Healthy Gifts Ideas for Everyone on Your list

We asked our expert Health and Fitness staff to give us their best healthy gift ideas for the holidays. No matter who you're shopping for, this is the ultimate gift list to take care of everyone for the holidays!

Gifts to Get Them Moving

We all have a friend or family member that's stuck at a desk all day, with little or no time to go to the gym before or after work. The DeskCycle Desk Exercise Bike Pedal Exerciser is the perfect gift to get them moving. They can feel the burn while they're at they're desk.

For the Personal Trainers or Fitness Coaches out there, give friends and family certificates for training sessions.  Use your skills and gifts to help your loved ones start a healthy fitness practices for the New Year. Who knows your loved ones better than you do? Craft their workout routines for their fitness level.



You can't go wrong with a simple but personalized gift basket decked out with a water bottle, energy bars, healthy snacks ideas, socks, a Fitbit (if you're going all out), etc. Throw in a gift card to get some fitness gear or sporting goods and the special person receiving this will absolutely love it!

Healthy Kitchen Gadgets They'll Actually Use

Get your loved ones eating healthier with the Spirelli Spiral Vegetable Slicer. Such a great tool for sneaking more vegetables into recipes. I love shredding zucchini and tossing it with whole wheat pasta. (under $30)

Herbs are mini vegetables! The Back to The Roots Garden-In-A-Can helps make herbs readily available to eat more often and much more affordable. Fresh herbs add so much flavor to even the most simple dish. (under $30)

The All in One Kitchen Tool Set is a great gift to new cooks or someone looking to simplify their kitchen and save some space. It is about the size of a bottle of wine and includes eight kitchen tools: a funnel, lemon squeezer, spice grater, egg masher, cheese grater, egg separator, measuring cup, and a grip for hard-to-open lids. (under $30)



Gift the Caloric Cuvee Calorie Counting Wine Glass to the person in your life trying to monitor her wine intake.

Gifts for Your Favorite Foodie

An awesome KALE Sweatshirt is a goodie for any vegetable lover, especially the Foodies in your life! Share the love for this great leafy green with this stylish item!

This one might go down as the best Foodie gift, EVER. Gift your Foodie friend or family member with a week long stay at Hilton Head Health to submerge themselves into the Healthy Kitchen Cuisine Living Well Program! They'll enjoy healthy cooking demonstations, gourmet fine dining events, hands on cooking classes and so much more.



Now that you've got some great holiday gift ideas, there's nothing stopping you from knocking out that gift list!

Load Up On Experiences, Not Stuff

With Black Friday just around the corner, we all have our minds on shopping for our loved ones. This year, consider purchasing something that will last past the latest trend or the upgraded version. This year, give a gift that is meaningful and will leave a lasting impression.

In the blog post “Buy More Experiences and Less Stuff,” the writer poses this question:

Which of these two types of spending do you think makes you happier, purchases that are made with the primary intention of acquiring

A) a life experience: an event or series of events that one lives through, or

B) a material good: a tangible object that is kept in one's possession.

According to the post, when thousands of Americans were asked this question in a poll, 57% said experiences make them happier. (Carter & Gilovich, 2010).

Sometimes we forget the value of experience and quality time and become overly consumed with “things.” That’s it, they’re just things, which too often become piles of stuff. At Hilton Head Health, we hear people say all the time that this was the best investment they’ve ever made or that their trip was an unforgettable experience. Sometimes we don’t take the time to let these words really resonate and feel the power of an event so significant.

Here are a few reasons why people prefer experiences over tangible objects:

• Experiences improve with time because they tend to take on new meanings in our minds, but things just tend to get old.


• People mentally revisit their experiences more than things they've bought (Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003). So experiences keep providing pleasure long after the event itself.


• Experiences resist unfavorable comparisons because each is unique. Things, though, are easy to compare unfavorably because they're similar to other things.


• Also, because experiences tend to be unique, we adapt more slowly to them and adaptation or habituation is the enemy of happiness (Nicolao et al., 2009).


