Merry Fitness! The best healthy holiday gifts of 2013

This is one of my favorite times of year. The weather is cold and crisp, there are pretty, sparkly holiday displays in the streets and avenues, and every few blocks you walk through a Christmas tree lot, smelling all pine-y good and wintery magical. It makes me happy. I am sort of, kind of tackling my Christmas gift shopping (read: I am in denial that it’s less than three weeks away). I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who isn’t a super-organized bought-all-my-gifts-throughout-the-year kind of shopper, so hopefully this list of the best healthy holiday gifts will come in handy for you!

None of these are affiliate links, just helpful places to start your holiday shopping! And a little word of warning before you dive in – while your intentions may be good, sometimes a fitness-related gift can be construed as some kind of unspoken criticism. While you may buy your loved one a gym membership with the message of, “I know you love working out and have been wanting to join the gym,” it might come across as, “I would love it if you lost weight.” When in doubt, add jewelry. 😉

Cute workout gear is always a great incentive to get to the gym. Clothing is often surprisingly hard to buy as a gift, so wrap it up WITH the gift receipt enclosed! You can also purchase a gift certificate at their favorite gym-gear store, if you don’t know where to start. Add something small, like a cute headband or a pair of socks to the certificate if you want to add something you’ve chosen yourself!

While I don’t own a digital fitness tracker, I do love the idea of them. FitBit (left) seems to be a popular choice and this is a really cool fitness gift. Some of them track more than just calories burned – a few even track your sleeping habits! This is a great gift if your loved one is motivated by statistics and gadgets. (If you’re reading this by December 10, Nellie has a giveaway for a FitBit running on her blog! Go enter!) 🙂

You can’t go wrong with a certificate for a massage. Even better, make an appointment for your loved one, since it’s easy to receive a gift certificate and never actually get around to using it! If you make an appointment, make sure it’s for a time that suits them and if they’re a parent, maybe even organize childcare while you’re at it!

For the at-home fitness lover, give a gift that keeps giving back – a foam roller! Even if they’ve never used one, they’ll soon become addicted. It’s better than stretching, in my opinion, for muscle recovery and alleviating post-workout soreness.

If your giftee loves to cook, a great idea for a present is a copy of your favorite healthy recipe, coupled with a basket containing the necessary ingredients. You might even score an invite for dinner!

One of the nice things about going to a spa is the infused water they offer in their waiting rooms – citrus, cucumbers, berries. It makes such a difference to infuse water to make it seem special (and less boring and plain for the non-water lovers). This water infusion bottle is a great gift, it makes flavored water easy to do at home, so you can recreate the spa experience and stay hydrated!

Lindsay’s Blizzard Bites recipe takes a traditional snack fave and makes it healthier! Plus, it looks delicious! This was part of a link-up Lindsay took part in called Recipe Redux, a recipe challenge by Registered Dieticians (so if you scroll to the end of her post, you’ll find lots of other amazing ideas for foodie presents.) 🙂

There are a lot of monthly gift box subscriptions available now. A lot of the fitness themed gift boxes would be a great gift for any fitness lover in your life, but for a fitness foodie you can’t go wrong with Nature Box! This is one of the sponsors for this year’s Elf for Health challenge, so I checked out their website and was really impressed. Plus, the two organizers of Elf for Health are both Registered Dietitians, so you have an RD seal of approval right there!

When you love the runner in your life as much as she loves running, you can’t miss with running themed jewelry! Great ideas include charms, necklaces, or bracelets engraved with the mileage of a race distance conquered, or an inspirational word, like ‘Strength’, or simply, ‘Run’. Check out some of the gorgeous pieces from The Silver Maple – they’re lovely and bonus! they work for non-runners too! I found out about this store from my friend Melissa, who is an awesome and inspiring runner and writer.

Runners in particular are very into statistics. We measure our progress by tracking our mileage; pace; splits; PR’s, the list goes on! It’s easy to track our training online, but it can be helpful to actually use a pen & paper training journal, especially if your runner is a visual kind of person. I use this ‘Believe I Am’ journal, the product of two amazing professional runners, Lauren Fleshman and Ro McGettigan.

