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Whitney Mack

love yourself into vibrant health

Holiday Gift Guide

by Filed Under: Healthy Living Inspiration Leave a Comment

This isn’t your “typical” holiday gift guide. It’s fitting for this year, but also I think a model for gift giving all the time. One where we support small businesses and give gifts that add value (upgrade!) the lives of those around us.

So here you’ll find a collection to infuse + inspire INTENTION and RITUAL.

Intention in how you adorn yourself or your home and the ways in which you care for and understand your body + soul (or inspire others to), wrapped within the rituals that add meaning to your day or your life. The items that made this holiday gift guide are meant to bring you (or the lucky recipient) into the present moment to create more of what you desire, while also appreciating what you have (your body, your family + friends, your spirit) and enhancing your moments of joy + calm (with yourself and others).

This guide supports small local businesses and friends (feel free to leave you favorite small businesses in the comments below too!) who direly need our support right now, along with companies whose products I’ve personally used to deepen my own rituals and/or loving relationship with myself. {Although you can get some of the products below on Amazon, I’ve chosen to link the original sites for everything.} There are tools of self-discovery and exploration, luxurious (and clean!) body products, along with beautiful options to adorn your body and home.

You’ll find gifts for varying price ranges and people – all unique and creative! There’s even some ideas for the kids in your lives.

 

ADORNING:

  • THE HOME:
    • HANGING WOODWORK: Amanda Whitworth is a local, super talented woodworker and friend who has wall and plant hangings. Check out her wall hangings HERE and plant hangers HERE.
    • MOON, OCEAN & ASTROLOGY CHART ART: I found Hanah Hailey on Instagram and love gifting her colorful, original pieces. I have gifted a few of her pieces to friends and am adding her Driftwood Moon Phase hanging to my office! To get an order by Christmas, you must order by December 1!
    • CUSTOM POTTERY PIECES – Bullseye Clay is owned by my cousin Ukiah, and he makes some super cool vases, pots and more! Check out his Instagram account HERE and email him for custom pieces or to shop what he has!

 

  • THE BODY:
    • UNIQUE, FEMININE CLOTHING FOR ALL PURPOSES: Malika Siddick – female owner of the retail & online clothing store Lika Love here in West Seattle (where I live) – helped me step into a more authentic and feminine expression of myself through my clothes. Check out her website HERE (there’s so many great, unique pieces). They’re doing some killer Black Friday (50% off) and Small Business Saturday (20% off) deals, so don’t miss out!

This winter, I’m currently loving:

 

  • FOR THE TEENS – my client’s daughter Ruby, (who I’ve known since she was like 7 and now she’s a senior in HS), began by hand stitching eight black & white bandanas to a pair of sweatpants for herself. What started as something to do because she was bored, turned into something that friends and beyond were asking for! Ruby donates 50% of her proceeds to community partners (Justice for Girls Coalition of Washington State and Nomad Boxing Club) and her designs are super cool. Check out Ruby Laine Apparel HERE for some one-of-a-kind gifts!

 

  • JEWELRY:
      • Stella & Haas – all of their jewelry is classy, quality, subtle and goes with everything. I got a necklace from them in July and literally haven’t taken it off. Great prices and the perfect gift for your girlfriends.
      • POUND Jewelry – if you’re into gems or crystals (or know someone who is), this jewelry is SO cool and beautiful. I also love that it’s made by a mother & two daughters.
      • Rebekah J Designs – Rebekah is a local West Seattle babe whose pieces are super unique, classy and always get a compliment (every. time. I wear my Fortunate Necklace).
      • Rain City Forge – adding this local Seattle jewelry artist per the recommendation of a comment on my Instagram. Her pieces are beautiful and super classy!

 

SELF-DISCOVERY: 2020 has been a year that’s pushed us all. It’s been an incredible year of (sometimes forced, but needed) growth and change. For me, I’ve found this path so much easier when I deepen my understanding of who I am and why I react to things the way I do or want things the way I want them. With so much more on our plates as women, these tools help you cut through the BS to uncover exactly where you should be spending your time and energy to maximize growth + understanding, while minimizing being at the whim of your circumstances.

