Have you ever had someone on your life who is constantly stressed? Or are you in that situation yourself? Sometimes there is not much we can do to directly fight the source of stress, but instead, we need to find ways to deal with it. A great idea to help someone our yourself in times of high demand is to pack up a little stress relief goodie bag.
So no matter if you are looking for a gift idea for someone who needs to relax a little or if you want to treat yourself: Check out these ideas of 10 practical things to put in a cute stress relief kit!
Related: 13 super effective stress relief activities (no gadgets)
Related: 10 simple tips for staying healthy during the holidays
Disclosure: Some of the links below are so-called provision links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I can earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
1. The classic: A fancy facial mask
A facial mask or two belong in any stress relief package. They are the classic of stress reliever gift ideas for a reason!
Related: Ideas for the best Skincare Xmas gifts in 2022
2. More spa: Soothing bath salts
Bath salts also fall into the “spa and relaxation” category and are a must-have for your stress relief goodie bag. If you have the time and energy, you might even want to consider mixing up some DIY bath salts yourself as easy DIY stress relievers.
(Just make sure making a DIY destress kit doesn’t turn into stress for yourself. That’s not the idea!)
If you don’t want to make them yourself, you can also find a huge selection of awesome bath salts here*!
Related: The best bath additives for any occasion
3. Coloring book for grownups
In my opinion, this is one of the best gift ideas to help someone relax. It kind of reminds you of childhood, doesn’t it?
So put a coloring book for grownups and a pack of pencils into your stress kit! I think this one* looks cute!
4. An Audiobook (or a voucher for one)
Audiobooks are the perfect add-on to the coloring book. Nothing better than listening to a captivating story while slowly coloring those pages!
I personally like listening to stories like Mary Poppins* when I need to relax (don’t judge!). But if you are not sure about the preferences of the person who will receive the goodie bag, consider getting them a voucher. Or you could even get them a gift membership for Audible, so they can select from a huge library of audiobooks. Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks here*!
5. Relaxing tea
Have you watched the Big Bang Theory? In it, Sheldon offers a hot beverage to his friends, whenever they are in emotional distress. And he really is on to something with that.
Also, adding tea to your list of stress kit ideas is low risk, as most people drink tea and if they don’t, they can easily regift it.
So pick a nice tea blend from the following list of soothing teas and add it to your kit!
Good teas for relaxation and stress relief are:
*Just make sure not to accidentally pick a caffeinated tea!
6. Essential oils
Adding a small flask of essential oil to your stress relief kit is another must! Essential oils are extremely versatile. So even if the receiver doesn’t own an essential oil diffuser*, they can still make very good use of the oil.
Some drops of a stress relieving essential oil in your bath water, on your pillow or even in your hair oil will help.
Unsurprisingly, the best essential oils for stress relief come from the same or similar herbs as the relaxing teas:
Related: How to make your home smell amazing
7. Another classic: The stress ball
Stress balls have been parts of stress relief goodie bags since… Well, since those kinds of goodie bags exist, really. I absolutely love the idea of these stress balls with motivational quotes*.
They can be squeezed, but they’ll also help to put you in a more positive mindset when you need it most. Perfect combination, if you ask me! Also, they put a new spin on traditional stress relief kit ideas, in my opinion.
You can get the motivational stress balls here*!
Related: Your ultimate list of 5 senses Christmas gift ideas
8. Vitamins for stress release
Okay, this one needs to come with a disclaimer: Only add vitamins in the kit if it’s either for you and you know your vitamin levels or if you know the person and their lifestyle very well. That being said, I’ll still add some explanations for the vitamins so you can take an informed decision if you want to add them or not.
Magnesium
Magnesium* helps with muscle relaxation and seems to be able to play an important role in the healing of so-called “affective disorders”.
People who work out a lot or don’t eat a super diet can be at risk of not getting enough magnesium. Taking too much of it can cause side-effects like nausea or diarrhea though, so be mindful of the amounts!
Vitamin C
Another stress buster is Vitamin C*. It actually reduces the effects stress has on you by lowering the amounts of Cortisol released. (Cortisol is the stress hormone.) If you don’t have the time or energy to do Yoga for lowering cortisol, vitamin C might help out!
9. A sleep mask to improve sleep
Many people who suffer from stress sleep badly. Bad sleep again raises your Cortisol levels, making you more stressed. It’s a vicious circle.
My favorite hack to improve sleep is to use my sleep mask with integrated headphones for two reasons:
- On it, you can play a guided relaxation or some white noise to help you fall asleep. The headphones are not in your way of sleeping, even if you sleep on your side like me because they are super flat and you won’t notice them.
- The mask is so soft that you hardly feel it, but it reliably darkens everything so that your brain thinks it’s pitch-dark. Darkness is necessary for your body to produce melatonin, the sleep hormone.
Even when my insomnia gets bad, this sleep mask helps put me to sleep, and I’m really grateful for it! You can get it here* if you want to add it to your stress relief kit.
10. A bag of nuts
I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but snacking on some nuts actually helps a great deal in fighting stress. Full of healthy fats, B vitamins, and even antioxidants, they definitely deserve a place in this list.
Add a bag of pistachios, cashews or some seeds like pumpkin or sunflower seeds to the stress relief goodie bag.
And that’s it! Your stress relief kit is complete! Make sure to pin this for later and let me know in the comments if you found this useful!
*These links are so-called provision links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I can earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
