9 holiday gift ideas for the nurse in your life

With the holidays upon us, it’s time to show our love and appreciation with gifts for the special people in our lives. If nurses are among your friends and family, make them feel extra loved and pampered this holiday season; they’ve had a stressful year.

How do you decide on the perfect gift for the nurse in your life? Many nurses say they appreciate any type of gift, but especially ones that promote self-care, relaxation, or save them time in their busy lives. Here are a few holiday gift ideas for your favorite nurse, in a range of price points for every budget.

1. Warming Backrest Massager pillow – The ultimate in relaxation, this back support pillow from Sharper Image® provides a relaxing, heated vibrating massage; a reading light; and a comfortable place to read or watch TV in bed. It folds up for easy storage and has pockets to hold a remote control and reading materials. Listed at $129, you may be able to get discounts with a code or holiday sale to get the price under $100.

2. Nurse and medical-themed subscription boxes – For the gift that keeps on giving, Hello Subscription offers a variety of subscription boxes for the nurse or medical professional in your life. Choose from gift options delivered monthly or quarterly, such as the Nurse Care Crate for monthly self-care, or the StatBox, which offers more practical tools of the trade that nurses can use on the job. Prices range from about $12.50 to $40 per month.

3. Personalized stethoscope – If you want to give something practical and fun, while also supporting a local Georgia business, Ultrascope, based in Doraville, provides hundreds of personalized stethoscope varieties, colors, and themes, from sparkly or outdoorsy, to abstract and artsy. Additionally, the stethoscopes, priced from $69.99 and up, are offered in several different models for various clinical needs and functionality.

4. Meal delivery – One challenge many nurses share is being short on time, and they ALL need to eat, so you can’t go wrong with the gift of food! There are many different options for in-home meal delivery, so you may want to research the one that best suits the dietary preferences of the nurse in your life. However, some of the most popular home delivery options are Home Chef, which offers gift cards from $65 and up, which is enough to cover three meals for two people, according to their website. Other options for meal delivery kits include Blue Apron or Hello Fresh. If you think the nurse in your life would prefer meals that are completely ready-to-eat without any meal prep at all, you can also purchase gift cards for DoorDash or UberEats.

5. Nurse coffee mug (or another beverage container) – If you need something universal but also on a smaller budget, choose a coffee mug with a nurse-related saying that’s funny or heartfelt, or a personalized mug with your favorite nurse’s name on it. You can find thousands of options and colors with hundreds of different nurse quotes or cartoons at Cafepress.com, Amazon.com, and many other retailers, starting at about $5. If your favorite nurse doesn’t drink coffee, there are also wine glasses, beer mugs, and YETIs for nurses.

6. Nurse-themed jewelry – Although most nurses can’t wear jewelry at work, many enjoy donning some bling between shifts. If your favorite nurse enjoys wearing jewelry, there are many options for nurse-themed baubles and bangles. This beautiful charm bracelet from Alex and Ani is on sale for $16.80, normally $28, and they also offer this best-selling healthcare hero charm bangle. Pandora offers two different nurse charms, and most other popular jewelry brands also offer nurse- or healthcare-themed pieces, including these heartbeat necklaces from Kay jewelers, or these earrings from Zales. For less expensive jewelry options, Cafepress and Amazon offer a plethora of nurse-themed jewelry options as well.

7. Weighted blanket – Another important necessity many nurses often lack is quality sleep. According to Healthline.com, weighted blankets may help to relieve a number of conditions including anxiety, insomnia, restless leg syndrome and more to help ensure healthier sleep patterns. Weighted blankets may be purchased from home goods stores, department stores, and just about any online shopping outlet. This YnM Weighted Blanket is the best seller on Amazon, but there are hundreds of options available. According to experts, ideally, a weighted blanket should weigh about 10% of the sleeper’s body weight, so it helps to know about how much your recipient weighs.

8. Nurse-themed holiday ornament – A holiday ornament is another great gift option if you’re on a budget, and/or if you have multiple nurses for whom to buy holiday gifts. (You may want to confirm that your gift recipient celebrates Christmas or decorates for the holidays.) Many retail gift outlets that offer ornaments also offer personalization options, to help make your gift extra special. Most large retailers offer nurse-themed ornaments, including Hallmark, Zazzle, and Personalization Mall.

9. Books and journals for and about nurses – If the nurse in your life loves to read, a book is a wonderful gift that lasts forever and is also easy on the wallet. “Inspired Nurse,” by Rich Bluni, RN is highly recommended by the NHCPS as a book all nurses should read, and there are hundreds of other books authored by, and written for, nurses. Additionally, many nurses have their own stories to share, and a journal may help them record and reflect on their journey as a nurse. Etsy offers a variety of unique, handmade journals for nurses such as Nurse Scrubs which is created by an RN and offers daily inspiration. This vegan leather nurse journal from Successories can be personalized and comes in five different colors. Another fun, relaxing option that’s budget-friendly is this coloring book for nurses for $8.99.