Secret Santa and Host Gift Ideas

Today on Star 102.5, Ken, Colleen, and Kurt talked about the stress of being a Secret Santa. I think the same can be said of host gifts when you’re invited to a dinner party or gathering and instructed to “Just bring yourself!” Here are a few simple ideas that could work for both!

Spices from East Village Shops

My current favorite gifting spice is the Ammazza Suocera spicy Italian seasoning from Allspice (also available at Cooking with Alessandra.) This translates to “Kill the Mother in Law” so you may want to select something like the Everything Bagel seasoning or a pumpkin pie spice if you’re visiting a future or current mother-in-law.

Hydrating hand creams

Farmhouse Fresh Ginger Lotion from East VIllage Spa

A hydrating hand cream from Farmhouse Fresh, available at East Village Spa, is a great gift for anyone who’s preparing a big meal and cleaning for company. Bonus points for animal lovers. Farmhouse Fresh donates a portion of their proceeds to animal rescue and is situated on a farm animal rescue sanctuary!

Cute dish towels and recipe cards

Doe a Deer Dish Towels

Stop into one of our favorite gift shops in the East Village, Ephemera, for cute and locally crafted dish towels and recipe cards. These are great secret Santa gifts for the co-worker who is always bringing treats, and a perfect host gift when you’re told not to bring anything to share!

Room mists for a great cause

Thistle Farms Room Mist East Village Spa

Thistle Farms aromatherapy room mists in limited edition holiday scents are a perfect gift for a host or Secret Santa. Thistle Farms supports women survivors of trafficking, abuse, and addiction. These women craft their beautiful products and the proceeds from their products goes back into the helping with the amazing work Thistle Farms does. Available along with many other Thistle Farms products at East Village Spa.

At home foot treatment

The Farmhouse Fresh Pedi Delight set is a great gift option, with a foot or body scrub, lotion, and our top selling Hydrating Honey hand, foot, or body mask. This is great for a secret Santa and can be divided up over multiple days OR as a host gift for someone who has been on their feet preparing for guests! Available at East Village Spa

Need something in a pinch? Try an online gift card!

Did you forget a last minute gift? We’ve got you covered! East Village Spa offers online gift cards in any denomination that you can print and hand-deliver from your office! Purchase yours here!

Lymphatic Drainage Therapy: Where should I start?

We get frequent requests for lymphatic drainage massage and after many years of experience as a massage therapist with a foundation in lymphatic drainage massage (100 hours of training plus teaching a course) the more I’ve learned, the more I understand the need to refer people out. In many cases, lymphatic drainage therapy is best provided by a physical or occupational therapist who specializes in this technique. Unfortunately, the training demands are rigorous so it isn’t something offered at every therapy clinic.

At East Village Spa, our primary concern is that our guests get the best care possible, even if that means we’re not the right solution. We refer all of our lymphatic drainage massage requests to Dr. Laurie Eikhoff at Intergrated Physical Therapy in Des Moines. She’s one of just a few CLT- LANA certified specialists in Iowa.

Spa owner and LMT, Cassie Sampson (Left) with Laurie Eikhoff, DPT, CLT-LANA lymphatic drainage physical therapist.

Who needs lymphatic drainage massage?

This specialized therapy is typically used to treat swelling from Lymphedema, which can be the result of an injury, illness, or surgery.

Lymphedema can be caused when lymph nodes are removed or damaged. It can be an unfortunate side effect of breast cancer treatments, when the lymph nodes in the underarm or breast are removed or destroyed in treatment, some women may experience a fluid build up from lymph fluid in the arm needing to be re-routed. We also have requests for this kind of therapy from people who have had cosmetic procedures like a tummy tuck or lyposuction.

Why can’t you just do my lymphatic massage at the spa?

I mean, we can (or, a few of us could) but but we’d be doing you a huge disservice by not referring out to a Physical or Occupational Therapist for 3 main reasons.

  1. Insurance: For people with lymphedema, treatments can be required 2-3 times weekly, at least in initial phases. In many cases, medically necessary lymphatic therapies can be covered by an insurance company, but not when performed by a massage therapist.
  2. Better results: In addition to having more medical training, physical or occupational therapists who provide these services can prescribe wraps, garments, or other assisted devices to continue therapy outside of the office. This is something that, at least in our spa, we can’t do.
  3. Lymphatic trained physical or occupational therapists are so specialized that for many of them, they do these treatments every single day (sometimes all day, every day.) They are very good at what they do and figuring out fixes for complicated situations.
Example of compression garments that physical or occupational lymphatic drainage therapists can use.

If you feel that you’re a candidate for lymphatic drainage and you have private insurance, as of the writing of this post, you do not need a referral to see a physical therapist. You also should contact your doctor because swelling can be indicative of a more serious concern.

If you would like to book a “regular” massage for pain relief or stress management, we’re here for you! Book online or visit our website for more details about our services.