Best Gifts of 2025: Holiday Gift Guide

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Written By Kevin Davis

Looking for thoughtful holiday gift ideas in 2025? This curated Guardian Revival Gift Guide features meaningful gifts for loved ones, friends, coworkers, outdoor adventurers, musicians, creatives, and dog lovers — with a special focus on mental health, wellness, creativity, and connection.

Created by the Guardian Revival team, this guide reflects our lived experience supporting veterans, first responders, and their families. Every recommendation is practical, intentional, and aligned with well-being — whether you’re shopping for the holidays, birthdays, or year-round giving.

Books Worth Reading

Guardian Revival co-founder Alex Othmer regularly shares books that have shaped his leadership, resilience, and mindset. These titles focus on sustainable self-improvement, emotional well-being, and living with intention.

Atomic Habits — James Clear

One of the most recommended personal development books of the last decade, Atomic Habits is ideal for anyone looking to build better habits in 2025.

Why it’s a great gift:

  • Encourages clarity around goals and values

  • Shows how small habits create lasting change

  • Reinforces progress over perfection

The Checklist Manifesto — Atul Gawande

Written by surgeon and bestselling author Atul Gawande, this book explores how simple systems can reduce stress, prevent mistakes, and improve performance — in medicine, business, and daily life.

Why it’s a great gift:

  • Offers practical tools to reduce overwhelm and mental load

  • Applies to work, home life, and team settings

  • Encourages humility, collaboration, and clear communication

Stillness Is the Key — Ryan Holiday

A powerful mental health read rooted in Stoic and Buddhist philosophy, this book reframes stillness as a skill for focus, resilience, and self-mastery — especially valuable during demanding or uncertain seasons.

Why it’s a great gift:

  • Supports mental clarity and emotional regulation

  • Offers timeless wisdom in a modern, accessible format

  • Helpful for anyone experiencing burnout or transition

Gifts for Wellness & Health

Wearables & Sleep Trackers

With wellness technology continuing to evolve, modern wearables now provide deeper, more actionable insights into sleep quality, recovery, movement, and daily habits. Instead of just tracking steps or calories, your device can help you recognize patterns, understand how stress and activity impact the body, and make informed adjustments that support long-term physical and mental well-being.

  • Apple Watch — A top choice for iPhone users, featuring sleep tracking, workout metrics, heart health, and fall detection.

  • WHOOP 4.0 — Designed for continuous monitoring of strain, recovery, and performance.

  • Garmin Forerunner Series — GPS-forward watches built for runners, triathletes, outdoor athletes, or anyone who wants to get outdoors and get moving.

Wake-up Lights

Start your day with a peaceful, controlled wake up instead of the jarring noise of an alarm clock. Phillips wake-up light will help you avoid feelings of grogginess with a pleasant and gradual wake up call that simulates the sunrise.

Hatch makes sound and light machines for adults and children that are easily controlled with an app. Set up your nighttime and waking routines, set timers, and enjoy soothing sleep sounds along with relaxing wakeup music.

Meditation Apps

While our phones might make us feel a little frantic from overstimulation, they can also be a conduit for calming, mindfulness practices. A subscription to one of these meditation apps can be an incredibly impactful gift for a loved one who’s always on the go and always connected:

  • Headspace — Guided meditations, movement, and content for adults and kids.

  • Waking Up — Meditation paired with lessons on neuroscience, philosophy, and mental clarity.

  • Calm — Known for breathing exercises, soundscapes, and Sleep Stories.

Gifts for Art Lovers & Aspiring Creatives

The Artist’s Way - Julia Cameron

A bestselling creativity book that’s really about self-discovery. This is a thoughtful gift for artists, students, or anyone navigating big transitions in life. The Artist’s Way is a helpful guide to better understanding ourselves, learning what we want, and figuring out how to pursue it with joy.

Art Supplies That Encourage Creativity

Notebooks & Paper for Daily Practice

Best Gifts for Musicians 2025

Music fuels creativity, focus, and connection — making it a meaningful gift for anyone who loves to play, learn, or simply explore sound. Whether it’s picking up a new instrument, refining existing skills, or creating space for regular practice, music offers both enjoyment and challenge, encouraging curiosity, expression, and lifelong learning.

Squier Stratocaster Bundle

This setup is perfect for beginner guitarists who need all the gear to get started. The Squier Strat bundle provides music lovers with a guitar, amplifier, gig bag, guitar cable, guitar tuner, guitar strap, and more.

Valeton Rushead Max Pocket Amp

This tiny little pocket amp is great for any guitarist who wants to rock and roll all night without keeping anyone else awake. All you need to do to get the party started is plug it into your guitar with a pair of headphones, and you’re ready to shred!

Check out more instruments & accessories in our gift guide for music lovers.

Gifts for Outdoors & Activities

GRAYL GeoPress 24oz Water Purifier Bottle

Recommended by our Fieldcraft Survival Skills instructor, this travel bottle is for adventurers who spend their time off the grid and need access to clean drinking water if their supply ever runs low. The GRAYL Geopress is a lightweight filtration system that needs no setup time and can purify 65 gallons of water with each filter.

Solo Stove

For those who need a way to cook in the great outdoors or just a nice portable fire, Solo Stove provides a range of great outdoor cooking products — from pizza ovens to fire pits.

REI Co-op Flexlite Air Chair

One of our Another Summit outdoor leaders carries this nylon and aluminum chair on every camping trip. It’s lightweight enough to carry on backpacking trips (just 1 pound!) and unpacks easily when it’s time to take a breather.

Yoga Mat & Blocks

Perfect for yogis who travel or anyone who needs a portable workout mat for exercise, Gaiam’s foldable yoga mat is small enough to fit in an overnight bag or backpack and light enough that you won’t have to worry about extra weight when you pack in your checked luggage at the airport.

Cork or foam yoga blocks can make a big difference in your practice. These blocks bring the floor to you to make tough poses a bit easier until you develop the length or strength needed for the full posture.

Discover more amazing outdoor gear in our 2025 Outdoor Gift Guide.

Gifts for Dog Lovers & Pet Parents

Licking Mat & KONG Cones

Dogs like to work for their food — this process can help slow down their feeding & improve their digestion. These silicone licking mats and KONG dog toys are two options you can use to aid in this process, and both are freezer and dishwasher safe.

Braided Dog Collars

These beautiful dog collars are made of braided leather with warm, soft lining and can be personalized with your pup’s name. Recommended by one of our team at Boots & Paws, they’re great for dogs of any size or breed.

Springer Flip Portable Dog Water Bottle

This portable dog water bottle is easy to use and BPA-free, both of which are essential when it comes to keeping your pup well-hydrated on hikes, long walks or runs.

See all the suggestions for furry friends in our 2025 Best Gifts For Dog Lovers blog.

About Guardian Revival

Guardian Revival is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that improves the mental health & well-being of military, veterans, and first responders — our guardians — and their families, at no cost to them.

Our Programs

Peer Services  |  Individual & group peer support for guardians by guardians

Joseph P. Dwyer Peer Support Program of Putnam County  |  Providing events, information, and resources for veterans

Another Summit  |  Outdoor adventures — walking, hiking, backpacking, paddling, and fly fishing

Boots & Paws  |  Providing dogs for the therapeutic benefits of animal companionship

Encore  |  Opportunities to learn, write, play, record, and share music

RISE | Wellness workships, retreats, & resources for guardians

Kevin Davis
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