Experience Gifts for | Couples | Him | Her | Mom | Dad | Families | Kids | Teens |
When you give a gift, you want it to send the right message. Ideally, something like: “I like you and understand you as a person; also, I have good taste and expendable income and plan accordingly for important holidays and dates.”
What you don’t want your gift to say is “I forgot about you until the last minute and bought this from the pharmacy on the way here.”
With so much pressure around picking the right present, it’s no wonder so many of us get gift-giving anxiety. Tack on the fact that a gift has to be the right size, color, style and something your giftee doesn’t already own, and finding the perfect present becomes even trickier. And — let’s face it — at the end of the day, regardless of how much energy and care you put into hunting your one down, they’ll probably only use your gift a few times before getting stashed in a closet somewhere. That’s consumerism, baby.
Looking for a solution to the existential dread that comes with shopping for presents? Try an experience gift. Experience gifts are nonmaterial gifts that create memories, not waste. Think anything from art classes to scuba diving lessons to wine tastings to subscriptions to full-blown vacations. Experiential gifts are enriching, not easily replicated, and are tailored to the tastes and personality of your giftee. Plus, they can gift them last minute, because they typically come as a gift card or voucher.
Ready to free yourself from the shackles of consumerist gift-giving? We’re here for you. To inspire your path towards experiential gift-giving liberation, we’ve rounded up a list of one-of-a-kind Christmas gift experience ideas for everyone on your list:
Best Experience Gift for Couples
Tinggly: Getaway — Minibreak for Two
Tinggly is in the business of experience gifts, offering countless adventures, activities and trips in over 100 countries around the world. For a couple that likes to travel, the Tinggly MiniBreak for Two represents an international vacation in a box. It includes one night in a hotel for two from a choice of over 2,000 hotels in over 100 countries, in addition to breakfast for two.
Tinggly experience gifts come in either a physical gift box made of recycled materials or an e-voucher — the gifter’s choice. Tinggly gifts are sustainable, with the company offsetting CO2 carbon emissions by an impressive 200 and planting eight trees for every experience.
Price: $199 at Tinggly
Best Experience Gift for Couples Runner-Up — Blue Apron Gift Card: $70+ at Blue Apron
Best Experience Gift for Him
Classic Car Rental
The verdict is in: dudes love cars. Specifically, dudes like fast, expensive cars that go vroom vroom. If this sounds true of your dude, consider a classic car rental gift through Hagerty DriveShare.
It works like this: You use the platform to search for your fellow’s dream car, filtering results by location, make, model and price per day. Check its availability, choose your day and book. Your giftee can spend the day cruising around in style — hopefully with you riding shotgun.
Price: $225+ per day at DriveShare
Best Experience Gift for Him Runner-Up — DIY Hot Sauce Class: $30+ at Uncommon Goods
Best Experience Gift for Her
Rent the Runway Membership
Editor’s note: As both a “her” and a longtime Rent the Runway member myself, I can vouch for the service’s awesomeness. The concept is just like it sounds: You rent designer fashions each month for a fixed membership price. At the end of the month, you return it for a fresh new shipment.
Membership plans range from $94 for four items per month to $235 for 16 items. Shipping is fast and free, and returns are quick and easy. It’s perfect — and I mean perfect — for the fashionista (and also the fashionisto, and whatever the nonbinary version of a fashionista is) on your list.
Price: $69+ for a trial month at Rent the Runway
Best Experience Gift for Her Runner-Up — DIY Pottery Kit: $32.63+ at Etsy
Best Experience Gift for Mom
A Getaway Often Pack
Getaway Outposts are tiny, secluded cabins nestled in nature outside of major cities — including Boston, D.C. Washington, Chicago and Austin. They’re designed to whisk you away from the hustle and bustle of life and drop you right into the great outdoors while supplying you with access to kitchens, soft beds and hot showers.
A Getaway Often Pack gets your giftee a set of consecutive nights at any cabin at any location. You can purchase a three-, four- or six-day stay, and they can book whenever and wherever they please. It’s perfect for the busy mother who could use some time out in the fresh air, below the stars, and away from schedules, screens and Slack notifications.
Price: $350+ at Getaway
Best Experience Gift for Mom Runner-Up — SpaFinder Gift Card: $50 at SpaFinder
Best Experience Gift for Dad
A Private Museum Tour from Museum Hack
Museum Hack offers private, behind-the-scenes tours of top museums in major cities, including NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. You can book private or small group tours in your giftee’s nearest city and customize the tour based on their interests. Included in the tour are little-known stories, games and activities, as well as skip-the-line admissions. Entertainers, comedians, academics and self-proclaimed nerds lead tours.
The experience is great for the museum-loving dad who wants to geek out with an exclusive peek at a prestigious establishment like the Art Institute of Chicago, the MET in New York or the de Young Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco.
Price: Varies at Museum Hack
Best Experience Gift for Dad Runner-Up — PADI Open Water Diving Certification: $202 at PADI
Best Experience Gift for Families
America the Beautiful Pass
The America the Beautiful Pass unlocks access to magical forests, pristine beaches, towering mountains and thrilling outdoor adventures in over 20,000 national parks and federal recreation sites. The pass one year of unlimited entrance for the whole family — or for one driver and all passengers in their vehicle at parks that charge per vehicle, or up to four adults at parks that charge per person (kids under 15 are free). Often, families will spend multiple days at a big national park, so the pass represents a key to multiday, low-cost family vacations.
Price: $80 at USGS Store
Best Experience Gift for Families Runner-Up — Disney on Ice Tickets: Varies at Disney On Ice
Best Experience Gift for Kids
Sky Zone Trampoline Park Membership
Sky Zone is a wonder world of wall-to-wall trampolines, obstacle courses and climbing walls. It’s a perfect place for youngsters — and adults too, for that matter — to jump, play, tumble and get into their bodies and off of their screens. A Sky Zone gets your giftee unlimited entrance, every day, to a location of choice. With over 140 Sky Zone locations in the U.S., there’s likely one near your kiddo.
Price: Varies by location at Sky Zone
Best Experience Gift for Kids Runner-Up — Magic Lesson: $25 at Uncommon Goods
Best Experience Gift for Teens
Personalized Celebrity Video from Cameo
As one of the coolest customizable gifts around, Cameos are personalized videos created by celebrities, athletes, comedians, musicians, and influencers. You pick your teen’s favorite star and provide the celeb with information on what to say. For example, you could book Leslie David Baker (Stanley from “The Office”) to say “Merry Christmas, Todd! Your mom wants me to remind you to clean your room.” Your celeb records the custom message, which you can save and share with your delighted teenager.
Price: Varies at Cameo
Best Experience Gift for Teens Runner-Up — Six-Month Online Guitar Lesson Subscription: $79.99 at Fender
The post Christmas Experience Gift Ideas for the Trickiest Giftees on Your Holiday List appeared first on The Real Deal by RetailMeNot.
