2021 Happy Healthy Caregiver Holiday Gift Guide
I want to make your shopping a little bit easier by compiling some of the best and most unique gift ideas for the family caregivers and care recipients on your list.
Due to labor shortages and a strained supply chain, experts are suggesting we need to get our orders in earlier this year to ensure we get our items in time for the holidays.
I’ve organized the gift ideas into the following categories:
- Gifts that Keep Giving
- Gifts for Care Recipients
- Gifts for Caregivers
- Budget Friendly & Fun
- Free Gifts
- Ideas for Giving Tuesday
I can’t wait for you to explore this guide and discover new products, small businesses, and fabulous gifts.
Happy gift giving!
Gifts that Keep Giving
Who doesn’t love to open a gift and realize that more gifts are coming in the future?! Whether it’s an activity which can be done throughout the year or a surprise box of goodies, you will gets lots of mileage out of these gifts.
This wellness subscription box called My Toolbox from NeuroEssence is filled with tools to nourish your mental health and cognitive well-being. Each quarterly box is filled with tools personally created by small businesses that can help you de-stress, cope well, and stay sharp. Use promo code MYTOOLBOX15 to enjoy 15% off.
I’m including this gift in this category because I believe once a family caregiver is bold about their role and ‘out there’ sporting this caregiver shirt, three things will happen: conversations, connections, and change. This sassy top was designed by family caregiver (and model!), Dawnita. It also comes in a hoodie! Shop here and use code HEYCAREGIVER to save on your purchase.
The only bad thing about a massage is that it ends. Here’s some affordable massage devices that are available 24/7.
Gifts for Care Recipients
BLACK+DECKER Health gives the gift of peace of mind this holiday season with the goVia MINI. This discreet, wearable, and portable personal emergency response device is a great option for an active lifestyle. The device can be clipped onto belts, bags, or worn around the neck as a pendant. With a push of a button, care recipients have immediate access to emergency operators powered by Medical Guardian. With GPS, WiFi and Triangulation powered by Verizon 4G LTE and a battery life of up to five days, goVia MINI provides peace of mind for users at home or on-the-go.
One of our holiday traditions is that we get new pajamas to wear on Christmas Eve. Dignity Pajamas is an option for a loved one with limited mobility who may require some easy on and off adaptive sleepwear.
My mom had one of these Rollators and it held up for years, worked great, and she had all her essentials with her! Arthritis gloves may be a comforting gift for your loved one who is looking for some pain relief from inflammation. By the way, these are gifts you can purchase with your Flexible or Health Savings Account! Use code happyhealthycaregiver10 to receive $10 off on Carewell.com for orders $50 or more.
Music is a mood lifter and brings joy. Bridgetown Music Therapy offers engaging online music classes for older adults. Each video class is designed to promote active and engaging experiences by including singing, movement and relaxation. All classes, activities and songs are planned and facilitated by a licensed and board-certified music therapist.
Gifts for Caregivers
This box of caregiver goodies is offered by a family caregiver, Allison, of Negative Space. She says you can’t always take a caregiver’s responsibilities off of their plate, but you can tell them they matter, you see them, and they are part of the story. The I’M PART OF THE STORY Caregiver Gift Box includes items designed with a caregiver’s day in mind: an “I’m Part of the Story” mug, “I have a story” socks, three essential oil AethereoSticks for calm, comfort, and energy, a meal bar and travel tin of stress relief tea for the hospital bedside or long days at the clinic, and a notebook for tracking medications or writing notes at the doctor. Use discount code HHC10 to save 10%.
Every caregiver can use more pockets. What I like about this PortaPocket is that it’s lightweight, can be worn under or over clothing (on multiple body parts), and are washable. Safely carry your phone, ids, cash, credit cards, make-up, insulin pump, keys, or passport. Pick the size that best meets the caregivers needs: Essentials+ or XL Pocket.
Caregivers have little time to shop but we all still want to look good! I discovered this online women’s boutique when I met Jaime the founder and host of the Happy Girl Podcast. In her None Of Your Business boutique you’ll find clothes, bags, shoes, hats, and jewelry to help your favorite caregiver step into their style. I personally love the She’s Going Places Convertible Backpack! Use the link provided to save 5% of your order.
It’s difficult to keep up with the trends of today. That’s where my 22 year old daughter and her friends come in handy. Their suggestions include Hair Drying Scrunchies, Pillow Slippers (for men, too!), a make-up eraser, and a book light for reading in bed. Here’s the good news…none of these items costs more than $30!
My kids also introduced me to smoothie bowls! I was already a fan of smoothies and the bowl takes it up a notch with toppings! A healthy option that packs in the nutrients topped with fresh fruit, granola, peanut butter, nuts, nutella…you get the idea! I have a larger Ninja that I use regularly. This one gets great reviews and is a little smaller.
A girlfriend of mine gave me a anxiety or spinner ring that I’ve been wearing on my thumb ever since. This one is a daily reminder that you are enough.
Budget Friendly & Fun
Another holiday tradition is to get a new family board game that we can play. Here’s one that will help us all with our financial self-care. Give your family the gift of financial literacy with either CASHFLOW or CASHFLOW for Kids. These educational board games were created to give families a sneak peek into strategies to create lifelong financial freedom including how to invest and how to build wealth as well as tips for maximizing passive income. Use promo code RICHDAD21 for 20% off.
This fun journal makes a great gift for anyone on your list who deserves a bit of time to focus on their health and happiness. Each copy you order through my website is signed. Save on my Just for You: A Daily Self-Care Journal this holiday season. It’s part of the AlzAuthors book sale and just $10 until November 17th. After that, you can save $5 off with coupon code TOOLBOX5.
Essential oils make a great gift. Here are a few tried and true Doterra rollerballs that family caregiver Jamilyn recommends. No diffuser needed and easy to use while on-the go. The four listed here help you ground, calm, and/or reduce anxiety.
Free Gifts
Some gifts are just priceless because they can be so helpful to a caregiving family who has many responsibilities to juggle. I am putting the CircleOf app in that category. CircleOf gives family caregivers the power to organize, collaborate, and ask for extra help.
Individuals with a vision impairment or physical disability that prevents them from holding a traditional book can still enjoy reading, for free, with this service provided by the National Library Service (NLS) from holding traditional books. Also, on the reading topic, AlzAuthors is offering their second anthology for free. It’s stuffed with Alzheimer’s and Dementia caregiving stories.
Actions speak louder than words…or gifts. Offer your time to help someone. Rake leaves, walk their dog, do the grocery shopping, decorate for the holiday, prepare a meal, help with technology issues, or better organize a space in their home.
Ideas for Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday is always the Tuesday after Cyber Monday. It’s a day set aside for global generosity and encourages people to do some good. Instead of shopping and wrapping little gifts for all my book club girlfriends, I make a donation in our book club’s name. Here are some of the caregiving related organizations you may want to consider giving to this year:
A community of dementia and Alzheimer’s authors who offer a website and podcast to support dementia caregivers. Donations help pay for the web maintenance, marketing, and traveling library.
No Barriers Caregiver Program is designed to improve the lives of family caregivers by building a caregiving community where individuals are given dedicated time and space to be together with other family caregivers through transformative, curriculum based virtual workshops and community events as well as in-person retreats and expeditions.
If you donate to any charity or organization, check to see if your employer or partner’s employer will match your gift.
I hope whatever you decide to give will surprise and delight your friends and family this year. Happy Holidays!
P.S. If you feel you just might be overindulging in food and drink this holiday season, you may want to stock up on some BIOLYTE (Berry is my favorite flavor)!
