By Lindsey Sullivan | lsullivan@alextimes.com

During the holiday season, it is easy to get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of decorating, celebrating and spreading cheer that you forget to take care of yourself, too.

This week’s holiday gift guide is bringing you all the best ideas in the health and wellness department, so that you can best care for yourself and the ones you love.

With an entire Wellness District in Del Ray devoted to providing the community with ways to keep themselves happy and healthy, Alexandria has much to offer toward the community’s health.

It’s more important now than ever before to prioritize the health of our minds and bodies. You can do just that by shopping at Alexandria’s health and wellness-focused businesses.

Next week, the final installment of our annual holiday gift guide will feature last-minute gift ideas for all the procrastinators out there.

Four Directions Wellness

Give the free gift of wellness to yourself and a friend with the help of Four Directions Wellness. President and founder Mara Benner is now offering complimentary online classes teaching self-care reiki, a Japanese relaxation technique, through the holiday season.

The class can be a great way to relieve stress and build resilience, Benner said. The sessions last for an hour and are conducted via Zoom. Sign up online for a complimentary class through the Four Directions website: www.fourdirectionswellness.com/classes.

Four Directions Wellness also offers gift certificates for a variety of wellness classes and individual sessions, in addition to reiki. Purchase a gift certificate for yourself or a friend through the website: www.fourdirectionswellness.com/gift-certificates/.

Truly Life

Looking for natural hand-made gifts that can support your health and the environment, too? Truly Life, owned by local Mellenie Runion, may have just what you’re looking for.

Runion offers handmade soaps, loofahs and other skincare products using fresh plants and herbs grown in her garden.

Now through the holiday season, if you make an online purchase and comment “Art on the Avenue,” you can get two free quarter bars of Runion’s handmade soaps. Comment “donate” and Runion will donate an additional bar to Casa Chiralagua as well.

Shop Runion’s handmade gift items through the Truly Life website: https://truly-life.com/shop/. Order online and have your items shipped to your home or select free curbside pickup.

Resilience gift sets

Four Directions Wellness, Truly Life and Flora Living and Design are teaming up this holiday season to provide resilience gift boxes for those looking to give the gift of wellness.

Each gift box is $30 and includes three bars of handmade soap from Truly Life, a handmade mask from Flora Living and Design and one wellness consultation at Four Directions Wellness.

Runion said the three women entrepreneurs who lead the businesses were inspired to team up and build the boxes in order to provide useful holiday gifts.

The boxes are a great way to meet the needs of people who are experiencing anxiety and other stressors due to the pandemic, Runion said.

Purchase gift boxes through the Truly Life website: https://truly-life.com/product/resilience-gift-set/.

Flora Living and Design

Sometimes the best method of self-care is losing yourself in the act of creating something of your own while being surrounded by good company.

Amy Eggers of Flora Living and Design is offering just that every Thursday in December with outdoor evergreen workshops. Get a group of friends together and join in a fun floral festivity by creating your own wreath or evergreen mantle.

The workshops are a “BYOB happy hour,” featuring a fire pit to keep everyone warm while making their creations.

Eggers said the workshops are a great way to relax and have some fun with friends while creating something that can then be used to enhance your space for the holidays as well.

Sign up yourself and five friends for a workshop in December through the Flora Living and Design website: https://floralivingdesign.com.

Mason & Greens

If the health of the environment is a priority for your holiday shopping needs this year, check out sustainable grocer Mason and Greens’ assortment of gift items and dry goods.

Located in Old Town, Mason and Greens has a variety of gifts in every department, including self-care items like oils and soaps, unique home decor, quaint stocking stuffers and much more. Find gifts for all your loved ones while also caring for the environment with sustainable, eco-friendly shopping.

Order your gifts through the website featuring plastic-free online shopping: https://shop.masonandgreens.com or bring your own bag when you shop in person.

Your CBD Store

Give the gift of relaxation with a hemp-derived product from Your CBD Store in Old Town.

CBD is said to have a variety of health benefits, including relief from bodily pain and inflammation, reduction in anxiety and depression and more.

With a range of items from Sun Med brand, Your CBD Store offers high quality hemp products, such as CBD-infused topical oils, creams, specialty skincare items and more.

Shop in-store at 301 S. Washington St., Suite B.

Fitness studio gift cards

Shopping for a fitness lover? Or maybe you’re just looking for a source of stress relief and a way to connect with your mind and body? Alexandria is home to many fitness studios and wellness centers offering gift certificates and class passes that might be just the gift a loved one is hoping for this holiday season.

Old Town Sport and Health is offering a free week of membership to its facilities throughout the holiday season. Learn more through its website: https://www.sportandhealth.com/locations/old-town.

River Edge Yoga offers a variety of in-person and virtual yoga classes for all levels, including classes for beginners, advanced students and some made specifically for moms and their babies. Purchase a pass to yoga class for yourself or a friend through the website: http://riversedgeyoga.com.

Studio Body Logic, founded and owned by Karen Garcia, has been home to authentic Pilates classes since 1996. Purchase a class through the website: https://www.studiobodylogic.com.

Give the ultimate stress relief gift with a gift certificate to Sugar House, Alexandria’s day spa and salon. Sugar House offers a multitude of services like facials, massages and spa packages. Gift cards for spa treatments are available for purchase through the website: https://www.sugarhousedayspa.com.