• Experiences tend to be social and social events (generally) make us happy. Things are often not that social.

 So as you make your list of all the people you need to buy gifts for this year, and even when considering what you’d like to treat yourself with, invest your money in something that will create a lasting experience and skip the material goods.

Healthy Holiday Gift Ideas for 2011

Share your passion for health this holiday season!  Give family and friends a gift that will enhance their own self-improvement!  Here are some health-conscious gift ideas – a variety sure to touch the heart of anyone on your list!

“Fitness Gurus”

• Polar Heart Rate Monitor


• Fitball


• Running/Walking Shoes


• Gift Certificate – Personal Training Session(s)


• Gift Certificate – Lesson for a new activity (ball room dancing, lap swimming, pilates reformer, kayaking, etc.)

“Foodies”

• H3 Cookbook (call us at 843-785-7292 for shipping details!)


• Cookbook - 5 Ingredients in 15 Minutes by Cooking Light, Oxmoor Press


• 10” Chef Knife or Santuka Knife (check out Wusthof Gourmet knives)


• Cooking Light Magazine Subscription


• Fruit of the Month Club membership by Harry and David (seasonal fruit delivered each month; 3, 6, 9, or 12 month memberships)

“Yogis” 

• Yoga DVD


• Meditation CD


• Book – Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink, PhD.


• Gift Certificate – Massage


• BodyMinder Journal – A Fitness Diary by F.E. Wilkins

Stocking Stuffers

• ID Wrist Band (www.active.com)


• Stress Ball


• Handheld Massager


• Ear-warmer Headband and matching gloves for those cold, wintry walks


• Measuring Scoops for serving


• Home-baked treats from www.H3Daily.com!  Try the chocolate chip cookies!


• Substitute candy with dried fruit or healthy trail mix


• Give the gift of Hilton Head Health!  Contact us for details on planning a 3-day getaway or 7 day stay for your special someone!

Holiday Gift Guide

Looking for the perfect gift idea?  Why not give a gift that everyone will love, but also benefit from. 

Top 10 Healthy Holiday Gifts:

1.  Travel Yoga Mat  $ Great for your traveling yogi – this yoga mat folds up and fits in bags of all sizes. 

 

2.  Insulated Lunch Bag $  A great insulated lunch sack that will keep your food hot/cold for up to 4 hours!  It’s a lunch bag you will want to use over and over.



3.  iPod Shuffle $$  The newest generation of the iPod shuffle holds over 1000 songs and is the perfect size for the person on the go!  They even come in 5 bright colors.



4.  Thai Massage Gift Certificate $$  An ancient and sacred form of healing with roots in Yoga and Ayurveda that combines rhythmic massage, acupressure, asanas (Yogic stretching exercises), gentle twisting, energy work, and meditation.  Great relief from holiday stress!

 

5.  Dance Lessons $$  Always wanted to learn how to salsa, tango or even hip hop?  It’s never too late to learn!  Check with your local fitness center or dance studio for beginner lessons.

 

6.  Rollerblades $$  A great gift for kids, and adults!  You can find a pair your local sporting goods store. 



7.  Stylish Gym Bag $$  The hottest gym accessory – you’ll want to carry this bag everywhere!  With room for a laptop, removable straps, this trendy bag even comes with a removable water resistant pouch to hold your sweaty gear. 

 

8.  Garmin Forerunner 405 $$$  For the runner in your life – help them train smarter.  A GPS device you can sync [wirelessly] with your computer – monitors heart rate, distance, pace and calories burned.



9.  Wii Fit $$$  Keep the family entertained – and fit!  Not only can you make your own custom routine, but test your strength, yoga, and aerobics. 



10.  Cooking Healthy workshop $$$  A great gift for the foodie in your family!  Our Cooking Healthy workshop is filled with interactive cooking demonstrations, instructional sessions and hands-on experience in our special demonstration kitchen.  Next year will feature 4 different and exciting Chefs – including our very own Chef Cathryn Matthes and Chef Marvis Hinson.