As we get older, staying sharp, energetic, and vibrant becomes more of a priority. This time of year is the perfect time to invest in our health and well-being—not just for today but for the years to come. I thought you might enjoy a list of some favorite gifts for brain health!

Whether shopping for yourself or looking for the perfect holiday gift for a loved one, why not choose something that nurtures both mind and body?

In this guide, I’ve rounded up some favorite fun gift ideas promoting brain health and overall wellness to help you kick off a healthy 2025. 

From tools to help you in the kitchen to tech gadgets that support mental fitness and self-care products that reduce stress and help with sleep, these thoughtful gifts are designed to help you stay sharp, balanced, and thriving. Let’s dive in!

Please note: This article contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Kitchen Tools

Having the right kitchen tools, or tools that make cooking easier, is an easy step toward eating healthier. Here are some of my favorite tools that make a great gift.

Hand-Held Immersion Blender 

A handheld blender is one of my favorite kitchen tools. Whether you need to puree vegetables in a velvety soup, mix up a zingy dressing, or make a berry-packed smoothie, this little blender is easy to use and clean-up is a cinch. 

I’ve used a Braun Immersion blender for years and pull it out at least once a week. I especially love that it comes with its own cup, and the attachments in this model are dishwasher-safe!   

Small Food Processor

When you are cooking for just a few people, a small food processor is invaluable. It takes up so much less space and is easy to clean. 

This little Kitchen Aid 5-cup processor is my favorite. It has enough power to make a creamy hummus or pesto and is small enough to fit in a kitchen cabinet easily. Plus, It’s not too heavy, which makes it less of a chore to pull out when you need it than the giant food processors. 

Vegetable Chopper  

This veggie chopper quickly cuts vegetables into equal-sized pieces – much faster than using a knife. No more tears when cutting onions, and the veggies fall directly into a tray, making it easy to organize them when you have a lot to cut. 

The plastic container is dishwasher safe, and it includes a tool to clean the blades.

Small Cast Iron Pan  

I love my little 8-inch Lodge Cast Iron Skillet. It is the perfect size for cooking for 2 people and I use it all the time. Make a Dutch Baby pancake, omelet, or my veggie shakshuka (recipe in my cookbook). I picked mine up at Target for about $15 a couple of years ago and use it all the time! This would be a perfect gift for someone who is a recent empty nester! 

Food Gifts

Gifts of food are always a great option for people who don’t want more “things,” but you still want them to know you appreciate them. Here are some of my favorite food gifts that are delicious and good for the brain, too!

Fruit of the Month Club Subscription

Who wouldn’t love fresh, in-season fruit delivered right to their door? A membership to a fruit of the month club might be a perfect gift for someone who doesn’t want more “things” and loves good food. Many clubs offer 3-month or quarterly subscriptions so you can choose what fits your budget and their lifestyle. Here are a few suggestions to get started:

Melissa’s Exotic Fruit – Melissa’s fills their boxes with hard-to-find and unique fruits. This is a great option for the foodie on your list or anyone who likes trying new food!

Harry and David Fruit of the Month Club (worth it just for their pears!)

The Fruit Company – You can choose to have in-season fruit, organic fruits, or more exotic fruits sent. They offer 3, 6, or 12-month subscriptions.

Other Healthy Food of the Month Clubs

Harry and David’s Vegetable of the Month Club – Choose from 3, 6, or 12-month subscription boxes. Each comes with a variety of premium, classic, and more exotic vegetables. This is a good way to mix up your routine and try new or hard-to-find vegetables. 

Rancho Gordo Bean Club is a creative option for friends and family who are trying to improve their brain health! A quarterly subscription for a shipment of dried beans or a gift box filled with a variety of dried beans along with recipes is a unique option for your health-minded friends. 

Heirloom Bean and Grains Club is another cool option. Each shipment includes a couple of bags of heirloom beans and a bag of grains. This is an excellent idea for the foodie in your life who loves to try rare, gourmet food items. 

Membership in a Local CSA

A local Community Supported Agriculture membership might be just the perfect gift for someone wanting to support the local farming community while eating more fruits and veggies.

