With the holidays just around the corner, gift giving is on everyone’s mind and it is so easy to get behind. Although we make our list and have good intentions, we often ultimately find ourselves in a rut and automatically just quickly “gift”. Additionally we feel the stress of navigating our friends and families’ expectations for where we should be giving our time during the holidays. This charity event, that party, our partners parties etc, which are all good things but in the flurry of it all, we tend to forget the life-changing gift of self-care and helping others experience self-care. Living in today’s hyper stimulated world has people feeling rushed and stressed. Perhaps even you too are feeling this and have begun to shift and invest in your own mind/body health in a way not considered before. If so, this holiday season may be a good time to consider adopting a health theme for your holiday shopping.
Gifting health during the holidays or any other time of the year can have a lasting impact on someone. In the field of cosmetic surgery, often times it is customary to have patients that will time a surgery, more costly procedure or series of treatments so that it is tied to a holiday or a birthday gift. In that case, larger gift cards are wonderful.
However, costly gifts are not always necessary when considering gifting health. There are also small, meaningful ways to give the gift of health. To help, I have put together some ideas that serve as enjoyable and thoughtful gifts, and that can be motivational nudges toward living a healthier lifestyle. Additionally, because the habits of your friends and family can often rub off on others, in some ways it’s like giving a gift to yourself as well! Here are a few considerations when giving such a gift.
- The gift should always be easy to use and considerate of the person’s lifestyle, health history and of any health goals they have mentioned.
- Starting small can help start someone down the beginning of a healthier path. Examples could be a gift certificate at a spa or wellness center where the recipient may try a variety of services such as yoga, a mindfulness session, massage therapy, or a facial or aromatherapy session.
- Healthy hostess gifts can be nice and fun. In this case, a gourmet heath supportive tea, food item like dark chocolate or gift certificate to a healthy restaurant could be nice.
- Consider giving health supportive treatments or gifts for someone suffering from cancer or any other chronic health issue. In this case, an acupuncture or reiki session or a nutrition consult could be helpful. Books or magazine subscriptions are nice.
Whatever the gift is, giving the gift of health sends the greater message of caring for the Mind, Body and Soul and can mean the world to someone. Best wishes for a healthy and happy holiday season!
Dr. Tamy Faierman is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, Writer, Beauty and Wellness Expert, and founder of the Tamy M. Faierman Holistic Spa and Wellness Center. Her office is located at 17130 Royal Palm Boulevard, Suite 1, in the Windmill Professional Campus. For more information, please call 954-322-2742 or visit www.reshapeyourimage.com.