Life

22 Health & Fitness Gift Ideas For Under $50

They say good health is the greatest gift. But giving health-related gifts can be tricky. No one wants to intimate to a friend or loved one that they should get in better shape, lose weight or be more health-conscious. To make sure it doesn't seem like a hint, stick to gifts that relate to to the recipient's known (or shared) interests. If you've got an avid runner, yogi, cook, natural product nut, healthy foodie, etc. on your holiday shopping list, health and fitness gifts may be the ticket.

We've rounded up some holiday gift ideas tailored to specific pursuits — monogrammed yoga mats, runner-friendly gloves — as well as goods with wide appeal, like raw honey, spa gift cards and shared fitness activities. Here are 22 gift ideas to bring happy and healthy holiday cheer — for under $50.

Image: Unsplash

by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

Touch-Screen Friendly Gloves

With these touchscreen-friendly gloves, runners and cyclers can use phones and mp3 players without freezing fingers. The gloves also have pockets and a reflective print.

e-Tip Running Glove, $30, Lucy

ClassPass

If your giftee has a favorite fitness studio, get them a gift certificate or a multi-class pass. You could also look on deal sites like Groupon, Living Social and Amazon Local for savings on fitness class passes in their area (all three offer gift-buying options for deals). Or, if you’re nearby, treat yourself and your friend or family member to a fitness activity you both enjoy, or something fun neither of you have tried, like aerial yoga or golf.

ClassPass subscription, price varies, ClassPass

Image: Unsplash

Unsplash

Snack Subscription

Boxtera is kind of like Birchbox for healthy food. For $35, you can send a gift box full of 20-22 servings of healthy, natural snacks. Makes an especially good gift for someone long-distance.

Snack Box, $35, Boxtera

Image: Boxtera/Facebook

SpaFinder Gift Card

Spafinder.com offers gift certificates to more than 20,000 spas, salons and wellness venues worldwide.

Spa Finder Gift Certificate, $25 and up, Spa Finder

Magazine Subscription

A gift that keeps giving all year long! Sign your giftee up for a subscription to a health or fitness magazine.

Natural Health One-Year Subscription, $20, naturalhealthmag.com

Cateye Fit Wireless Cycling Computer/Walking Pedometer

This cyclocomputer from Cateye can be clipped through a belt loop or snapped onto a bike to track things like distance, time, steps walked and calories burned.

Cateye Fit Wireless Cycling Computer/Walking Pedometer, $32, Amazon

Monogrammed Yoga Mat

If you have to buy for someone who can never get enough yoga swag, go for this preppy monogrammed mat that won’t get lost in the crowd.

Custom Yoga Mat, from $40, My Custom Yoga Mat

Cooking Class

For a gift you can share with your recipient, how about a cooking class? Even if neither of you are avid cooks, it can be a fun way to spend time together, learn something new and sample good food. Local Groupon and Living Social sites can be fertile ground for such activities, and there are often healthy options.

Image: Fotolia

Fotolia

SW Basics Toner

SW Basics toner is made from raw, organic apple cider vinegar, wild-harvested witch hazel and 100 percent vegan, all-natural ingredients. Gwyneth Paltrow is an avowed fan.

SW Basics Toner, $28, Amazon

Moleskine Wellness Journal

Tracking fitness goals is so much more pleasant with a customized Moleskine journal.

Moleskine Wellness Journal, $14, Amazon

Your Favorite Cookbook

Share the recipes you love to make by giving a copy of one of your favorite cookbooks. This year, mine was Betty Goes Vegan by Dan and Annie Shannon, a collection of veganized versions of classic Betty Crocker Recipes.

Betty Goes Vegan, $13, Amazon

Yoga Headband

A stretchy, stay-put, and reversible yoga headband from Lululemon.

Fringe Fighter Headband, $18, Lululemon

BPA-Free Food Storage

It might not be the most glamorous gift, but who couldn’t use some extra food storage containers in their kitchen? Especially around the holidays, and especially if mom is still using her tupperware from the 1970s.

Kinetic Fresh 14-piece Food Storage, $45, Wayfair

'Green Beauty Recipes' Book

Green Beauty Recipes provides instructions for all-natural lotions, soap, toners, masks, moisturizers, hair treatments, sun protection and baby care products at home.

Green Beauty Recipes , $14, Amazon

Accupressure Mat

This tiny, spiked mat could help decrease stress levels and ease aches using acupressure.

Yantra Mat $49, Yantra Way

Mini Blender

For juice and smoothies on the go: A one-button, single-serving blender with a detachable (and dishwasher-safe, BPA-free) plastic travel bottle.

Oster 250-watt Blender, $20, Amazon

Sunlight Desk Lamp

This sunlight-mimicking lamp can help stop seasonal blues.

Sunlight Desk Lamp, $40, Amazon

Foot Spa

For pedicure devotees or anyone who needs a little pampering, a spa-style foot bath with bubbles, a waterfall and a pumice stone attachment.

Conair Waterfall Foot Spa, $32, Amazon

Eau Good Water Bottle With Charcoal Filter

This cork-topped, BPA-free bottle uses active charcoal as a natural filter.

Eau Good Water Bottle, $35, Uncommon Goods

Manuka Honey

A spoonful of manuka honey can help boost winter-weary immune systems and ward off colds and coughs.

Wedderspoon Organic Manuka Honey, $23, Amazon

Digital Food Scale

This lightweight, bamboo digital food scale has a touchscreen operating system and can convert between pounds and grams.

Taylor Bamboo Digital Food Scale, $16, Amazon

Nike Lightweight Running Waist Pack

A bright, nylon waist pack with reflective details for stashing keys, phones and money and keeping safe while running.

Nike LeanRunning Waistpack, $20, Nike

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