.
I am a big proponent of a daily journaling practice so I’m always on the hunt for pretty notebooks. This soft-cover journal from Minimalism Art would be a nice one to keep on your nightstand for deep reflection in the morning or writing down some quick thoughts in the evening as part of your bedtime routine. Paired with a set of pretty pens, this is a great gift for friends, or perhaps an office holiday party gift exchange.
Carving out a sacred space in your home that is dedicated to meditating, journaling, or just thinking can be a really nice way to enhance your mindfulness practice. Plus, it’s good for your posture and can make sitting for a long period of time more comfortable as it relieves stress on joints and properly supports your spine. This meditation pillow from Reehut would be a thoughtful gift for anyone who’s expressed interest in bringing more mindfulness to their day.
Looking for a gift for the person who has everything? Make a donation in their name to a non-profit that aligns with their (and your) values. Wellness in the Schools, a national non-profit that teaches kids healthy habits to learn and live better, is one I’ll be supporting this year. Their mission is to eliminate obesity-related diseases that begin in childhood by partnering with school districts to provide nutrition and fitness education, healthy scratch-cooked meals, and active recess periods. Their programs help feed kids real food, lets kids play and be more active throughout the school day, and teach kids about environmental sustainability with hands-on gardening experience.
Stay tuned for Gift Guides #2 and #3 next week, along with a special edition for kids!
Top photo by asma Alrashed on Unsplash.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning that if you click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Leave a Reply