Some big holidays are happening soon and since they’re so often commemorated by gifts I thought it would be fun to put together a little shopping guide with some gift ideas for ostomates. Go ahead, spoil the ostomate in your life a little! Also, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Purchasing products through the Amazon links below helps support this website at no extra cost to you.

NUTRITION/FITNESS

Smoothie/Juice Gift Card:  Getting your fruits and veggies in after surgery can feel kind of intimidating, especially initially when there’s so many restrictions on fiber. One way to get around that is to eat your fruits and veggies as a blended beverage or soup, or as juice.  Surprise someone with a Jamba Juice gift card or whatever their local juice or smoothie shop is. 

Blender: I LOVE my Vitamix. I use it almost every day.  They’re expensive, but they last a really long time and are such a powerful, effective blender.  There are other great blender brands too, I’m just not as familiar with them so do a little research.  Having a blender on hand opens up the doors for lots of smoothie exploration. Yum!

Water bottle and/or Hydration PowderOne of the most important things for an ostomate to do is stay hydrated.  Having a cute water bottle to carry around is one way to make drinking water more convenient and easier to remember.  I find that I drink more when I use a straw and I love a big water bottle so I don’t have to refill it a million times. I like this one because you can use the straw lid or the not straw lid, it comes with both styles.  Add in some hydration electrolyte powder like Nuun, Drip Drop, or Ultima to make a cute little hydration themed gift. #ad

Massage gift card: You might want to feel them out on this and make sure they’d be comfortable with getting a massage before you invest money in a gift card for them, but I know my back was really sore throughout my surgery recovery and once I felt healed enough to have a massage I couldn’t wait to get one lined up.  If they’re nervous about having a massage, feel free to direct them to my blog post about my massage experiences. I’ve had numerous massages since I wrote that post and can happily report I’ve had only positive experiences. You can get Spa Finder gift cards so they can pick where they want to go, or I’m sure Elements or Massage Envy have gift cards.

Clothing Related:

Ostomy Shirts  

Newbie Ostomy Original Designs: Not everyone is comfortable wearing clothes that talk about having an ostomy, but some people are. If your friend seems like the type who might like a special shirt about having an ostomy, I’d be honored if you’d support this website and purchase my designs! Use the discount code HOLIDAY for 15% off through December 13, 2019.  

MJ’s Designs: One of my favorite ostomy artists sells her designs on a variety of different items from shirts to mugs and more.  Support her and get some cute stuff here.

Let’s Talk IBD: Maggie from Let’s Talk IBD has some awesome awareness shirts, sweatshirts and stickers out too.

Wraps & Undies

Ostomy Secrets, Vanilla Blush, Alternative Ana: Gems from any of these companies are a great gift for a new ostomate. Not only are their wraps and undies made specifically for ostomates, but giving such a thoughtful gift shows them how much you care and that you took the time to do a little bit of research about what might be useful for them.  It helps if you know their waist and hip measurements so you can make a purchase for them and have it ready for them to open on gift-giving day, but if you don’t know what size to order you could always make a cute voucher for them to redeem through you.

Bag covers: It helps to know what size pouch they wear so that you can get the measurements right, but there are a ton of bag covers available on Etsy and Amazon.  They’re also really easy to make yourself if you’re handy with a sewing machine and can get your hands on one of their unused pouches. See my guide on how to sew an ostomy bag cover.  

OTHER FUN STUFF:

Colon stuffed animal: For your friend who lost their colon, why not get them a new, squishy one? #ad

Organ Attack: I really enjoy this game by Awkward Yeti.  The point of the game is to “remove your opponent’s organs before they remove yours” and it’s kind of funny to have the colon card in your hand and then have someone take it. #ad

Books: Reading is a great way to pass time while you’re healing from surgery, but it’s also a relaxing activity in general.There quite a few books by ostomates and about ostomies so if you’re friend or family member likes to read, there are a ton of options to choose from.  More books get published each year and I haven’t been able to keep up lately, but this book list is a great start.

Poo Pouri: Are you ever self-conscious about the smell of your poop?  So are ostomates, and sometimes we leave a real stench in there.  Poo Pourri is one of my favorite products for odor control in the bathroom because it works, it doesn’t have a bunch of gross chemicals in it, it smells good, and it’s a cute enough bottle to keep out in your bathroom. There are tons of different scents but here’s a two pack to get you started. There’s even more manly scents in this Master Crapsman Bundle. #ads

Experiences: Your friend or family member can most likely still do the same hobbies and activities they did before surgery, so treat them to a fun outing! Whether they’re in to music, art, movies, athletics or something else, one of the best gifts you can give someone is to make fun memories and offer your time and attention. 

Cards: Lots of people on Etsy have designed cute cards for ostomy patients.

HUMOR IS HEALING

One of the best (and most fun) ways to cope with something hard is to use humor – good thing poop jokes and funny poop gifts are easy to find these days!  Here are a couple ideas:

Poop Related Toilet Paper: Flush last year’s crap toilet paper seems pretty fitting for someone who experienced some challenges in this past year.

Incognito Poopito Mug: This Newbie Ostomy original mug makes me smile every single time I look at it.

Farting Poop Emoji Stuffed Animal: They say we can’t fart with our ostomies, but really we can (and do). Farting with an ostomy is pretty much uncontrollable, and can make more noise than we’re comfortable with, but a farting poop emoji is probably louder and could easily diffuse an awkward situation. I’m sure this would be the cause of a few laughs. #ad

Life’s Been Poopy Gift Basket: Make them a Life’s Been Poopy gift basket with a bunch of different chocolate candies (like raisenettes, milk duds, Hershey kisses, Chocolate chips, etc) Throw in some fun poop emoji things for full effect.

Pretty much anything with the poop emoji or poop would probably be fitting for your friend that has a poopy sense of humor. I’ve had friends gift me a fart noise maker horn, a unicorn that has a rainbow poop, poop emoji plushies and erasers and other random but fun poop related gag gifts.

What are your favorite gifts to get as an ostomate or give to your ostomate friends?