9 gift ideas to show the nurses in your life you care

Looking for a gift for one or more nurses in your life? Whether you’re buying for a friend or co-workers, nurses often appreciate gifts that make their lives easier or help pamper them a bit.

Check out the following nine gift ideas to show nurses you care:

1. New scrubs – Nurses may feel as though they live in their scrubs, so why not give your favorite nurse a pair that's fashionable, comfortable and functional? Pollmed.com and verywellfit.com provide detailed reviews of popular brands of scrubs, including their pros and cons.

2. Massage gift certificate – After a long day of caring for others, nurses would love to feel pampered by a massage. Help them work out back pain from lifting, kinks in their necks and shoulders because of stress, and other work-related symptoms with a massage gift certificate.

3. A week of a meal-service plan – Take away nurses' dilemma about what to eat for dinner and save them from having to run to the grocery store for dinner ingredients with a gift of meal service for a week. Blue Apron, for example, provides several delivery options that include fresh ingredients along with easy-to-follow recipes.

4. Inspirational nursing book – Whether the nurse or nurses you're buying for are just starting out or are veterans in their field, they'll find something inspirational in "I Wasn't Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse," by Lee Gutkind. It's filled with essays that range from humorous to poignant.

5. Under-scrub shirts – Nurses often come in from cold winter temperatures to a hospital or doctor's office that also feels frigid. Help keep them warm with a gift of under-scrub shirts that are contoured for comfort.

6. Sound machine – Sleeping well is important to a nurse's productivity and overall health and well-being, which makes a sound machine a great gift. With sounds like ocean waves or crickets chirping, these machines can help nurses turn off the stresses of the day and fall asleep more quickly.

7. Hand creams – Nurses wash their hands countless times a day, so treat them to soothing creams that can help keep their hands well moisturized. A gift set like Kiehl's Smooth Skin Delights offers several types of hand creams for him or her to try.

8. Coffee tumbler – Give the nurses in your life a Yeti coffee mug or tumbler customized with an initial and include some Starbucks gift certificates.

9. Compression socks – These socks can help nurses' legs from feeling tired and achy and help prevent their feet and ankles from swelling. Try Nabee Socks, a company founded and run by a former nurse, or another brand.