Fun for stocking stuffers, or as one big gift basket, are running accessories. If it’s cold, think warm socks, running gloves, arm warmers, running hats or headbands. Other ideas include water bottles, your runner’s fuel of choice, shoe odor eaters and lip balm. (Psst: If you’re reading by December 8, Nicole is hosting a giveaway of a pair of TrailHeads Power Gloves and a Ponytail Headband!)

In theory, running is a simple sport. You put on your running clothes and a pair of sneakers and you’re out the door. In reality, we also generally carry keys, phone, fuel, chapstick – and there’s only so many pockets in running tights! Fuel and storage belts are a great gift for a runner and I LOVE this Flip Belt by Level. I bought it while training for the marathon and it’s fantastic. It’s snug, but comfortable and easily held everything accessible that I needed on the day. I use it on nearly every run. You don’t even notice you’re wearing it and nothing jingles or budges! I am only sad I bought boring black and now I look at their site and there’s a rainbow of color options!

Race entry fees can be super pricey, so a great gift is to buy your runner the entry fee to a race of their choice! If you have no idea how to go about this, or want the gift to be a surprise, make your own gift certificate to present to your recipient and find out the details after they decide on their race. A similar gift would be to purchase a training plan of their choice for an upcoming race.

A big splurge for a running gift is a GPS watch. You know I love my Garmin (which actually was a gift from my awesome husband!) and most runners will get a lot of use from one of these watches. There are so many brands of GPS watches now, like Nike, Timex, Garmin, Polar, so you can most likely find one in your price range when you want to spoil your runner.

I first read about the Be Nice Box on Lindsay’s blog. It’s a monthly gift box you purchase as a subscription, which includes a list of things you can do to spread kindness. It also includes the materials necessary to do some of those kind acts! (For example, Lindsay reports her last box included hygiene kits to hand out to people who may need them, as well as chocolates to hand out to friends). It’s an amazing idea and perfect for a yogi, who strives for compassion and healing and kindness in their practice.

Every yogi needs a mat, so you could make it even more special by having a yoga mat monogrammed! Pair it with a mat carry-case so they’re all set to head out to a class.

Yoga accessories are great for the yogi in your life who enjoys practicing at home. Straps and blocks are a great gift and you can add a yoga DVD if your loved one prefers to follow along with a class.

Yoga classes can be super pricey (especially here in NYC), so if you know where your yogi goes to practice, find out if they offer gift certificates for class packages. Some studios also offer workshops and retreats, which might be the kind of thing your loved one would enjoy, but would never buy for themselves. Most places will offer certificates and it’s a generous gift from you!

One of my Fit Mama Friday mamas, Kelly McNelis, shared an amazingly simple homemade chapstick recipe on her blog! This is a really fun gift and if you make a whole lot of them at once, they can be stocking stuffers for everyone! They’re also easily customized and you can make yours all-organic if you want.

Worth making if your recipient is an eager cook are herb infused oils (they don’t keep very long, so they’re a good gift for people who will use them often!). Super easy to make, and pretty to look at if you use a clear bottle, this is a lovely gift. I vote rosemary!

I love tea (I’m an Aussie, after all) and this tea-bag wreath is such a cute idea! It’s a great way for a tea aficionado to try a bunch of different teas, plus it looks festive. 🙂 Great tea brands include Twinings, Harney & Sons and Yogi Tea. I’m particularly obsessed with Yogi Tea’s Egyptian Licorice flavor.

Everyone loves body butter and your friends will be so impressed you made your own for them! Here’s a great recipe  from Wellness Mama for what is, I’m sure, an amazing-smelling butter. Just don’t eat it.

Okay, so technically this crafty idea is really part of the running category, but what can I say, I’m biased! Check out Pavement Runner’s awesome DIY Medal and Bib displays for inspiration! I’m sure I’m not the only one who has a drawer full of bibs and medals, since I’ve never gotten around to finding a way to display them.

 

What’s on your list to give and receive?

Any fun links you want to share in the comments?