2023 Gift Guide: 7 Gifts for People Who Need to Chill the Hell Out

Wow, week four of our Gift Guide Parade already? The holiday season is in full festive swing, meaning that stress-prone people are in their full intolerable glory. We all know someone like this. Maybe it’s you. Maybe it’s me. I’ll never tell.

What I will tell you is that Vancouver’s got a lot to offer its stressed-out citizens, both in products and in experiences. From spa treatments to eye cream to puppy yoga, here’s some inspo for the control freak in your life.

7 Vancouver Gifts for People Who Need to Chill the Hell Out

1. A Float in a Zero-Gravity Pod

I tried a treatment at Kitsilano’s Halsa Float Spa about a year ago and I’m still thinking about it. If floating naked in a salty, bean-shaped doesn’t sound like a good time to you, you’re going to just have to trust me: being suspended with nothing but a glowy light and relaxing tune to occupy your mind absolutely rocks. Also, the top is very easily liftable and doesn’t close all the way, so it feels less like a coffin and more like an egg carton. If nothing else, it’s one of the most unique spa experiences this city has to offer. $72 for an 80-minute float, halsa.ca

READ MORE: The Ultimate Guide to Vancouver’s Best Spa Treatments

2. Next-Level Sleepwear

Here’s another one I’ve tried myself: Seray has fully converted me from an any-ratty-T-shirt sleeper to a bougie-matching-pyjama-set sleeper (well, not every night—it’s important to wear my old university residence advisor staff shirt every once in a while to remind anyone I’m sleeping with how responsible I am). These matching sets just came out in black. The material is soft and cozy but also breathable—these are PJs designed for the gals. From $95, seray.com

3. A Print of a Sleeping Fox

Leading scientists say that spending as few as five seconds staring at a watercolour print of a snoozing forest creature has been proven to lower heart rate and brighten skin (don’t fact-check that). This adorable fox from Vancouver-based artist Crystal Ho’s Triple Studio is all kinds of calming—I recommend giving it to your most neurotic coworker as soothing desk art. From $18, triplestudio.com

4. CBD Eye Cream

For the last time, no, CBD eye cream will not get you high (feel free to show this story to your mom as proof—just maybe hide the description of the previous item, which contains a very subtle and well-hidden lie and may sully my credibility). But according to local brand Birch and Beauty, it will lock in moisture and reduce the appearance of aging. Nothing says chill like hemp. $48, birchandbeauty.com

5. A Holistic Facial

No hate to medi-spas, but injectables just aren’t Wildflower Beauty Bar’s style. This Metro Vancouver (Ok fine! It’s in Port Moody! Sue us!) spa focuses on holistic, non-invasive treatments like facial reflexology and gua sha to achieve natural results—and improve your mental health, too. Their facial starts with a facial reading, that, according to testimonials, explains “what the lines on your face mean about your emotional state and energetics.” Time to feel validated. Facials start at $165, wildflowerbeautybar.ca

6. A Puppy Yoga Class

I dare you to be stressed at puppy yoga, which is exactly what it sounds like (well, it’s yoga with puppies, not yoga for puppies—which, in this city, is a real possibility). Pups Yoga Vancouver offers classes on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and might just convince the stressed-out person in your life to adopt a dog… or start doing yoga, which is probably a more responsible split-second decision. $45 for one class, pupsyogavancouver.com

7. An Essential Oil with Vacation Vibes

We don’t need to overthink it. What a crime it would be if we let shopping for an overwhelmed person overwhelm us. Vitruvi’s Retreat essential oil blend has notes of grapefruit, palmarosa and eucalyptus—it’s formulated to transport you, and a good pick for that person who refuses to take a break. $30, vitruvi.ca

Looking for more 2023 holiday gift guides? Here’s what we have so far in our weekly web series:

Gifts from Local Jewellery Designers

Gifts That Everyone Already Has

Gifts from Local Indigenous Companies

And here’s our ultimate gift guide from our print issue:

Vancouver Gifts Under $100

Vancouver Gifts Over $100

Gifts for Vancouver Pets

Gifts for Vancouver Kids