Christmas is my favourite time of year! Yes, it can get crazy, but I love spending precious time with family – cooking, catching up, laughing and eating. Last night, we spent three hours washing dishes, well into the night, but even that was worth it after the gorgeous day we had had. If you celebrate, I hope you had an amazing Christmas Day with family and friends, and that you get to spend a few more days relaxing before you have to get back to work and reality!

Now… what did I find under the Christmas Tree? Let’s take a look at some of my running-themed gifts – they are lovely, practical and I can’t wait to start using them all!

My Running-Themed Christmas Gifts

Colourful Shorts and Adidas Visor. Getting dressed up for a run always gives me extra motivation to get out on those tough days. The tougher the day, the brighter I go! Also, as I run several days a week, it really helps to have a few extra items on hand. My sister bought me these fun shorts which are not only gorgeous but keep everything tucked in! This already has me excited about running in the new year. She also added a black Adidas visor which I love!

Books. I love reading but just haven’t done enough of it in recent years. So, as a gift to myself I bought these two books to start off my new year. The first is I ran for my life by Kabelo Mabalane. Kabelo is a South African kwaito musician, song writer and member of the kwaito trio TKZee whose music I listened to in the nineties. This book is about how running saved his life after years of drug abuse. I also bought Solo by Jenny Tough which chronicles her quest to run alone across six of the world’s most challenging mountain ranges, and what she learned along the way.

Wellness Diary. This was a beautiful gift from my kids! There are sections for weekly/ monthly health and wellness goals, habits trackers, space to write what I loved, learned and achieved each week, how I felt and what I’m grateful for. And I love the cover – It’s okay not to do it all!

A Cookbook. I got The Hungry Shef BW Cookbook from my lovely friend Polelo which is a compilation of family favourite recipes. But that’s not the best bit… she is the author! Polelo is a busy working wife and mum, who enjoys cooking simple, no fuss foods for family and friends. I have tasted so many of her dishes and each one leaves me thinking how incredibly creative and bold she is in the kitchen, always giving us something that is scrumptious and cooked with love. I am so proud that she has put this together and can’t wait to try them all out!

Shoes. My brother-in-law Gorata is visiting from Australia and bought me Brooks Adrenaline 22 shoes for Christmas! I was so desperate for shoes so opened this gift about a month before Christmas! How else was I going to do the 10×10 Challenge?! They are incredibly comfortable and so beautiful! The purple really pops, and I’ve loved running in these the past month.

Thank you to everyone for these gifts! I absolutely love them all. If you’re a runner, what running-themed gifts did you get this Christmas? What is the most unique gift you received? If you’re ever stuck on what to buy a runner friend, check out my Gift Guide for Runners.