When it comes to the ideal Holiday gifts for those of us with chronic illness, we can have very specific things that make our wish list.
I asked my community to come up with some gifts that they would really appreciate and love and they did not disappoint!
I’m sure you will have things that are not included on this list, but you can use it as a springboard to come up with your own gift list that will be things or experiences that you will truly enjoy and appreciate.
Gift Certificates for:
- Massage
- Facial or skin treatments
- Manicure or pedicure or both
- Book stores
- Spa treatment
- A month of Netflix or other streaming provider
- Clothing and retail stores
- Food delivery services
- Movies
- Playstation, X-box or other favorite gaming platforms or games
- Acupuncture or other therapies
- Spotify and other music streaming services
- Audible subscription
- Magazine subscription
- Amazon
Comfort gifts:
- Weighted blanket
- Heating pads
- Woollen socks
- Gloves or fingerless gloves
- Soft, tag free and comfortable clothes
- Himalayan Salt lamp
- Comfortable sleep mask
- Air purifier
- Humidifier
- Essential oil diffuser
- Body pillow
- Warm, soft hats
- Cooling packs or portable fan
- Magnesium spray or creams
Helpful gadgets:
- Multi use bed tray or laptop desk
- Kindle
- Ipad or tablet
- Crock pot or slow cooker
- Instapot
- Shower chair or other useful disability aids
- Blue light blocking glasses
- Roomba or robotic cleaner
- Light therapy lamp
- Smart watch
- Easy open kitchen gadgets for painful hands
Creative items:
- Colouring books and good quality colour pencils
- Jigsaw puzzles
- Yarn for crocheting or knitting
- Pencil for ipad or tablet
- Luxury journal with a beautiful pen
- Art or craft supplies
Personal Support:
- Research and educate yourself about the illness and symptoms
- Ask how they feel and actively listen and believe
- Give a block of time to clean the house, do laundry or other chores
- Help to declutter a room or clear up the garden
- Make safe meals that are compliant with their food triggers
- Make an effort to understand what they are going through and how the illness has changed them
- Find activities that can be modified that you can do together
- Help to advocate and educate others in the family or friend group
- Ask them what help they need
- Listen without offering solutions or to ‘fix’ them
- Help with complex medical insurance issues and doctors visits
- Offer childcare, school drop off and pick up
- Grocery shopping or food preparation
- Help crowd fund for expensive mobility aids
As with any gift, the more time you take to find out what the person really wants or needs is going to be the most cherished and appreciated.
Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday Season.
Kerry
Chronic Illness and Body Hypervigilance. Season 2, Episode 12.