A CSA is kind of like buying a weekly subscription to a farm; you buy your “share” at the beginning of the year and then get your portion of what is harvested each week. Some CSAs also offer meat, pork, poultry, and dairy products as well. 

You can find local CSAs on the USDA website, Local Food Directories, or the organization Local Harvest.

Basket of Herbal Teas or Coffee

For your friends who love their morning cuppa joe, a box of different coffees might be the perfect gift!

The Bean Box offers a variety of coffee gifts and subscriptions. 

For the tea lover, a gift box from Tea Forte is an amazing gift idea. You can choose from black teas, green teas, herbal teas, and much more. 

Spice Gift Basket  

Spices and herbs are a great way to amp up the flavor of your food and are fun to experiment with. A variety of fun spices is a great gift for people who love to cook. 

There are a variety of excellent spice companies that offer gift packs, but one of the newest on the block is Spiceology. They offer a variety of gift packs, including grilling rubs, flavored salts, popcorn flavorings, or a “build your own 4-pack.”

Books

Books make wonderful gifts for anyone looking to improve their health. They offer both inspiration and tips for eating well and living a healthy life. 

A cookbook can open the door to healthy, delicious recipes that encourage trying new ingredients and cooking techniques. Gardening books can provide guidance and inspiration for growing fresh herbs and vegetables. 

Both types of books empower readers to make healthier choices at their own pace, helping them develop skills that promote long-term wellness. Plus, they often include beautiful photography and expert tips, making the learning process engaging and enjoyable.

Cookbooks

For the cook or aspiring cook, a new cookbook provides more than just recipes. It can inspire and lead to new cultures, ideas, and new foods to explore.  A few of my favorite cookbooks (or that are on my list!) do just that:

Eating From Our Roots by Maya Feller, MS, RDN – A book that focuses on healthy foods from a variety of cultures throughout the US. 

Easy Everyday Mediterranean Diet Cookbook or the Sustainable Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by my colleagues Deanna Seagrave Daly and Serena Ball.

Cooking á la Heart by my colleagues Linda Hatchfield and Amy Myrdal Miller – this book has over 500 excellent recipes focused on heart health, but they are also great for our brain health as well. 

Vegetable Simple by Chef Eric Ripert – for anyone wanting to find ways to eat more vegetables, this might be a great book to get started. The photography alone will have their mouths watering!

MIND Diet for Two – My cookbook features over 65 recipes focused on supporting your brain health, and the majority of recipes are designed for 2 people.  

Gardening Books

Gardening is an activity that is great for reducing stress and improving health. Whether you live in a warmer climate and can garden through the winter or one that freezes over during the winter months, a good gardening book can get your juices flowing and may help as much as getting your hands dirty. Here are a few ideas for both vegetable and flower gardening. 

American Roots: Lessons and Inspiration from the Designers Reimagining Our Home Gardens

A Greener Life: Discover the Joy of Mindful and Sustainable Gardening

Seed to Table: A Seasonal Guide to Organically Growing, Cooking and Preserving Food at Home.  

Tech Gadgets and Apps

Smart Watch 

Smartwatches are a great tool for helping to monitor your health and providing motivation. My Apple watch was a favorite gift a few years ago. It monitors my sleep and also has a heart rate monitor, exercise tracker, and so much more. 

Luminosity App

There is a free version of this app, so you can try it out. Play three short games a day to help increase mental flexibility. Upgrade to a premium version for $11.99 a month or $59.99 a year. It’s a great choice for people who like to play games on their phone or tablet. 

BrainHQ Subscription

BrainHQ is an online brain training program. It includes a variety of exercises that adapt to your brain. You can work on exercises that focus on building better attention, brain speed, memory, and intelligence. The games are fun and never too hard or easy; they adapt to where you are and what you need so it doesn’t become frustrating. A gift subscription is $96 per year. 

White Noise Apps and Gadgets

Getting enough sleep and enough restful sleep is so important for our brain health. As someone who struggles with getting restful sleep, I’m always looking at new ideas and products that might help. 

