Celebrate Nurse Appreciation Week with Swag and Gifts

When our company hired a new employee experience manager, the employee experience manager was very eager to make strides in approving employee morale and increasing engagement. And I guess that somehow translated to celebrating every single national holiday to have ever existed. We're not just talking about Halloween and Valentine's day but also the obscure holidays that people just invented like chocolate chip day and friendship day. 

The holiday celebrations got so out of hand that our new employee experience manager even announced that we’d be celebrating the upcoming Nurse Appreciation Week. The thing is, we don’t work at a hospital or a place that employs any nurses. So while we all agree that nurses are real-life heroes, we were all shocked to hear that we’d be celebrating a holiday for nurses.

Regardless, we all agree that Nurse Appreciation Week is a well-deserved celebration of nurses. Nurses do so much for others, so it only makes sense that we return the favor with an appreciation week. That even doesn’t seem like enough for all that nurses do!

Especially if you have a nurse in your life, you probably want to show them some well-deserved appreciation for all of their hard work. Whether you work in a hospital of nurses, have a loved one who is a nurse, or have had a nurse care for your loved one, there are so many ways to show appreciation during Nurses Week 2023. 

So, if you’re looking for inspiration on how to celebrate Hospital Week, we’ve got you covered. Here are some ideas for Nurse Appreciation Week 2023. 

So, when is National Nurses Day 2023? Nurse Appreciation Day 2023 takes place on May 6th, 2023. Nurse Appreciation Day always falls on May 6th. This day also marks the beginning of Nurse Appreciation Week, which takes place from May 6th until May 12th each year. 

1. Personalized Stethoscope Tag: A tag for their stethoscope that includes their name or a thoughtful message can make their tool feel more personalized and unique.
2. Custom Engraved Nurse Tumbler: A high-quality tumbler that's been engraved with a nursing-related quote or their name can be a practical and appreciated gift. It's perfect for keeping their beverages hot or cold during long shifts.
3. Spa Day Gift Set: Nurses often work long hours, and a spa day gift set can provide some much-needed relaxation. These could include bath bombs, face masks, body scrubs, and essential oils.
4. Comfortable Scrub Sets: A new set of comfortable, high-quality scrubs can be an ideal gift. Look for ones made from soft, durable, and easy-to-wash fabrics.
5. Nurse-Themed Jewelry: Earrings, necklaces, or bracelets that incorporate nursing themes, like stethoscope charms or heartbeat designs, can be a fashionable and meaningful present.
6. Massage Gift Certificate: A massage can be a wonderful way for nurses to relax and relieve stress. A gift certificate to a local spa can be a much-appreciated gift.
7. Nursing Shoe Insoles: With all the hours nurses spend on their feet, shoe insoles designed for comfort and support can make a big difference in their day-to-day life.
8. Personalized Tote Bag: A sturdy and stylish tote bag, personalized with their initials or a nursing theme, can be great for carrying their belongings to and from work.
9. Healthy Snack Box: A box filled with various nutritious snacks can keep them energized during their shifts. Make sure to include a variety of options like nuts, dried fruit, protein bars, and dark chocolate.
10. Nurse-Themed Books: Books like "The Nurses: A Year of Secrets, Drama, and Miracles with the Heroes of the Hospital" by Alexandra Robbins, or "I Wasn't Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse" by Lee Gutkind can be insightful, motivational, and a source of relaxation after long working hours.

When our office announced that we were celebrating Nurse Appreciation Week in our corporate office, we were a little shocked, but we decided to hear them out. And once we heard our employee experience manager’s idea for national nurses day, it made a lot more sense…

Our employee experience leader announced that our celebration of National Nurse Appreciation Week would double as a philanthropic endeavor for our community. Since the local nurses do so much for our community, our company decided to get together and give out nurse gifts for Nurse Appreciation Week. 

Since we’d have to order a lot of inexpensive nurse gifts for all of the nurses in our community, they decided that the best idea would be to order bulk nurse gifts. 

We used swagmagic.com to design custom swag for the nurses in our local community. We then did a big order of bulk swag and the custom swag ready to be gifted to the nurses at our local hospitals for Nurse Appreciation Week. 

If you want to do something special for nurse practitioner week 2023, but don’t want to order bulk swag, consider giving a nurse gift basket to the special nurse in your life.

1. Self-Care Basket: This basket could include a variety of items like scented candles, bath bombs, face masks, and lotion. Consider including some herbal teas or a bottle of wine for a relaxing evening at home.
2. Snack and Coffee Basket: Many nurses rely on caffeine to get through their long shifts. This basket could include gourmet coffee or a selection of different teas, as well as healthy snacks like nuts, dried fruit, or granola bars.
3. Wellness Basket: A wellness basket could include items to promote health and well-being. You might have things like a yoga mat, resistance bands, essential oils, a meditation book, and a water bottle.
4. Nurse Survival Kit: This could include items that a nurse might need during a long shift. For example, high-protein snacks, a high-quality thermos for hot drinks, a travel-size first-aid kit, hand lotion, and a pair of comfy socks for when they get a chance to put their feet up.
5. Gourmet Food Basket: This could be a basket full of gourmet chocolates, cheeses, and crackers. Include a bottle of their favorite wine or sparkling water for those who don't drink alcohol.

