2019 Gift Guide for Nurses
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“What do you want for Christmas? Or what would you give to a Nurse?”
I asked this question on my Instagram stories and this gift guide is inspired by the answers I received from fellow nurses!
Gift Cards
Several people responded that they’d love a gift card for Christmas! I used to think that gift cards weren’t a super “personal” gift (and therefore inferior), however, you can personalize gift cards when you know someone’s favorite restaurant, grocery store, coffee shop, or movie theater! It’s a whole lot better than buying the wrong gift that they have to figure out how to return later in January. Suggested gift card ideas included:
Starbucks (or local coffee shop)
Trader Joe’s (FYI: they only issue physical gift cards only in the store)
Massage/Spa
Yoga classes (or other self-care activity)
Water Bottle/Tumbler
Some of you were very specific with your response, saying you wanted a “unique water bottle” or a “wide mouth water bottle that keeps the “good ice” cold and holds all the water I need for the day.” Does the perfect water bottle exist? Maybe. Here’s a few I found that are pretty darn close:
Zojirushi
I work with two doctors who drink their coffee from Zojirushi insulated bottles and have nothing but good things to say about them! This company is based in Japan and they’ve perfected the insulation technology so things stay hot or cold for your entire shift and it’s a nice minimalist, compact design which means it’ll fit in your car’s cup holder. You can get it in tons of different colors on amazon for $20-$40. This fits the bill for the “unique water bottle” request!”
Hydro Flask
The almighty Hydro Flask. This is for the person looking for the “wide mouth” water bottle that will fill “the good ice” (which I can only assume is the small, bite-size, dot ice that we give our patients)? Definitely easier to fill with enough water to keep you hydrated for a while, but won’t fit in the average cup holder. I recommend leaving this water bottle at work in your locker instead of taking it back and forth on your commute.
Specialty Tumbler/Bottle
I have two Nurses Inspire Nurses cups and they make a fun gift! There’s a ton of other merch: t-shirts, sweaters, pins, stickers, candles, etc. to consider giving to your nurse friends!
Does you nurse friend belong to a professional organization or have a certification? You can get a personalized cup to match that! If they belong to the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, good news! There’s tons of drinkware options. Emergency nurse? ENA has a cool tumbler. These make for a fun reminder of conferences I’ve attended (and my husband often steals them and to take his drinks to work). Good for the whole family. ;)
Mug
I’m a little bit of a mug junkie. I have waaaaay too many for a household with only two adults. Every time I’m on vacation or visiting a new place, I always think a mug will make a nice souvenir, so I keep adding to the collection. At the same time, I’ve been known to break a few mugs over the years, so it’s a slow accumulation if not a fairly even exchange in the end.
This mug makes a good gift for travel nurses.
A good friend gave me this mug years ago and it’s definitely a favorite in our house (and Mo’s go-to mug in the morning):
And I’ve got my eye on this corgizilla mug I’ve saw on @nurseabnormalities Instagram page (a fellow corgi mama):
Chapstick
Nurses want chapstick! This Burts Bees chapstick has been my favorite for years, I keep one in my makeup bag, one in my purse, and one in my locker at work what I usually carry in my scrub pocket. Obsessed, much?
When I want to mix it up at work and wear a little color on my lips, I’ll use Maybelline SuperStay matte liquid lipstick (loyalist and dreamer are my two favorite colors!) This came recommended by @galloway.estate and @lipstickandlifesaving, two Instagram friends whose opinions I trust! This stuff stays on really well during the day but comes off easily with makeup remover.
Pens
A nurse can NEVER have too many pens! Even better, fill a mug with pens, chapstick, and a gift card and you’ll hit on FOUR of the gifts nurses are wishing for this year! :) You’re welcome.
Education/Book
It might take a little more probing to get the right gift in the book/education category, but nurses who responded to the Christmas gift question said they want a “book they would like” or “GRE/Certification prep book.”
For my MSN program, I did not have to take the GRE luckily, but I’ve heard Magoosh has a good prep course online!
For certification test prep, Nicole Kupchik is your girl. She has study material for CCRN, PCCN, CMC, and CSC: study books, practice questions, and online or live courses!
General Education: Fresh RN has tons of online courses MADE for new nurses or nurses who are new to a certain specialty (cardiac, neuro, resumes and interviews, etc). There’s even CEUs! And Kati is always coming out with more good stuff! She has also authored some amazing books:
This last book, The Nurse’s Guide to Blogging, is what I read before starting this blog and I’ve gone back to reference different things many times. It was cowritten by @kati_kleber and @thenerdynurse and is a must-read for anyone who wants to do the whole nurse blogger thing.
Other books your nurse friends might like:
Compression Socks
Compression socks really could be their own post (foreshadowing statement). There are SO many sizes, styles, and designs to pick from! A gift card might be your best bet if you don’t know what size you nurse friend wears.
In no particular order, here are socks I’ve tried and enjoyed over the years: Sockwell, Nabee, Figs, Vim & Vigr, Comrad, and Pro Compression. There are slight variations to each brand, I’ll do a full breakdown in a future post.
Stethoscope
If you really want to WOW the nurse in your life, get them a new stethoscope! Littmann is kind of the gold standard when it comes to stethoscopes, or you can get a beautiful rose gold MDF stethoscope! It’s not pictured here, but I’ve also been enjoying BJÖRN HALL stethoscopes! Created by a nurse, it meets all the criteria for a quality piece while being more affordable than others! It comes in white and black and you can pair it with an adorable velvet stethoscope case!
Speaking of stethoscope accessories, CharMED has some adorable stethoscope bling you can personalize to the nurse you’re giving it to! I have the rose gold one and a purple ribbon for Crohn’s and Colitis awareness.
The Gift of Time
Several gift suggestions revolved around time saving activities. One person suggested a home cleaning service. Another said they wanted someone to bring them lunch or dinner to work (such a good idea!)
When it comes to time saving with food, I really enjoy using Hello Fresh (the meal box subscription). We’ve been using it for the last several months and we love it! We actually used it about a year ago when we lived in Washington, but then my guts were acting up and we paused the subscription. Now that my Crohn’s is under control, we’re back at it and it’s nice to have healthy, delicious meal options. We started doing three 2-person meals but recently upgraded to three 4-person meals because it means we have dinner AND lunch with minimal prep! Use this code to get $40 off your first box!
And if you REALLY want to give the gift of time, give the gift of PTO! Get a bottle of magnesium citrate (and maybe a packet of lemon lime crystal light to hide the flavor), dump it into your nurse friend’s water bottle, wait 30 minutes to 3 hours, and voila: PTO day.
*Not recommended for people with kidney issues.
**But if you legit buy this for someone, I would question your friendship.
Click here to read the blog post with 2018 gift guide for Nurses! A few gift ideas overlap, but what can I say? Nurses are consistent! Leave a comment and let me know if you use any of these ideas!