 

  • ONE-ON-ONE HEALTH COACHING SESSION WITH ME: This year is an unprecedented season of life. As moms + women, we’ve shouldered so much of the changes, often at the expense of our own health, leaving little time to tend to our body & soul. If you desire to radically change the way you care for yourself – factoring in all the challenges of this current season and working WITH them – I would be honored to help you find ease and begin navigate this season with vibrance and joy. Together, we’ll create solutions & rituals that allow you to create space for yourself, even on the days when space feels limited or non-existent. I simplify and tailor all aspects of health, nutrition, and exercise techniques to YOU, using a cyclical approach, that shifts with your daily-changing needs. You don’t have to neglect your body and spirit in order to help your family survive this time; motherhood does not have to be martyrdom. And when you prioritize your own needs & desires, you’ll have more energy and a well of ease from which you can dip into without depleting or exhausting yourself. Email me whitney@macksmo.com to set up a one-time new client intro session of 60 min for $75.

 

  • PERSONAL NATAL CHART + BOOKLET: Your “natal chart” gives you insight into where the sun, moon and planets were at the time of your birth, which, astrologically speaking, influences your personality, emotions, life lessons & gifts you’re here to share. Hanah Hailey makes custom astrology natal charts for one person, couples and families. It’s such a cool gift for those who are into astrology or just starting to discover this fun tool to better understand yourself, your gifts, your personal challenges and purpose in this life! It also comes with a custom booklet to explain your chart! To get an order by Christmas, you must order by December 1!

 

  • PERSONAL ASTROLOGICAL READING: Understanding your “cosmic signature” {as my astrology & business coach Lauren says} is such a cool way to understand your feelings, your desires, struggles and gifts you’re here to share with the world, with a clear path on how to harness your innate power and energy. A personal reading of your natal chart gives you one-on-one insights into deepening your relationship with yourself and I recommend it to all my friends & clients. I find that people LOVE learning insights about themselves, so this makes for a unique gift that keeps giving long beyond the holiday season. Purchase a gift card for a reading with my astrology coach, Lauren HERE. 

 

ADDING RITUAL TO YOUR MORNINGS & EVENINGS: Sanity, loving presence, and the ability to ground into your body is strengthened through ritual – the intentional things we do daily that add grace and slow us down, while also infusing calm into (what might otherwise be) chaos. I’ve made notes about all of them (and my favorite time & ways to use them). Many of these make great stocking stuffers as well!

 

  • Set The Mood {Ritual Builders}
      • glassybaby votives {another local Seattle company} + beeswax tea lights
      • Himalayan Salt Lamp – great for winding down in the evening, helps your body transition from day to night with soft, soothing light
      • Primally Pure JUST launched their first candle for the holiday season! {I’ve got a lot of their goods in this list, so be sure to check them out now while they’re running Black Friday deals!}.
      • The Moon Deck Oracle Card Set – The Moon Deck is my go-to for creating rituals around the phases of the moon {specifically the new & full moons}. Their card deck has beautiful, feminine-inspired artwork with insights, mantras + rituals to help you deepen your intuition and create sacred space for growth. I’m constantly amazed at the wisdom within these cards, each time I use them. If you’re interested in creating more ritual around the moon’s energy and curious about pulling cards, I highly recommend this deck!

 

 

  • Face Rituals:
    • Primally Pure Gua Sha Stone & Face Roller – two of my favorites in a set (see the benefits below)
    • Province Apothecary Sculpting & Toning Facial Cupping Set – okay, I just discovered this and it’s amazing! Cupping is a healing modality rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine (you’ve probably heard of cupping other parts of the body, like the back), but it’s also an effective beauty tool, known to improve the skin’s radiance while naturally sculpting and toning as it gently pulls the skin away from deeper layers of fascia, smoothing wrinkles and revitalizing the look of your skin and heightening your skin ritual.

 

PUT TOGETHER A SELF-CARE PACKAGE OR GREAT STOCKING STUFFERS: One of my favorite things to do for the women in my life is create self-care packages. I buy a few things in “bulk” (like the eye masks and lip balm) and put it all together in a gift bag or stocking. This is also a great and meaningful gift for teachers, where you could throw in a couple local gift cards too.