This Nurse Appreciation Gift Box makes the perfect gift for any nurse!

You could also give this box to a perioperative nurse during Perioperative Nurses Week, which occurs during the second week of November each year. This also makes a great gift for Pediatric Nurses Week, the first week of October each year. And of course, there’s also CNA Appreciation Week which takes place on the Thursday of the second full week of June.  

If you’re celebrating Nurse Appreciation Week, CNA Week 2023, or any other variation of a nurse appreciation holiday, a great way to celebrate is with inspiring quotes. While “Happy Nurses Week” is a simple, yet effective, way to show appreciation to nurses, there are plenty of other phrases and quotes you can use to show your appreciation.

Some CNA appreciation quotes to include in your appreciation notes include: 

• “It is not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing.” —Mother Theresa
• “They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” —Maya Angelou
• “There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.” —Orison Swett Marden
• “Compassion brings us to a stop, and for a moment we rise above ourselves.” —Mason Cooley
• “Compassion is a call, a demand of nature, to relieve the unhappy as hunger is a natural call for food.” —Joseph Butler

CNA Week gifts can be given to nurses to show appreciation during CNA Appreciation Day, which takes place on the Thursday of the second week of June.

Gift ideas for CNAs include: 

1. Nurse Appreciation Gift Basket: A gift basket can be a very thoughtful and customizable gift. For instance, you could create a "Relaxation Basket" filled with scented candles, a plush throw blanket, a sleep mask, and some relaxing music or a meditation app subscription. Or, consider a "Healthy Snack Basket" with an assortment of protein bars, nuts, dried fruit, and granola. An "On-the-Go Essentials Basket" might include travel-sized personal care items, a reusable water bottle, a portable phone charger, and individually packaged snacks.
   
2. Gift Cards: Gift cards are practical and versatile gifts that can be tailored to the recipient's interests or needs. If they enjoy reading, consider a gift card to a bookstore. A gift card to a favorite restaurant or food delivery service could be a great choice for the foodie. Other options could be a gift card for a popular online retailer, a local spa for some much-needed pampering, or even a streaming service for their off-duty hours.
   
3. Custom Nurse Merch: There is a wide array of nurse-themed merchandise that you can have customized for a more personal touch. This could be a coffee mug with their name and a motivational quote, a custom-engraved stethoscope tag, or a keychain featuring a cute nurse-themed charm. T-shirts, tote bags, or hats emblazoned with sayings like "Super CNA" or "Nursing is a Work of Heart" can also make fun and practical gifts.

You could even do a gesture as simple as buying lunch for a CNA or nurse to show your appreciation. 

There are plenty of opportunities throughout the year to show appreciation for the nurses in your life. Here’s a full list of Nurse Appreciation Days for 2023:

January

National Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNA) Week — Jan. 22–28

National IV Nurse Day — Jan. 25

February

Ambulatory Care Nursing Week — Feb. 6–12

PeriAnesthesia Nurse Awareness Week — Feb. 6–12

Cardiovascular Professionals Week — Feb. 12–18

Critical Care Transport Nurses Day — Feb. 18

March

Certified Nurses Day — March 19

GI Nurses & Associates Week — March 20–24

April

Radiological and Imaging Nurses Day — April 12

WOC Nurse Week — April 16–22

Transplant Nurses Week — April 24–May 1

May

National Critical Care Awareness and Recognition Month

Oncology Nursing Month 

National Nurses Day — May 6

National Student Nurses Day — May 8

National School Nurse Day — May 10 

International Nurses Day — May 12

National Nurses Week — May 6–12

Neuroscience Nurses Week — May 14–20

June

National Healthcare Recruiter Recognition Day — June 6

September

National Clinical Nurse Specialist Recognition Week — Sept. 1–7

Vascular Nurses Week — Sept. 10–16

National Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day — Sept. 8

Nephrology Nurses Week — Sept. 10–16

Nursing Professional Development Week — Sept. 10–16

National Neonatal Nurses Week — Sept. 12–18

October

National Midwifery Week — Oct. 1–7

Pediatric Nurses Week — Oct. 2–6

Emergency Nurses Week — Oct. 8–14

Emergency Nurses Day — Oct. 11

National Case Management Week — Oct. 8–14

International Infection Prevention Week — Oct. 22–28

International Orthopaedic Nurses Day — Oct. 29

National Orthopaedic Nurses Week — Oct. 23–29

November

National Hospice and Palliative Care Month

Medical-Surgical Nurses Week — Nov. 1–7

Urology Nurses and Associates Week — Nov. 1–7

Forensic Nurses Week — Nov. 5–11

National Nurse Practitioner Week — Nov. 12–18

Perioperative Nurses Week — Nov. 12–18

Even though our office got rid of the silly holidays like National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day after that hectic year, we still like to bring gifts to nurses during Nurse Appreciation Week because we know how important the work they do is! Hopefully, this list gave you some inspiration on how to celebrate one of the many Nurse Appreciation Weeks!