Healthy gift ideas
With Christmas around the corner, it’s time to consider gifts before heading off on a shopping spree.
What gifts are you planning to give this Festive Season? It is always important to consider your budget and plan ahead. Consider who needs a gift and think beyond soap sets, bubble bath and coffee mugs.
With large extended families, most people can only afford gifts for close family and special friends. Work out how much money you have to spend this Festive Season and set total limits on gifts. Once you have a clear idea of the budget, consider who you are buying for and their likes and dislikes.
Make a change this Christmas towards health and wellness. How many boxes of chocolates, biscuits and sweets did you receive last year? Consider replacing your own gifts for others with healthier food options or gift ideas to get folks moving. Also consider items for rest and relaxation, spiritual and mental wellness.
Healthy gift switch
1. Swop chocolates for nuts and dried fruit
Encourage savvy snacking with the right foods. Avoid hampers with sugar coated dried fruit and look for healthier alternatives.
2. Swop a DVD for exercise equipment
Get a TV couch potato up and moving with some fun exercise equipment. Consider a jump rope, resistance bands, an exercise ball, training gloves, yoga mat, foam roller, pedometer, or dumb bells. Go with the DVD if it’s a fitness regime or think trainers or exercise clothing.
3. Swop video games for sports toys
Think action for kids this Christmas. Swop gifts that keep them sedentary for those that get them moving. A new bike, a swing ball set, a trampoline, beach bats and balls, a cricket set, or a new soccer ball. If you know a child that is particularly interested in games, consider something different like a croquet set or dart board.
4. Swop a store gift voucher for a spa day voucher
Gift vouchers are popular, especially if you’re at a loss on what to get. Switch a traditional mall or store voucher for a spa voucher for a relaxing facial or a massage.
5. Swop dinner vouchers for a healthy recipe book
Consider a healthy eating recipe book. Think about what types of recipes would suit the person you are buying for. Would a low fat diet cook book be better than one with vegetarian recipes? Or is a low-carb cookbook more suitable? Be courteous in your choice and considerate of the person’s feelings. Avoid weight-loss diet books.
6. Swop an ice-cream maker for a juicer or blender
If you can afford the price tag (or club in with other family members), consider a juicer or blender. They help to encourage people to get more fruit and vegetables in their diet – super healthy and delicious. If they already have the appliance, consider a new juice or smoothie recipe book.
7. Swop sugar-loaded homemade treats for healthy ones
If you are looking to make edible gifts this year, consider new recipes that swop wheat flour with almond and coconut flours, cow’s milk with soya, coconut or almond milk and stevia or honey for sugar. Use egg replacers, banana or chia seeds to replace hen’s eggs in cakes and cookies. There are a number of healthy recipes online for coconut ice, peanut fudge, almond flour Christmas biscuits and gluten-free rusks. Package your gifts in mason jars and purchase chalkboard stick-on cut outs to label them.
Other gift ideas
- Consider how people prepare their food. Oily, fried foods are unhealthy, so consider a non-stick grill, food steamer, food dehydrator, or waterless cookware.
- Instead of giving unhealthy snacks, consider a kitchen appliance to make their own healthy snacks – an air pop popcorn maker, a microwave vegetable chip maker or a yoghurt maker.
- If you have a friend or family member who has a birthday in December or January, consider one big gift, like a gym membership or subscription to a health and fitness magazine.
- Journaling has become very popular in recent years as people look inward for answers to their struggles. Many people also use journaling as a form of meditation. Stationery stores have a large number of beautiful journals – consider the colour and cover picture. It should inspire the writer. Add a pen for a great finishing touch.
- Consider the gift of time. What about vouchers for a baby-sitting service, extra gardening help or help with cleaning? Every needs some time to kick back and relax.
- How do you wrap your gifts? Tonnes of paper are wasted every year in the form of Christmas cards and wrapping paper. Wrap gifts in recycled newspaper and cereal boxes to make your own packaging and gift bags.