Sobriety gift ideas

Giving sobriety gifts is a common way to honor a friend or family member who has worked hard on their journey to recovery from addiction. If you’ve supported a friend or family member through their journey to recovery from addiction, you are probably excited to celebrate their sobriety. But what do you buy to celebrate a sobriety milestone? What sobriety can gifts reward their perseverance? While you know your loved one best, here are some sobriety gift ideas.

How to congratulate someone on sobriety A sobriety gift is a kind gesture that honors the hard work of addiction recovery and the strength and dedication it takes to maintain sobriety after rehab treatment. Recovering from a substance use disorder or any other behavioral addiction is no easy feat. Celebrating a sober anniversary date with a gift is a way to show appreciation for your loved one’s accomplishment and uplift and support them in their continued efforts to stay sober.

sobriety gift ideas Giving sobriety gifts is a common way to honor a friend or family member who has worked hard on their journey to recovery from addiction. Like any anniversary gift, a sobriety gift celebrates an anniversary–perhaps a year of sobriety or five years or 10. Recovery happens one day at a time, and a gift pays tribute to this fact. What you choose as a sobriety gift depends on the person you are celebrating, but it could be a personalized memento with their sobriety date or something related to their hobbies or something in their life they gained in recovery.

24 Sobriety Gift Ideas

1. A Recovery Journal Help your loved one document and reflect on their journey with a Recovery Journal. This guided journal includes space for daily gratitude, reflections on progress, and thoughts on challenges faced.

2. A Sobriety Chip Necklace Sobriety chips are often given out at 12-step meetings to represent the length of time sober. Give your loved ones a sobriety chip necklace to wear as a reminder of their strength and progress.

3. A Customized Recovery Mug Start their day off with a recovery mug that celebrates their sobriety journey. Add a personal touch by having it customized with their name, sobriety date, or favorite motivational quote.

4. A Sobriety Keychain A sobriety keychain is a tangible reminder of the progress your loved one has made. Choose a keychain with a message of hope or inspiration, or select one that features their sobriety date.

sobriety gift ideas Like any anniversary gift, a sobriety gift celebrates an anniversary–perhaps a year of sobriety or five years or 10.

1. A Set of Recovery Books Books can be an essential part of recovery, offering guidance, support, and inspiration. Put together a set of recovery books that your loved one can refer to during difficult times.

2. A Recovery-Themed T-Shirt Celebrate your loved one’s progress with a t-shirt that celebrates sobriety. There are many different styles available, so find one that fits your loved one.

3. Personalized Photo Album Creating a personalized photo album is a great way to show someone in recovery how much they mean to you. It is something they can turn to as a reminder of how important the memories you share are and the beautiful things they have in their life.

4. Engraved Gift Getting sober is no easy feat, so having something that marks this life event is something that can be cherished forever. Sites such as Etsy offer many personalized sobriety gifts for men, such as this watch below, which could be engraved with your loved one’s sobriety date that only they will see.

5. Adrenaline Rush Many individuals in recovery initially turned to substances for the sensation of feeling ‘alive’. A natural, non-harmful adrenaline rush could be a fitting gift for someone in recovery. The gift could be skydiving, snowboarding or skiing, rollercoaster passes, rock climbing, cave diving, etc.

6. Funny Sobriety Items Countless items are decorated with funny and all too true sayings about recovery. If you find something that suits your loved one’s sense of humor, grab it!

7. Books You Loved If you know of or have read many books that had lasting positive impacts on your life or engaged you, consider gifting a copy to your loved one. Another tried, true literary gift is the latest and greatest book on recovery or perseverance.

8. Something They Need If your loved one is struggling with bills, lost a treasured item, or wants to revamp their living space, consider giving them a check to their electric company, replacing the item, or giving them a gift card to a home décor store. Pay attention to the things they mention and find a gift that meets that need.

9. Yoga Class An important part of recovery is finding healthy ways to feel good; yoga does just that. Besides being great exercise and mentally rejuvenating, yoga classes provide attendees with a health-driven and positive community to connect with.

10. Guided Meditation Lessons Meditation allows you to clear your mind, relax, and experience emotions in a non-threatening way, which is why it is the perfect gift for someone in recovery. Addiction takes a solid mental and physical hold on an individual, and meditation is a tool for taking back control of yourself.

11. A gratitude Journal On the path to recovery, one can lose sight of the unique aspects of their life while focusing on trying to amend the hold addiction had on them. A gratitude journal provides your loved one with a tool for pausing and taking stock of those positive life factors, as well as taking pride in all the things they have accomplished in recovery.

