Wellness gifts with nothing to sign up for
Most things sold as wellness are a subscription, a programme or a device that wants your attention. None of that is in here. What I have is the plain end of it: sleeping better, drinking water, and a break that gets taken sitting down, which are the three things that actually move and the three nobody bothers to gift. I pack every box myself here in Canada and write your message onto the card by hand before the lid goes on.
No subscription, no programme, no device. Sleep, water and a real break. I pack every box by hand here in Canada.
Eight boxes about sleep, water and stopping, at $99 and $119, and six of the eight come in two sizes.
Nothing here measures anything or reports back to a phone.
Noor. Nothing in here needs an app. Go to bed.
Love, Sam
The boxes I would send somebody trying to slow down
These are filed under half a dozen occasions in my catalogue and none of them under wellness, because I do not file anything under wellness. They are the boxes whose contents point that way.
Showing all 8
The Rest & Recharge Box
From$99A sleep mask, a neck pillow and a tea meant for bedtime. The one about sleeping better.
The Desk Hydration Box
From$99A glass bottle, loose leaf and the thing to steep it in, for somebody who forgets to drink water.
The Afternoon Break Box
From$99Tea, a cup and something small to eat, for a break that actually gets taken sitting down.
The Leisurely Morning Tea Box
From$99Tea with lavender through it, a mug thrown by hand and honey, for a morning that starts slowly.
The Relax & Unwind Box
From$99Socks, a candle and a tea. The smallest thing on this page and still a whole evening.
The Spa & Thank You Box
From$99Bath salts, an eye mask, lotion, soap and a candle, if the answer is a bath and an early night.
The Summer Self-Care Box
$119The same bath and early night at five things, which is the fullest version I pack.
The Ultimate Cozy Retreat Box
$119A throw, a heavy mug, good tea and a candle. For evenings rather than mornings.
Which one, then
Pick by which part of the day is the problem. For most people it is one of three: they do not sleep, they do not drink water, or they never actually stop between nine and six. Each of those has a different box and sending the wrong one is a pleasant thing that does nothing. The amount is a separate question and I have written about how much to spend on a gift in Canada separately.
If the problem is sleep
Two boxes from $99 to $119: the Rest & Recharge Box and the Relax & Unwind Box. The first has something to put over the eyes, something for a stiff neck and a tea meant for bedtime. The second is smaller and does the same job with socks and a candle, which is enough for somebody whose evenings are fine and whose nights are not.
If the problem is the working day
Three boxes from $99 to $119: the Desk Hydration Box, the Afternoon Break Box and the Leisurely Morning Tea Box. A bottle they will carry, a break that has something to eat in it, and a morning that starts with a cup rather than a screen. These are the three boxes on this page aimed at hours rather than at evenings.
If they would rather have a bath than a routine
Two boxes from $99 to $119: the Spa & Thank You Box and the Summer Self-Care Box. Both of these are the treat end of it and both overlap with the self-care shelf, honestly so. Send one if the person is tired rather than deliberate.
Two sizes on a box, and where the bigger ones are
The boxes on this page run $99 and $119, and six of the eight come in two sizes. The larger size of a box is everything in the smaller one and about two more things, picked the way the rest of it was picked. On this page the larger size is usually one more thing for the same evening rather than a step up in kind.
Eight boxes on the site run a ladder of three sizes instead, and the luxury boxes at the top of it are the fullest things I pack. If you came here meaning to spend more than this page asks for, the links under this are the shortest way there.
The card is the only thing in here with words on it.
You type the message when you order, up to 280 characters, and I write it out in pen on a real card. Nothing else in the box tells them what to do with it, which on this shelf is the point: a gift about slowing down should not arrive with instructions.
If you are stuck, people write things like:
"Go to bed earlier.""No app required.""One thing at a time."
The card, the tissue, the tape and the rest of what happens to a box before it leaves.
Nothing in here needs charging or tracking. That is the whole idea.
Love, Sam
Other things they might be into
This shelf borders two others and the difference between them is real, not a change of noun.
If what they need is a treat rather than a habit, an hour with the door shut is the page for that and it leans further towards the bath than this one does.
If the slowing down is really recovery between hard sessions, the same salts and sleep masks sit on a page written for somebody who trains.
And if the whole thing is really about the kettle, the tea boxes are built around the pause rather than around the leaf.
Questions people ask me
Is there anything in here that needs an app or a subscription?
No. Nothing in any of these boxes charges, syncs, tracks anything or asks for a login, and there is no ongoing anything: you buy a box once and that is the end of the transaction. Each box has its own page, and that page says what is in it, so you can check that it really is what this one claims.
Are there supplements or vitamins in these?
No. I do not pack supplements, vitamins, powders or anything that makes a health claim, because I am not qualified to and I would rather not be the person who sent somebody something they should not have taken. What is in these is tea, water, sleep and the things around them.
How is this different from the self-care page?
Self-care is a treat and this is a habit. That page leans on the bath and the candle, this one leans on sleep, water and an unhurried break. A couple of boxes are on both pages because they honestly belong on both, and the rest of each page is its own.
What are the two sizes?
The larger size of a box is everything in the smaller one and about two more things, picked the way the rest of it was picked. The boxes here run $99 and $119, and six of the eight come in two sizes. All sales are final, so check the address before you order.
Where does it ship from and how long does it take?
I pack everything by hand in Canada and ship from here. Shipping is free anywhere in Canada and a box is 1 to 7 days in transit. There is no same-day option and I do not put an arrival date on this page. There is a field at checkout where you pick the delivery date you would prefer.
The unglamorous half of wellness is the half that works
The market for this is full of things that are interesting to buy and dull to use. A device that scores your sleep, a programme with a login, a powder with a claim on the tub. They sell well because they are easy to explain to somebody who has not tried them and they sit unused because using them is work.
What actually moves is embarrassingly plain. Going to bed earlier. Having water within reach. Taking twenty minutes in the middle of the day where nothing happens. None of that makes a good product, which is why nobody gives it as a gift, which is why it is worth giving as one.
Every box here is packed by hand in Canada and sent with a card written by hand in your own words. Shipping is free anywhere in Canada and a box is 1 to 7 days in transit. If you want the rest of it, every box on the site is in one grid sorted by price.
While you are here
- Gifts for the Person Who Has Everything (and Returns the Rest)What to send somebody who buys their own things.
- Small Gifts With Big ImpactWhy plain gifts outlast impressive ones.
- All the boxesThe whole catalogue in one grid, by price.
If you are not sure which box to send somebody trying to slow down, tell me who it is for and roughly what you want to spend and I will tell you what I would pack. I read every message myself, at team@swipegifts.com.