Self-Care Holiday Gift Guide 2021

I’ve put together this self-care holiday gift guide: a list of my favorite clothing items, artwork, tools, and entertainment. Use this guide as you shop for your loved ones (or even yourself)!

Often when people hear the word self-care, they picture a luxurious massage or treating themselves to a mani-pedi. While yes, it can be those things, I like to think of self-care as a practice of nurturing your physical, mental, and emotional health in order to prioritize and protect your well-being.

After all that we’ve been through the past two years (and continue to go through), we are all in need of plenty of self-care. With that in mind, I’ve put together this self-care holiday gift guide with some of my favorite gift ideas for the people in your life that need – or enjoy – a bit of care.

Please note: a few of the links below are affiliate links. I only use affiliate links for products I use and trust, a category into which all these products fall.

Self-Care Holiday Gift Guide

1. Body Normative Candles: One of my new favorite self-care routines involves dimming the lights, setting a few candles, and putting on some relaxing music. Put a body-positive spin on the candles and I’m in heaven! Trippy Tuesday’s four handmade soy candles of different body shapes and sizes. I’m in love with my bronze pearl Mycena. ($36.02) They also have jewelry as well – I got myself a pair of bronze Mycena and Plutonia earrings and have gotten so many compliments!
2. Just Girl Project Posters: Perfect for any girls or teens in your life, these fun posters from The Just Girl Project include positive messages for body image, mental health, and acceptance, all created by female artists. (starting at $12)
3. Sips By: Nothing says comfort and release for me more than brewing a cup of tea and curling up on the couch (especially during the winter months). Sips By offers subscriptions services that provide a monthly box of tea, great for the tea lovers out there. (starting at $48 for a 3 month subscription)
4. My Wellness Journal: This journal includes daily prompts and space for thoughts, feelings, habits, gratitude, and goals. It also has a dedicated space to write down self-care practices, great for anyone who wants to make caring for themselves more of a priority. ($32.99)
5. Yoga Bolster: For the yogi (or meditator) in your life, this yoga bolster can be used for yoga or meditation practices to help support your body for a more comfortable practice. ($44.98)
6. Feel Deal Heal Affirmation Deck: I’m a huge fan of Tiffany Roe, the therapist behind the Instagram account @heytiffanyroe and #therapyiscool, who’s mission is to banish the stigma around mental illness. Her ‘Feel Deal Heal’ card deck includes 52 affirmation cards that support more self-compassionate thoughts and feelings (plus they’re really fun to look at!). ($33.99)
7. Foot Spa Massager: Talk about relaxation: no trip to the nail salon needed! This heat adjustable massager includes 14 removable massage rollers, acupressure massage points, pumice stone, and medicine box for salts or essential oils. ($65.99)
8. Dear Body Thank You Tee: Meg Bogg, athlete and author of Fitness for Everybody, recently launched Dear Body By Meg where she sells a variety of body positive merchandise. I love the ‘Dear Body Thank You’ T-shirt ($28.00) as welll as her new line ‘Fat Strength’ (inspired by a social media troll!) which includes t-shirts, beanies, and more.
9. Get Untamed: The Journal (How to Quit Pleasing and Start Living): Another journal filled with helpful prompts, this one created by Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed, to help stop people pleasing to live a more authentic life. ($12.98)
10. Love Me Some Me Art: Justina Blakeney’s Instagram account – and that of her company Jungalow – were the inspiration for all of my office decor. Next on my list to buy: this gorgeous print she created. ($40)
11. Indoor Plants – The Sill: I’m a newbie indoor-plant convert (going on 3 years this month!) but what you hear is true: adding in greenery into a room can do wonders to both the space and your mood. The Sill ships plants all over the US, so even if you’re not near their NYC-location, you can still give the gift of plants. (prices vary)
12. Lindley Ashline’s Fat Yoga Print: Lindley created Body Liberation Photos in order to create stock images that depict fat people in a positive light. I love this beautiful photograph taken of a woman doing yoga by a lake near the mountains. She also has a TON of other great prints and items ($56 for 11″x14″)
13. Feel Good Flash Cards: these flash cards by Lauren Cadillac, a dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor, are specifically designed for food freedom and body acceptance. These cards can help to create new neural pathways and more supportive thought patterns.($29.99)
14. You Deserve the Whole Universe: Ashley M. Seruya, a therapist and HAES-practioner, creates beautiful illustrations that are available as digital downloads. My current favorite is ‘You Deserve the Whole Universe’ – you can get the download and print yourself or use a desktop or phone screen background ($6.00)
15. Epicurean Cutting Board: Got a cook in the family? Having a great cutting board makes it easier to prepare that meal. I love these all-in-one boards from Epicurean. (variety of sizes, starting at $21.99)

Give the gift food and body image healing!

Check out my Unapologetic Eating 101 Course, an online, self-paced program to liberate yourself from dieting and make peace with food and your body. Want to gift the course to someone? Email hello@alissarumsey.com and we can set that up for you!

My book, Unapologetic Eating: Make Peace with Food and Transform Your Life, is also a great resource that includes information, research, and reflection prompts to help you move away from dieting and come back home to your body, so you can live your most unapologetic, liberated life.

Author Bio

This article was written and reviewed by Alissa Rumsey, MS, RD, CSCS, a registered dietitian and Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. She specializes in weight-inclusive care, intuitive eating, body image healing, mindfulness, self-compassion, and healing from chronic dieting, disordered eating, and eating disorders. Alissa holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition and Exercise Science, and a Master’s Degree in Health Communications, and is also an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.