Alexandria Art Therapy's 2021 Gift Guide

While we are intentional and committed to writing to our entire audience, this post uses the framework of Christmas to explore the positive benefits of gift giving, as well as some ideas for art and mental health gifts. We hope our readers of all faiths and traditions will enjoy this roundup.

The holidays are here, and every year, I try to figure out how to simplify all of the shopping. For years, I managed by coercing family into drawing names. Shop for one person, and you’re done! Joy accomplished, commercialism partially vanquished. My spouse pointed out that, in this model, everyone just ends up opening something from their Amazon wishlist, and there’s no surprise involved. And what if you draw the one person who is impossible to shop for? So this year we’re doing actual gifts for the children and low-pressure stocking stuffers for the adults. But then there’s the grandparents. And the book club gift exchange. And my child’s preschool teachers (cash--if the question is teachers, the answer is always cash.) And friends...

In truth, though, I like the hubbub. Why? Well, brain science. Researchers in this NIH study found that giving activates pleasure-centers in the brain. Giving makes us feel good, especially when it’s for a good cause. 

If Hanukkah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa is an especially hard time for you, it might help counteract some of the heavy feelings by bathing your brain in endorphins. And you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get the emotional lift from gift-giving. Last year, during what I like to think of as lockdown Christmas, I used a set of kids’ watercolor paints to make holiday cards for the relatives I wouldn’t be seeing that year. Combining the peace of an art-making flow state with the endorphin boost of sending a gift turned out to be a really positive memory from an otherwise difficult season. 

So in the spirit of feeling better, we’ve put together a small gift guide for the people in your life who also share an appreciation for art and mental health (or, like us, both). Recommendations for products may contain affiliate links. 

GIFTS FOR ART LOVERS

$: A ceramic paint palette or a set of metallic watercolor paints. Neither of these are super fancy, but they feel fancy. 

$$: A collage kit. (This makes an especially great gift for a teenager.) Include a good pair of scissors, a cutting mat and knife for detail work, a glue stick, Mod Podge, and a stack of eye-catching magazines.  

$$$: A print or original painting by an artist you love. Lately, I’ve had my eye on paintings by Kayla Gale, Christina Kwan, and Evan Blackwell. For more ideas of contemporary artists to follow, check out this blog post. 

PHILANTHROPIC GIFTS

$-$$$: Make a charitable donation in honor of a loved one. Here are some organizations we like: 

The Trevor Project, a national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25. 

BEAM: Black Emotional and Mental Health Collection, a training, movement building, and grant making organization dedicated to the healing, wellness, and liberation of Black and marginalized communities. 

Postpartum Support International, a non-profit organization serving the needs of pregnant, post-loss, and postpartum women and families all over the world.

GIFTS FOR READERS

$-$$: A few titles we’ve been liking and recommending lately: 

This Naked Mind by Annie Grace - Explores how to change your relationship with alcohol.

Fair Play by Eve Rodsky  - On creating a fair and equitable balance of domestic duties. Written for women in a heteronormative household but briefly discusses how this shows up in same sex relationships. 

It Didn’t Start with You by Mark Wolynn - A fascinating deep-dive on inherited family trauma and how to end the cycle. 

Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad - A memoir of illness and recovery; after a four-year quest to survive leukemia, one woman realizes she has no idea how to live. (A friend of mine who is also a cancer survivor said “I don’t read a lot of cancer memoirs - it’s just too painful - but this was so, so worth it.”)

Maybe this Will Help by Michelle Rial - A visual pep talk of charts and essays on feeling better about not feeling better. (I also love the artist’s Instagram.)

The Best of Me by David Sedaris - After reading about how laughter can help you complete the stress cycle, I will never NOT recommend David Sedaris. Maybe you should buy this one as a gift for yourself, too. 

SELF-CARE GIFTS

$: Remember those coupons we used to make our parents back in the day for things we were going to have to do anyway? “This coupon entitles you to 1 FREE VACUUMING-OF-THE-LIVING ROOM.” If someone gave me 3 hours of childcare on the Saturday of my choice, I might actually weep. Bonus points if you coordinate with the recipient’s partner ahead of time and put it on the calendar. 

$$: Here & Now Cards. This deck of cards acts as a tool for self care and grounding. No need to make big plans that require time or money--use the deck to bring intention to your day. 

$$$: A spot in the new Creative Health Collective Parenting in the Pandemic course. If someone in your life has become a parent during the pandemic, trust me, they don’t have it easy. Give the gift of support during this time of transition. 

And above all the rest, don’t underestimate the value of handmade art this holiday season. Make some tiny paintings, doodles, or collages and pop them in an inexpensive frame (I like these), and you might just make someone’s year. 

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