Healthy Holiday Gift Guide 2021

Festivities and a gazillion gifts, whatever holiday you celebrate, this time of year tends to be filled with them: cheerful music, yummy foods, big gifts, small gifts, healthy gifts, experience-related gifts and more. Whether you’re focused on health all year round or want to ignite a little extra wellness into your family life, we’ve got you covered with this year’s Healthy Holiday Gift Guide 2021. We believe in thoughtful gifts that bring a little happiness and good health into your life. This is our seventh year curating wellness gift lists, so while we have a ton we love (see our past lists), we also look for what’s new, trending and easy to add to our lives. Here’s to taking small steps toward better health and happiness.

Cancer Conversations and Finding Happiness and Hope

When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 31, I was clueless where to begin. Should I go with the physician I felt most comfortable? Should I get a zillion opinions? What questions should I ask doctors? Should I tell everyone? Do I want them to help? I didn’t know, which cancer resource to read. In fact, I had never had any cancer conversations. AND on top of all that, I was a newlywed and wanted to be happy. There’s no one secret recipe on how to be happy in life during the ups and downs, however I’ve found some ways that have helped me find joy during my cancer journey.

8 Mother’s Day Gifts for the Wellness Enthusiast

I love to celebrate and create happy times around any holiday. So the Mother’s Day countdown has begun in our house. What I love most about these holidays isn’t always the present itself, but the sentiment behind it. Sure, if I was sent a brand new diamond-studded Apple watch or Peleton Bike+, the healthy gadget girl in me would jump for joy. However, it would be much more meaningful if the giver attached a note saying, “we know you love to power walk and spin; this watch will keep you on time and connected while also tracking your health data.” Thoughtful. Useful. Fun.

I love to create thoughtful gift ideas and am excited to showcase this year’s list of useful, fun and healthy Mother’s Day gifts for the wellness enthusiast.

35 Fit, Fun and Mostly Free Activities for Kids

Growing up in the 80’s, it wasn’t hard to be active. Because social media didn’t exist and phones didn’t have call waiting, if I wanted to see my friends, I ran around the neighborhood to find them. If I couldn’t wait to share a big girly secret, I would walk miles to tell my gal pals or show up at their camp activities.

Today, kids of all ages (and I’m speaking of myself, too) often use technology as their main tool to socialize and communicate. As a result, we don’t have as many opportunities to be active as we once did. While I do enjoy the conveniences and pizzazz of our multi-media lives, I want to be sure to instill a love of activities filled with personal interaction for my son. In an effort to practice what I preach, here is a list of activities to keep a kid (and his mother) fit while having fun. We’ve updated this list from a few years ago, knowing that with COVID-19 restrictions, many families are still looking for interactive activities to enjoy together.

Mini-Ep: Easing the Scanxiety around Scans

Scanxiety – have you felt it? This week on “Happiness through Hardship” – The Podcast I’m dropping a mini-episode about scans and how to minimize the stress and fear around them aka “scanxiety.”

I never wanted to be known as “Caryn with Cancer” but the reality is that’s who I am. My cancer has made me a better version of myself and for that I’m grateful and want to share what I’ve learned in order to help others going through any hard time. Whether you have cancer or not, odds are you may have to get a scan at some point, so on this episode I share my thoughts on how to make it a little easier.