  • Stella & Grace OR Beautycounter Eye Masks – an energy drink for your eyes! I love these on the weekends, after a late night or to make Monday mornings a little more enjoyable! 
  • Gua Sha Stone – gua sha is an ancient healing technique rooted in Traditional Chinese medicine that gently massages and lifts the skin using a gua sha stone. It works with the skin to support and optimize the body’s own reparative functions by promoting lymphatic drainage, calming the nervous system, relieving muscle tension + tightness, clearing congestion + buildup, and increasing the flow of oxygen and vital nutrients to the skin. Energizing in the AM and soothing in the PM. One of my fave tools to wind-down and up the relaxation factor of my evening skincare routine.
  • Rose Quartz or Jade Face Roller – like gua sha, face rolling helps stimulate lymphatic drainage, detoxify the skin and boost blood flow to promote healthy skin from within. The stones in a roller tend to maintain a lower temperature (you can also keep it in the fridge) so they add a cooling effect as you roll.
  • Anthropology Blue Light Blocking Glasses – for the TV watchers in your life, these help improve sleep hygiene by blocking blue light (which interferes with your melatonin production – the hormone that signals the body its time to sleep).
  • Primally Pure Lip Balm Set – I love adding these to self-care packages for friends & family or in stockings for my sisters & mom!
  • FourSigmatic Mushroom Cacao with Reishi (aka hot chocolate with stress soothing reishi mushrooms – don’t worry, you can’t taste them!): Great for on the go and for calming the nerves. Reishi is a class of mushroom known as an adaptogen – a type of plant that helps your body adapt to stress better. It’s hormone friendly and a yummy treat to enjoy with the cacao! They’re doing 50% off right now for Black Friday & Cyber Monday!
  • FourSigmatic also has on-the-go coffee packs paired with other adaptogens like Ashwagandha (my fave – helps mitigate stress & improve sleep, decreases symptoms of anxiety & depression by helping with cortisol & stress response – does so by helping parasympathetic nervous system to activate), Chaga & Cordyceps (chaga supports your immune system & cordyceps boosts mental clarity and focus), and Lion’s Mane (supports clear energy).
  • Primally Pure Deodorant – the BEST deodorant and a great stocking stuffer. I love every scent (minus the Geranium because I don’t like floral scents too much), but my favorite is Charcoal (great for the guys too), Blue Tansy and Tea Tree. Maybe even get the TRIO to stuff a few stockings or for your self-care packages for your girls!
  • Primally Pure Dry Shampoo – the best I’ve found and one for light or dark locks. Great stocking stuffer!
  • Acure Sheet Face Masks – I gift these often and include them in all my self-care gifts for friends & clients.

 

CLEAN BEAUTY: Upgrading your skincare to clean, non-toxic ingredients is one of the most impactful choices you can make for your health and also your hormones – which impact every system of your body. I’ve done a ton of research and testing over the years (you can verify the safety and toxicity levels of any of your current skincare using the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Skin Deep Database, which offers safety ratings for over 78,000 cosmetic products along with the “why” behind the rating – like toxic chemicals used and health concerns that they’re linked to.

 

Primally Pure (PP) and Beautycounter (BC) are my two favorite skincare companies; and the two companies // products I recommend more than anything else to clients, friends & family (aside from my hormone-loving adaptogen protocol). I love them so much that I became a Beautycounter Independent Consultant last year and would do the same for PP if I could but instead, I have a discount code for you, LINK HERE). Beautycounter is currently doing a 15% off site-wide sale through Monday, so start shopping HERE.

  • Primally Pure Starter Kit – A great way to sample some of my favorite products from PP – the deodorant (only clean deodorant I’ve found that WORKS and doesn’t eventually give me a rash), Everything Spray (literally great for everything – like freshening up your face or a room in your home, also doubles as a toner) and THE BEST body butter in the world (get the Almond+Vanilla – great for mamas-to-be to rub on their bellies too!).
  • Primally Pure Vanilla+Almond Body Butter – literally the BEST smelling and most luxurious body butter I’ve ever used. It’s 100% a spa experience every time you use it. PP also just added a holiday edition scent of sweet mint + warm toasty vanilla too that I’m sure is also divine!
  • BC Countertime Deluxe Mini Set – this is my all-time favorite line from BC (it’s the anti-aging line) and I noticed a huge difference in my skin – brighter and smoother – after just a week of use (and I got lots of affirmations of this too)! This mini set is a great way to sample the whole line (then have travel-size containers for the future). Every single product is divine (the Antioxidant Soft Cream {day lotion} is what originally got me hooked, it’s so smooth & light // and the Supreme Cream {night} nourishes and feels like silk). Worth the money FOR SURE!
  • The Ultimate Renewal Bath Set – new just for the holidays, the body polish and body oil smell divine and are the perfect for giving your winter skin a boost! Dry brushing helps stimulate the lymphatic system and increase circulation to the skin. Dry brush, then hop in the shower and use the body polish, finishing it off with the body oil for spa-like skin.
  • BC Counter+ Overnight Resurfacing Peel – this is an overnight peel that smooths the skin and adds a morning glow (it’s actually clinically proven to improve the skin’s texture and add radiance to the skin). I use it under my Countertime routine at night every other night. 
  • Counter+ All Bright Serum – kinda the yin to the yang of the Overnight Resurfacing Peel, but for the daytime. Pumped with vitamin c, this serum goes on under your day lotion and helps to reduce the appearance of dark spots, while also preventing new ones. What I noticed was the added brightness after about a week!
  • Beyond The Gloss Trio – I love this lip gloss! Enough said. 
  • For Your Guy: Counterman Fresh Essentials – Regan loves the Energizing Body Wash, and I’m totally giving him this set for Christmas. Men need clean skincare just as much as the ladies and these 3 are all winners.

