Allergy Friendly Gift Ideas For All Ages and Occasions

Are you looking for a gift for a family member or friend with allergies? With a little bit of thoughts and care, you can find something perfect. We’ve put together some of our favourite allergy friendly gift ideas for birthdays, Christmas Day, Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day or just because. And some tips on what to avoid, whether you are buying for someone with food or other allergies or sensitivities. As a bonus, we have some discount codes to share with you as well.

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Tips on making thoughtful gift choices

If you know your gift recipient well, and know exactly what allergies they have, then you will know whether they might appreciate an allergy friendly food option or an allergy-related gift.

On the other hand, if you want to steer clear of allergy related gifts altogether, here are some general tips to keep in mind:

• Avoid scented gifts, like bath products and hand lotions;
• If a child is allergy-prone, steer clear of fluffy toys that can gather dust and exacerbate allergies and asthma;
• Always make sure any food gifts include the full list of ingredients; and
• Be careful about choosing jewellery such as earrings that might be made with nickel, a common cause of contact allergy.

You’ll find more tips in the gift ideas we’ve listed below.

Brilliant books

I love books as presents. There is such a wide variety of genres, fiction or non-fiction. Something to suit everyone at every age, from newborn baby presents onwards.

What about allergy-related books? Your friends or family with food allergies may love one of the many beautiful allergy-friendly cook books available. For children with allergies, there are many age-appropriate story books about people with allergies, just like them. You can read about our favourite allergy-related books – including cook books, allergy friendly gardening books, children’s stories and novels for teens – in our post 12 Allergy books that make perfect gifts for all ages.

Are flowers or indoor plants suitable gifts for allergy sufferers?

If someone suffers with hay fever or allergic rhinitis, you need to be a bit careful about gifting flowers or indoor house plants. Plants that produce a lot of pollen can be a trigger for allergies. Also, indoor plants can be a source of mould or even dust. But that isn’t to say that you can’t choose a beautiful indoor plant for your garden loving friends and family. Just make sure to have a read of our post on choosing allergy-friendly indoor plants first: Enjoy beautiful greenery inside: indoor plants for allergies and asthma.

Allergy friendly edible gifts

Giving food gifts is always popular, especially at celebrations like Easter and Christmas. If you know someone’s food allergies well, it is usually possible to find an allergy-friendly option. Yes, even chocolates (like Moo Free White Raspberry Truffles or some Sweet William chocolate hearts). But if you don’t know exactly what they can and can’t have, it’s often best not to risk food gifts.

The same applies for buying drinks as presents. Some drinks do contain common allergens, so make sure that your read the labels carefully. Some wines and spirits contain egg or nuts. Even some flavours of tea might contain allergens. That said, I do love gifting T2 teas. The tea flavours are always clearly labelled with ingredients (including on the website), so it’s usually easy to pick something safe. If not, they have fabulous tea pots and accessories and gift cards too.

And similarly, unless you know someone’s food allergies and all about safe cooking practices to avoid food allergy cross contact, it’s best not to gift home made food items. If you do decide to give a home made gift, make sure to include a list of all of the ingredients.

Allergy friendly gift boxes

Gift baskets are easy presents to organise for delivery to friends and family who live far away, or who might be in hospital, or have a new baby. But so many of them contain foods and drinks that aren’t allergy friendly.

Of course, if you are going to deliver the gift basket yourself, there is always the option of making up your own with items you know the recipient will love. And you can include allergy friendly foods if you want to as well.

But did you know that it is actually possibly to order a pre-made allergy-friendly gift box? Bunny James Gift Boxes have all sorts of options for a box full of tasty snacks. You can choose vegan, nut free, dairy free, gluten free or even allergen free boxes. The allergen free box says it is “Top 8” allergen free, but I got in touch with the lovely people at Bunny James who tell me that the tasty allergen free goodies also don’t contain sesame as an ingredient, which is great.

We have allergies, intolerances and vegan food preferences in our family, so Bunny James has us covered with something for everyone.

*Use our discount code – ALLERGYSPOT – to get 10% off your order from Bunny James Boxes*

Allergy related gifts

If you’ve read our post on food allergy chef cards or restaurant cards, you’ll know what a great idea these are for people with food allergies. These cards help with clearly communicating food allergies to the staff preparing meals when eating out (or ordering take away, or travelling). We highly recommend Equal Eats, who make a range of premium allergy, celiac and special diet translation cards available in 50 different languages. You can buy pre set cards or customise your own, not just for food allergies but also medication and insect sting allergies, FODMAP intolerances and other special dietary requirements. We have a customised dual language food allergy card from Equal Eats that we take with us everywhere. If you know someone with allergies who likes to travel (locally or further afield), they’ll love an Equal Eats gift card to choose something from the fantastic range.

*Use our discount code – ALLERGYSPOT – to get 10% off your order from Equal Eats*

Allergy and sensitive skin friendly lingerie

If you are looking for a special gift for a loved one with eczema, sensitive skin or latex allergies, JulieMay Lingerie may be just the thing. JulieMay Lingerie offers a luxury experience whilst using sustainable, natural materials. The hypoallergenic, ethical garments are made from Organic Pima Cotton and Mulberry Peace Silk ensuring the softest touch for sensitive skin. JulieMay Lingerie is also accredited by AllergyUK to be friendly for people with allergic reactions to synthetic fibres and sensitive skins. Although UK based, JulieMay offers really reasonable worldwide shipping too. Choose something from their gorgeous range or give a gift voucher so your recipient can choose.

Something unique

Another place I often like to look for gifts that are more individual is Etsy. It’s a bit like shopping at a market, but with the convenience of shopping online instead. There are so many clever people making everything from:

• jewellery and accessories (I love looking for scarves);
• home decor pieces;
• unique art;
• toys;
• clothes and more.

You can even buy collectibles and vintage items for the collectors in your life.

Gift cards – let them choose

Last but not least, don’t under-estimate the popularity of the humble gift card or voucher. This lets your recipient choose something they need or love, without any allergy risks.

While the variety of gift cards is almost endless, I usually go with a voucher for a store that has a wide range to choose from. Amazon is always a safe choice.

If you are buying for someone in Australia (and you live in Australia, NZ, UK or the US), Gift Card Store is another fantastic option. You can buy physical Mastercard and Visa gift cards to be posted to your recipient or Digital and E-gift cards that are delivered the same day (for when you have left your present buying to the last minute!)

Gift Card Store offers a range of prepaid Visa and Mastercard cards. They can be used anywhere Visa and Mastercard are accepted worldwide, instore and online. Plus there is a huge range of designs to choose from for all different occasions: Christmas, birthdays, housewarming, Mothers’ Day and more. But one of the features I love is the ability to design your own gift card by uploading your own photo, making what might sometimes seem to be the easy option in a gift just that much more thoughtful.

The same day delivery gift cards can be sent by email (E-Gift Cards) or SMS (Digital Gift Cards) – perfect for last minute gifts! Your lucky recipient can add their gift card to their preferred digital wallet, ready to treat themself to something special online or instore.

We hope these ideas have given you some ideas for buying thoughtful gifts for people with allergies. Have fun shopping!