The holiday season is nearly upon us and with it comes the usual flurry of parties, tree decorating, tradition reliving, and gift-giving. Before you get stressed and start researching ways to avoid it all, I want to invite you to take a look at our gift guide. It just might be the perfect solution to all of your holiday stress—at least the gift-giving portion of it.
Although gifts by themselves aren’t what the holiday season is all about, giving and receiving them is a great way to practice generosity and reflect on the real reason for the season—the gift that we’ve all been given through the birth of Jesus Christ.
In this gift guide, you’ll find all kinds of ideas tailored to pharmacists, provided and informed by our very own pharmacists here at the CUW School of Pharmacy. You can use it to find the perfect gift for the pharmacists in your life, or, if you’re a pharmacist yourself, you can send this list to the loved ones in your life as a helpful hint of items that you’d like to find under the tree on Christmas morning.
A word to the wise, stay away from colognes and gym memberships—they send the wrong message.
Give the Gift of Education
Another great gift to give to your friends this holiday season is the gift of investing in their futures. If you know that your friend is thinking about returning to school for additional education, refer them to Concordia for one of our degree programs. You refer them, we reach out and take care of the rest. It’s that simple.
1. Wardrobe Building Money
Every pharmacist needs a few good business casual clothing items to keep on rotation for work. This is an especially useful gift for younger professionals who may not have rounded out their wardrobe yet. Try to figure out where they prefer to shop and send a little gift card their way with directions to use it for work clothes.
2. Bookish Entertainment
Books provide a welcome relief from a heavy workload, but the last thing that a pharmacist needs is another book about medicine or pharmacy. If you don’t know what type of books your friend prefers to read, you can always gift a subscription to Book of the Month Club where they can choose one of five popular new books every month.
3. Strong Coffee
Caffeine is a gift that never goes out of style. This can come in the form of a gift card to a local coffee shop, a bag of beans in the mail, or a personal latte delivery on a particularly taxing day. If you’re buying online, a few of our favorites are Blue Bottle and Counter Culture. If you have a friend who already drinks too much coffee, opt for a tea subscription. A few to check out include Simple Loose Leaf and Amoda.
4. A Creative Brain Break
Anything that gives your pharmacist friend’s brain the chance to turn off the analytical side and opt for a creative activity is a gift that’s naturally reviving and refreshing. Look around for local offerings like an evening of pottery, cooking, or painting. Bonus points if you snag two tickets or seats at the activity of your choice for you and your friend to do together.
5. An Afternoon of Relaxation
Sneak a spa certificate into your friend’s stocking. Research local spas in your area and buy a package or gift a certificate for a relaxation treatment of choice that your pharmacist friend can redeem when needed.
6. Easy Dinners for Busy Nights
Some days are just too busy to try to meal plan, stop by the store, and then spend an hour or two prepping and cooking dinner. A HelloFresh subscription saves the day when takeout just doesn’t cut it any longer.
7. Local Entertainment
The holiday season is always a great time to support the local arts scene, and it’s also a great way to spend time together with your friend. Snag a few tickets to a production of the Nutcracker, sign up for an art crawl, or make plans to attend your local symphony’s Christmas production. Your gift is taking care of the details (and cost!).
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