 

KIDS:

 

 

  • Not Just Another Toy:
    • For your littles interested in cooking – The Little Sous Opinel Le Petit Chef 3-Piece Knife Set // And add a cute Kids Apron – Dino, Construction, Personalized Rainbow, Firetruck, Bees
    • Cool, unique and activity- or learning-based gifts: I discovered Uncommon Goods when my sister forwarded me a link to their USA Coloring Tablecloth (which Will is currently working on & part of his social studies lessons!). It’s now my go-to place to order gifts for the wonderful kiddos in our lives – my own & those of family and friends.
    • Mama Sing My Song  – This is SUCH a cool idea (I plan to gift this to Will for his birthday and eventually to Felix when he is older). If not for Christmas, at the very least, I feel like you need to know about this amazing company that creates a custom song all about & for your child!
    • Together We Rise Holiday Stockings For Foster Children – The // our children have been the most impacted by the incredible challenges we’ve encountered this year. As a family – and namely with Will, we are going to sponsor some Holiday Stockings for foster children in need. I hope that you’ll join me or find other ways to support our communities during this time.
    • Subscription Boxes We Love – activity boxed delivered bi-monthly or monthly that our kiddos have thoroughly enjoyed:
        • Lovevery – Felix was gifted this montessori-based subscription last Christmas and we LOVE it. All of the toys and learning materials are high-quality and beautiful. Felix has used each of them over & over in new and fun ways. Highly recommend!
        • Little Passports – Will was gifted a subscription by a dear friend for the last 3 years and has loved the Early Explorers, Science Junior and is just starting the World Edition. He so looks forward to getting a box and it’s a great activity to do together. 
        • Kiwi Co – we haven’t personally tried this one, although we have friends whose kids love it and I plan to do it for Felix!

 

DO IT YOURSELF GIFTS TO MAKE FOR FRIENDS & FAMILY:

  • Homemade Granola – whip up a big batch of my granola, put it in mason jars and start gifting!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 3 cups raw nuts (I like pecans, walnuts, cashews & pumpkin seeds)
  • 1.5 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon (add more or less depending on how much you like cinnamon)
  • ½ cup organic, raw coconut oil
  • ¼ cup organic, Grade B maple syrup or organic, raw honey
  • 1 tsp. organic pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup wide-flake unsweetened coconut (added @ end of recipe!)

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
  2. Mix oats and nuts together in a large bowl. 
  3. Add salt & cinnamon (+ hemp seeds if you’re using them) and stir thoroughly to combine.
  4. Stir in coconut oil, honey/maple syrup and vanilla. Heat in microwave for 30 sec to soften coconut oil, then mix well until nuts & oats are evenly coated.
  5. Spread granola out over non-stick baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes.
  6. Add coconut and bake for 10-12 minutes more.
  7. Stir to combine. Let cool before enjoying. Store in an airtight container for 7-10 days (I store mine in fridge).

 

  • Whipped Coconut Body Butter – all you need is a mixer and some cold-pressed, organic coconut oil. Option to add some drops of essential oils too (I love doTerra brand – wild orange & lavender are my favorite). Whipping the coconut oil keeps it from hardening, which is super helpful in winter months. TO MAKE: scoop coconut oil into a mixer and whip the oil for 5 minutes (add essential oil at this time too). 

 

  • Sugar or Salt Body Scrub – I keep one of these in my shower at all times and always make extra for friends at the same time. TO MAKE: you need organic sugar or fine himilayan pink salt, coconut oil and if desired, essential oils. Use a 2:1 sugar // salt to coconut oil ratio. Add all ingredients to a food processor and mix. 

 

*If you liked this gift guide, please share the love!

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