The holidays are often hard for people on the Keto diet. Holiday foods are often high in sugar and other carbs, making it difficult for them not to fall into temptation, even with the strongest willpower. And while many people on the Keto diet choose to give it a bit of a rest over the holidays so as to not be overly stressed about it then get back on it after ringing in the new year, not everyone wants to or or can afford to depending on their health situation. If you want to give gifts to a friend or family member who is trying to stay on the Keto diet over the holidays, buying them gifts to support them on this journey will be meaningful and greatly appreciated. But if you aren't on the ketogenic path yourself, you might find yourself scratching your head, trying to figure out what to buy.

Here are 8 stocking stuffer/small gift ideas you can give to support your friends or loved one with their ketogenic lifestyle:

1. Sugar-Free Candy & Sweets. It's not hard to find sugar-free candies, chocolates, gum, even baked goods, but try to find ones that are sweetened with stevia, avoiding ingredients like aspartame, sucralose and malitol as these sweeteners can spike blood sugar. Look for ones that are sweetened with stevia, erithrytol, monk fruit or xylitol. While it is possible to find these in regular grocery stores, usually in the diabetic candy or health food sections, make sure you check the label to make sure you’re getting options with keto-friendly sweeteners. It’s easier to find them if you have specialty health stores, bulk stores, or low-carb grocery stores if you have one in your area. Bonus points if you can find ones that have the least amount of carbs. Here are a few options that are popular in the keto community:

2. Sugar-Free Liquid Flavour Enhancers. People on the Keto diet often use these to make water, sparking water, coffee or tea more palatable. They are small and it well into any normal stocking. You can get them at a variety of price points too, and you can even find them in every day grocery stores in some areas. If not, you can order them on Amazon too. This makes them ideal for an easy stocking stuffer. Here are a few you can get on Amazon:

3. Unsweetened Hot Drinks. This is another treat that can easily be keto-friendly as long as they don’t have added sugars. Bonus: if you get unsweetened varieties, you don’t have to worry about looking at what they’re sweetened with. You can also find holiday varieties in both tea and coffee, or get a sugar-free hot chocolate (*It's pricey, but you can also try your hand at making your own mix and putting it in a decorative bag or jar). Here are a few you can find on Amazon:

4. Low-Carb Savoury Snacks. High-fat savoury snacks like nuts, seeds, pork rinds, olives and jerky can be found in almost any store that sells food, but even ones that don’t sound like they would have sugar or additional carb-heavy ingredients like corn starch, so make sure you check the label before buying. Here are a few low-carb options that are popular in the keto community.

5. Keto-Friendly Spices & Seasonings. There are a few spices and seasonings that almost every person doing keto uses, but you can also use your creativity and knowledge of your friends’ tastes to find ones that they’ll like. Or if you want to be even more creative, you can make and bottle your own spice blends to give. Whatever ones you get or make, just make sure, of course, that it doesn’t have added sugar or unnecessary high-carb ingredients. Here are a few ideas to help get your creative juices flowing:

6. Keto Diet Supplements. While this idea doesn’t keep with the tradition of giving treats as gifts, they are something that would be well-appreciated by someone doing keto, as long as you get one that you know they’ll like (some are flavoured and may not be liked by everyone). They tend to be a bit more expensive too, so if you want to get the something a bit higher end, keto supplements can be a great option. Here are a few supplements that are popular in the keto community:

7. Low-Carb Booze. While alcohol isn’t necessarily a good choice if the person your buying for is really trying to lose weight, low-carb or not, if the person is in a good place with that, a small bottle of a low-carb liquor or wine can make a nice stocking stuffer. Here are some of the best low-carb options:

  • Hard liquor (straight without added ingredients or sweeteners). The safest options are unflavoured vodka, whiskey or gin.
  • Wine. The best low carb varieties are Pinot grigio and Sauvignon Blanc for whites, and Pinot noir and Cabernet Sauvignon for reds.

8. Small Kitchen Prep Tools. There are a number of small kitchen tools that come in handy for people on keto that you might not normally think of as a gift. Here’s a short list of ideas that will appeal the Keto peeps on your list:

This is a fairly comprehensive list of Keto stocking stuffers/small gifts, but if I missed any that you can think of, please share your ideas in the comments. Enjoy your holiday gift-giving! :)