Thoughtful gifts for everyone

Add wellness to your shopping cart this Black Friday

Thursday was all about the turkey and today it’s all about the sales. It’s the day after Thanksgiving which means there’s some serious Black Friday shopping happening.

There’s no turning back. The season for crossing items off the Christmas list has officially begun. Then right after Christmas, it’s time for the New Year which means resolutions.

Black Friday is the perfect time to start thinking ahead especially when it comes to gifts with a wellness touch. The holidays tend to be very stressful so buy gifts for your loved ones that will restore their mental and physical health. The gift can even be a special way to treat yourself.

Below is a sampling of the possibilities available when it comes to gift shopping with wellness in mind.

COOKING CLASSES

A common New Year’s resolution is to eat out less or to eat more nutritiously. This can be quite hard to do if you don’t know how to cook healthy meals. A gift certificate to a healthy cooking class or series is a great idea for a Christmas present.

Often local restaurants and stores will have regular healthy cooking classes. For example, the all-vegan iCreate Café in Pottstown in partnership with the company Plantie will have a “Veganuary” Cooking Class Series. The series is encouraging people to make the pledge to be vegan for the whole month of January. Find out more about the series at www. icreatecafe.com/health.

Another place for handson cooking instruction is The Kitchen Workshop in Paoli and Christina’s Cooking Classes in Philadelphia. The cost of cooking classes are typically between $50 to $200 per class.

MASSAGE OR SPA KIT

Everyone enjoys a good massage so why not make it easier for your loved ones by giving them a doit-yourself home kit. The kit can be designed specifically for the individual by including items that will truly help them relax.

The possibilities are endless. Items can include candles, bath products, body butter or lotion, face masks and more. Special massage tools such as the Fascia Blaster can be used to help relieve physical pain ailments. Back pain, neck tension and stiff shoulders are all very common. The pain may be a result of unhealthy connective tissue in the body called fascia. The Fascia Blaster is a massage tool with several points that’s used directly on the skin to help smooth out the connective tissue inside the body. For more information about the blaster, visit www.fasciablaster.com.

Essential oils can also be used to relieve joint pain. Joint pain pops up often around this time of year because of activities like shoveling snow and clearing off ice from cars. There are certain oils and massage blends that have soothing properties. Some oils even have a warming effect when applied to the skin. Since the massage or spa kit is do-it-yourself, the cost can be whatever your budget allows.

TOWER GARDEN

The indoor tower garden is a great idea for anyone who wants to start growing their own healthy produce but doesn’t necessarily have the outdoor space to do so.

The indoor garden is also a good option for seniors or those with disabilities that may find it hard to bend with traditional gardening. The indoor growing tower uses special bulbs that mimic daylight. Air and water are used to grow vegetables without the use of soil. There’s a storage tank at the base of the tower which pumps water and a mineral blend to the plant roots which means the food grows even faster. The tower is great for growing tomatoes, lettuces, peas and even fruits.

On the Juice Plus website, the tower has a price of $42.25 per month for 12 months. This price includes a full kit with supplies and seeds. There may also be some used aeroponic tower gardens available on sites such as Amazon so it’s worth doing a search on Black Friday to see if one can be purchased at a great deal. Find out more about the tower at www.towergarden.com/aeroponics.

STANDING DESK

A standing desk as a gift can be a real life-saver, literally. There are several findings that show the benefits of standing versus sitting for long periods of time. Studies show adults spend more than half of their day being sedentary such as sitting at a desk or in a car, according to a report on the National Center for Biotechnology Information website.

You can help encourage your loved one to stand more by providing them when a special desk to use when working. There are several types of standing desks including ones with an adjustable height option. This type of desk can be used for both sitting and standing.

There are also standing desks that incorporate a treadmill, so people can multi-task by exercising and working at the same time. Standing desk converters turn a traditional desk into a standing desk. The price for a converter or standing desk is typically $150 and up but Black Friday may be the time to get these furniture pieces at a great price.

Black Friday and Christmas shopping in general tends to be stressful for many people so make sure there’s a healthy result.

DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO An indoor Tower Garden at Rupert Elementary School grows a variety of vegetables including parsley, bok choy and rainbow chard lettuce.

DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO Chef Richard Ray sautés Brussels sprouts during a visit to at East Vincent Elementary when Owen J. Roberts School District celebrated “Go for the Greens” week.

DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO Gift wrapping paper and ribbons are displayed. Use this Black Friday to get a jump on Christmas shopping for gifts that promote wellness.

DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA FILE PHOTO A client at Birds of a Feather Holistic Studio in Lower Pottsgrove uses a massage tool called the Fascia Blaster. The tool smooths out unhealthy connective tissue in the body.