One I’ve recently been playing with is white noise. Some limited research suggests that listening to white noise may help some people get more restful sleep and sleep longer. 

A couple of Apps that I’ve played with:

Better Sleep App

This app has a variety of features, from white noise to calming meditations to get you ready to sleep. It can also monitor how well you sleep, which is kind of cool. 

When you keep your phone next to your bed and tell the app when you are going to sleep, it will track your sleep, how often you wake up, snore, cough, etc. Then, at the end of the week, you’ll receive an email with insights and suggestions to help you get better sleep if needed. 

You can try the Better Sleep app for a 1-week free trial to see how you like it. Then it is $59.99 a year. 

Calm Premium App

Calm Premium App – I’ve used this for stress management, and they have a sleep tracker as well. You can get a 14-day free trial, and then it converts to either $14.99 a month or, if you purchase a year, $5.83 a month. 

White Noise Machines

If you are someone who benefits from white noise, a white noise machine might be a better option as the sound quality is a bit better than through a phone. One that comes highly recommended is the Hatch2 white noise and sunrise machine. You can set your routine, and it will gently wake you up by slowly increasing the light, mimicking a sunrise. 

Self-Care

When we take care of ourselves and focus on reducing our stress levels, we also take care of our brains. Here are a few gift ideas focused on self-care.

Weighted Blanket

I have to admit, I was skeptical. I mean, wouldn’t a weighted blanket just make me hot and increase those pesky nighttime hot flashes? But I gave it a try and love my weighted blanket! I only use it in the winter on colder nights, but there is something about the weight that calms you and helps you sleep.

Yoga Mat and Blocks

If you have someone on your list who loves yoga or pilates or is looking to try it, a good quality yoga mat and some blocks are a good way to help them get started. 

For someone who likes high-tech gadgets and yoga, YogiFi makes a smart yoga mat that pairs with your smartwatch and can track your exercise, monitor your posture and alignment, and provide a personalized workout plan. 

Foam Roller

A foam roller helps release muscle tightness, improve flexibility, and reduce tension. When you use a foam roller, it can ease muscle soreness and promote relaxation after workouts or yoga sessions. It’s also great for improving circulation and flexibility, making it a valuable tool for stress relief and recovery. And less stress = better brain health and function!

If you have never used a foam roller, check out this guide for some exercises to help reduce sore muscles. 

Exercise Class Subscription 

Along with eating well, regular movement is important for keeping our brains healthy. A great gift for someone who wants to move more or get in a better exercise routine is a subscription to a local exercise class – and one that you join too, so you have a workout buddy and you both benefit! 

Check your local municipality or YMCA to see what types of classes they have available and if you can gift a month of classes. Other options are places like YogaSix or Club Pilates, or, for a friend who loves to dance, a Jazzercise class in your area.

Silver Sneakers ® offers online and in-person classes for people 65 and older. In some areas, a gym membership may also be included. Many Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Supplements participate in the program.

Brain Healthy Causes

If you or your recipient is philanthropically minded, another good option is a donation in their name. A few national organizations that are focused on research and helping people with dementia and other brain-related diseases include: 

The Alzheimer’s Association – This organization focuses on both research in helping to fight and prevent the disease as well as providing resources to people and their families who are dealing with it.

The American Brain Foundation – Supporting research and programs on the prevention, treatment, and cure of a variety of brain-related diseases and disorders. They believe that curing one disease will help lead to cures for all.  

Cure Alzheimer’s Fund – Focused specifically on research to prevent, slow, or reverse Alzheimer’s Disease. 

Final Thoughts

This holiday season, give the gift of well-being—because a healthy mind is the best gift we can offer ourselves and those we care about. These are just a few gift ideas that I hope are fun and meaningful. 

Whether it’s through cooking tools that promote healthy eating, self-care products to reduce stress, or cutting-edge apps that challenge the brain, each of these gifts is designed to help you or your loved ones age gracefully and live life to the fullest. Do you have any you’d add? Let me know in the comments – I’d love to hear from you!

Do you like some of these ideas? Be sure to pin this article to refer to later!