12. Customized Sobriety Memento One sobriety gift that is popular is a customized memento that honors your loved one’s sobriety. A mug, key chain, framed picture, a sober card, or just about any other small token that can be customized with the date of your loved one’s sobriety date is a kind way to honor them while offering a daily reminder of their accomplishment. It’s important to keep reminders about what is gained in sobriety to help your loved ones in recovery focus on their accomplishments.

13. Book of Daily Affirmations In keeping with the 12-Step philosophy of “one day at a time,” another thoughtful sobriety gift could be a book of daily affirmations. Help your friend or family member get up each day and live with inspiration by gifting them a book of daily affirmations to uplift them when they are having a hard time or to keep them going strong in their sobriety. These daily reminders of inner strength, staying present, and thinking positive can be a great help for your loved one in recovery.

14. A Personalized Journal Another sobriety gift idea to honor your loved one’s recovery from addiction is a personalized journal. Journaling can be therapeutic and help on tough days when emotions and memories need space to be processed. A journal can also be a place to document the positive life changes and be a tool to practice gratitude daily in writing. If your loved one enjoys creative expression through writing, a journal with their name on the cover or a personalized message–their favorite quote or saying–is the perfect sobriety gift!

15. Sobriety Calendar Create a sobriety calendar for your loved one’s first year in recovery–or any year! You can use a web printing platform to upload pictures for each month to create a calendar where they can count each day in sobriety to track their progress. The great thing about customizing the calendar is that you can choose memories that are special to your loved one—pictures of their children, beloved pets, a trip with friends, a wedding day—include images of moments that are cherished to keep as reminders of the rich, loving life they have in recovery.

16. Creative Classes and Supplies Having a creative outlet during recovery can be a key tool for managing stress and emotions. With this in mind, creative classes or supplies like paints, an instrument, a camera, a crochet kit, or whatever the creative expression is most appealing to your loved one could be a wonderful gift. You could buy a package of dance classes, guitar lessons, an intro to photography course, or whatever another artistic outlet is favored as a gift. Alternatively, if your loved one is more of a self-directed learner or already has a creative hobby, you could stock their art supplies, buy film or a new camera lens, upgrade their sound system, or what have you.

17. Take a Weekend Getaway Another nice sobriety gift could be a fun trip or weekend getaway. This is a gift best reserved for someone farther along in their sobriety because at the start of recovery, having a consistent, stable routine should be prioritized. However, once a person has gotten through those tough first few weeks, months, or even years, a trip or getaway could be a beautiful way to honor their hard work.

Plan a camping trip to a national park if they are outdoorsy. If they prefer a more laid-back vacation, maybe a beach getaway would be best—just be aware of the place you choose to stay. If it’s a resort that advertises a poolside bar, or a hotel that boasts about its rooftop bar, maybe opt for something else. AirBnb or Vrbo rentals could be ideal since you can stay in your own space where you can control the environment better.

1. Houseplants As people make their way through addiction recovery and are able to resume the responsibilities of daily life that may have fallen to the wayside in addiction, it can be a confidence booster to start taking care of things—like houseplants—again! You could even make it a tradition every month, half-year, or year of sobriety to buy another little houseplant for your loved one to fill their home with nature.

Plants need daily attention and can be a nice, subtle way to help someone in recovery to connect with nature and with their nurturing selves by caring for a fern, Azealia, orchid, succulent, or other houseplant. Brining nature indoors can also create a more soothing, homey environment, so this is a multi-faceted gift! Be sure to offer care instructions and let your friend or family member know that it’s okay if the plant doesn’t make it—everything requires practice!

1. Supporting Other Personal or Professional Goals Finally, supporting a personal or professional goals is another sobriety gift for a major sobriety milestone—the first year, five years, ten years—or whatever timing feels significant for you and your loved one. This could mean supporting your loved one to buy a new suit for a job interview, taking them to buy new clothes for their new life in sobriety, furniture for an apartment, or anything you can think of that would help them in their life.

sobriety gift ideas It can be a confidence booster to start taking care of things—like houseplants—again. You know the person best—do they like sports? Maybe getting them the jersey of their favorite player, buying tickets to a concert, getting them a new bike or whatever it is they really love! The idea behind this gift would be to give something that helps your loved one to move ahead and enjoy all they have gained in their sobriety.

1. A Unique Gift The world is full of incredible creatives who imagine, design, and create all manner of amazing things from engraved keychains to furniture with meaning. Within that, there is a collection of unique gifts that focus on sobriety, health, commitment, drive, and inspiration, all things that have immense meaning for someone in recovery.