Unique Gift Guide for Acupuncture Grads (2023 Update)
Gift giving is difficult. Giving a gift to an acupuncture grad is a challenge. What should you give to someone who chose a special calling, dedicated years of study, and is ready for his/her journey to help people get healthy?
Most of the gift guides will give you a bunch of options. Such as price range, gift receiver’s preference, etc to help gift givers to find something.
The truth is … I want more for gift givers.
Yes, gift givers.
Do you remember how great it felt to see a gift light up someone’s face?
Do you remember how awesome it is to see your gift inspire someone?
Have you ever received some gift that you remember for the rest of your life because the gift is so thoughtful and so meaningful?
Yes, I want gift givers to enjoy the process, from ideation to send off the gifts.
Hence, this is a gift guide to help gift givers to brainstorm the perfect gift. And of course, I will include a few gift ideas at the end to provide the cut through all the process.
Before the brainstorming session, here are three questions you need to ask yourself first.
1. Find your why
The first step is to find your why. Why are you giving acupuncture grad a gift?
To celebrate their hard work in the past.
To wish them good luck in their future endeavors.
To help them be successful in the next step.
To fulfill social obligation.
No matter which reason you have or all the above. When you have a better idea of what you want, it is easier down the road to find what you want to give and make the process more enjoyable.
2. Set your budget
Here is a smarter way than arbitrarily putting a dollar amount in front of every name.
When you have 10-15 minutes, sit down, pull a pencil and pen to write down all the people you need to give gifts to this season. Graduations, birthdays, weddings etc.
One suggestion for an annual gift budget is 1% to 5% of your annual income. If you earn $50,000 a year, your annual budget might be $500. If summer and winter are the season you give most of your gifts. You have $250 to spend in summer.
Now you have your total budget and total gifts you need to prepare for. You have a better idea of how much money you can spend on each person.
Don’t worry you can only spend $20 on a person. There are many ways to make meaningful gifts with a limited budget.
3. How much time you have
Is it 6 month ahead of time? Or you need the gift delivered to the grads’ party tomorrow? Obviously, if you have more time, you have more options. If you have less time, find something that can be digitally delivered. With the technology advances, you will find something that fits your delivery requirement.
After the above mental preparation, here are four broad ideas that could help you plan what to give.
1. Help them prepare exam
To practice acupuncture, an acupuncture grad would need to pass certification and license exam. Thus, the first gift idea is to think about what you give to help them to prepare for their exams.
A quiet time and place to study? A comfy chair? A good reading light? Some healthy snacks?
2. Prepare them for a success practice
As your fresh grads are at the beginning of their career. There are many things they would need to learn to have a successful practice.
If having their own practice is their goal, do they need a website, a logo design, a system to make reservations, a reliable accountant for bookkeeping and preparing tax? A legal adviser for healthcare practice? Some marketing advice and planning?
Before they can open the door for a practice, what would your new grads need?
A location to practice? Furniture? Decoration? Interior design? A regular clean up service?
Now you have many ideas to pick from!
3. Expand their network
When you were fresh out of school, a lot of time you did not know anyone in the field. Or you might never make the effort to make connections with people to help you have in-depth knowledge or simply to ask questions.
Thus, one of the gifts you can give acupuncture graduates is to help them build their network.
Do you know any acupuncturists? Do you know anyone who is an acupuncture patient? Do you know anyone who practices traditional Chinese medicine or in the alternative healing field?
Ask your friends and families. You might find someone who is willing to connect to your recent grads to give them some tips.
If you don’t know anyone, there is another way to help your new graduates connect with acupuncture practitioners virtually.
Introduce them to several acupuncture related podcasts. Please check out this blog for acupuncture podcasts.
4. Give an unforgettable experience
The next idea is to give them an unforgettable experience. Since they are learning acupuncture, they might be interested in Chinese or eastern culture.
Is there any local Chinatown, Korean town, Japanese town? Where you can find authentic food and culinary experiences.
Or you can search Airbnb online experience. Find a healing concert? Tea party?
Do your acupuncture graduates like to learn more about Chinese? Give them the gift of language learning.
Do your acupuncture graduates want to develop more healthy habits? Learn advanced yoga, qigong, guasha, Chinese meal planning?
Even your graduates might already experience or learn this before, sometimes seeing how others do it might be a great inspiration.
Above are four ideas to help you brainstorm an ideal gift from you. Here is the list of actual gifts or experience you can give. Happy Gift Giving!
- Prep the exam
- Comfy chair
- Good reading light
- Healthy snack
- Soothing tea
- Back and neck massager
- Blue light blocking glasses
- Fun stationery
- Bookmark
- Help them design a logo
- Help them design a website
- Connect them with a reliable bookkeeper or tax accountant
- Connect them with healthcare practice legal advisor
- Help them with marketing planning
- Find a location to practice acupuncture
- Furniture for the clinic
- Decoration for the clinic
- Connect them with acupuncturists you know
- Connect them with acupuncture patients you now
- Connect them with Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners
- Connect them with practitioners in the alternative healing field
- Introduce them to acupuncture podcasts
- Chinese lesson
- Authentic Eastern Asian food
- Advanced yoga
- Guasha
- Qigong
Last but not least, if you really just want a top three gifts to grads from Finding Joy. Here are our fan favorites.
Say it out loud with this simple and elegant design.
What will do better than a tote bag with a humorous quote? Your acupuncture grads can take anything conveniently with them and share a fun chat with their future patients.
If you like practical and fun gifts, I would recommend this mug. One frame comic design to promote acupuncture. Your grads will love it.
