Six Affordable Stress-buster Holiday Gifts

By Robyn Parets

It’s that time of year again. You know, ’tis the season of joy and bliss. And, let’s not forget: ’tis also the season of stress.

If you’re like most of us, you’re running around like crazy trying to smash in time to buy all of your last-minute gifts. Just when you think you’re done, you realize that you forgot about your daughter’s piano teacher or your favorite yoga teacher. What to do?

Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. We’ve scoured the stores and the Internet and came up with our list of six stress-busting gift categories and where to buy these gifts – even at the very last minute. Take a look:

Chocolate. Yup, we said chocolate. But not just any chocolate. UliMana healthy raw chocolate truffles made from premium cacao and sourced from fair-trade farming communities. Believe me when I tell you that these are the best chocolate truffles on the planet and they’re healthy too! These make the perfect gifts for well, everyone! And, at under $10, they are affordable too. To order, go to Ulimana.com.

Picture Perfect. Listen up! We just found the coolest new photo site: TurnGram. Think: personal photo concierge service with prints delivered to the recipient’s door. Here’s how it works. You first have to have an Instagram account. You can then go onto the TurnGram site and sign up by entering in your Instagram account and describing the type of photos you’d like to send the recipient, After that, you’ll enter in the amount  of  photos you’d like to send each month. You then enter in the recipient’s information and voila! TurnGram will professionally edit the photos and send them on your behalf. So, say you post photos of your kids 18 times a day and want to send some of these to grandma (who probably doesn’t even know what Instagram is!) Perfect. TurnGram will take care of this for you. Better yet, your first month is free and the service starts at only $3.99 after that. 

Healthy Living. Ok, we admit that we’re a bit biased here, but we’re also big believers in giving gifts of experiences – especially when those experiences will help folks de-stress, relax and get fit. It’s a win-win-win, right? Let’s throw in another two wins: you come out as the top upward dog as you’re super thoughtful and you didn’t bust your bank. Why? Because you did your research and bought an affordable yoga gift package with only a handful of classes. This way someone you love can try out yoga and you don’t have to spend a ton of cashola. 

Yoga studios all over the nation are offering super holiday deals right now. We’re big proponents of shopping local so we recommend doing an online search for local yoga, Pilates or even barre studios. 

Back to (Yoga) School. Here at Pretzel Kids, we think yoga courses are perfect gifts for a number of reasons:

• You get to give the gift of learning a new skill. 
• You canchoose a kids yoga certification coursethat you know the recipient will enjoy.
• You can help the recipient start a side hustle.
• You can help your loved one earn more income by helping others. ​

At Pretzel Kids, for example, you can purchase a gift certificate for our Pretzel Kids yoga teacher training course for anyone you want. Once purchased, we’ll send the recipient a code to purchase the course using your gift certificate (maybe for free if you purchased the entire course as a gift)! Think of it this way: you can help a yogi, mom or school teacher bring yoga and mindfulness to children while she earns some extra cash. This is definitely a Mountain Pose of a gift! ​​ ​Relaxation station. If a full spa day is just too expensive, what about a gift certificate for a massage, facial or other self-care treat? Or, for a more affordable option, check out Cuccio Somatology’s Balancing Calming Chamomile Body Lotion, and other soothing potions and lotions. And, for your yoga-lover friends, check out Cuccio’s Yoga Essentials Kit. For only $15.95, your favorite yogi can just say YogAhhh! as she samples harmonious balancing oil, body lotion and even a cleansing yoga mat spray.

Perk me up. Sustainable coffee is all the rage these days and we think everyone can use a perk-me-up. Why not buy a gift certificate to a local socially-responsible coffee house? Here in Boston, for example, the Pretzel Kids team shops and sips at Recreo Coffee & Roasterie. All of Recreo’s coffee is grown at the owner’s family farm in Jinotega, Nicaragua. Recreo Coffee is Rainforest Alliance Certified, Single Origin, and Sustainable. Not only that – this coffee is kick-asana!

​The Wrap Up

As you can see by this gift list, holiday shopping doesn’t have to be a major stressor. It also doesn’t have to break your bank. We’ve done the work for you, so now all you have to do is pick the perfect wellness gift and start giving. We know those on your “nice” list will appreciate these hand-picked gifts. You may even want to purchase the Pretzel Kids Yoga Teacher Certification Course for yourself or, better yet, drop some hints around the house! Happy holidays!