I don’t know about you but I am so tired of buying things for my kids. I often feel that I am actually buying more things to clean. And that is why this last holiday season I said “ENOUGH” I went a completely different route. I bought experiences as gifts for most members of my family – no mess to clean up and what could be better than an excuse to get out of the house you already prepaid?
My little 4-year-old got tickets to a Jumping Place, trips to a Chuck E Cheese, and an Indoor Climbing Gym. My older kids were head over heels for indoor flying classes and virtual reality station. And my husband has already scheduled the welding class I bought for him.
That is why I wanted to create a bank of ideas for any occasion. And if you are concerned about how to present your experience gift, scroll to the end, I have an idea!
Experience Gifts for Family
- Snow Tubing
- Circus Tickets
- Waterpark
- Themed Park
- Flying Cessna or Helicopter
- Skydiving
- Helicopter Tour
- Hot Air Baloon Ride
- Tandem Hang Gliding
- Ziplining
- Kayaking or Paddling (consider an architectural or Sunset tour)
- Rafting
- Food Tours – Pizza Tours and Doughnut crawls are the best!
- Glamping
- Indoor flying lessons
Experiences that Make Fantastic Gifts for Kids
- Comicon type conferences
- Anime type conference
- Virtual Reality Studio
- Trapeze classes
- Instrument classes (guitar and drum lessons make amazing gifts)
- STEM camp
- Sailing Camp
- Comedy Show
- Indoor playground
- Horse riding lessons
- Pop Singer Ticket
- Theater Performance
- Opera
- Ballet
- Rock climbing
- Cooking classes
- Sewing classes
- Obstacle Course classes
- Scuba Diving Certification
- Underwater Robotics Activities
- Video editing classes
- Coding Classes and Workshops
- Drone Camp
- Children’s Museum tickets and memberships
- Spray and Water Parks
- Mini-Golfing
- Laser Tag
Experiences that Make Fantastic Gifts for Teachers
- A personal note or handmade card
- Movie tickets or movie gift cards
- App Store Gift Cards
- Audible Membership
- Spa Vouchers
- Offer to come out and Volunteer
- Coffee Subscription – if you know that the teacher loves coffee
- Escape Room
- Art Lessons
- Cultural Walking Tours
Experiences that Make Fantastic Gifts for Grandparents
- Day or Dinner Cruise
- Brunch Cruise or Architectural Cruise
- Prohibition Cocktail Tour
- Cultural Walking Tours
- Golf Package
- Blue Apron Delivery Package
- Cleaning Service
- Laundry Service
- Food Delivery Service
- Dance Lesson
- Salt Cave
- Membership to a Museum or Botanical Garden
- Wine and Painting Class
Experiences that Make Fantastic Gifts for Parents
- Golf Package
- Bike and Eat Tours
- Drive an Indy car, NASCAR, Ferrari & more
- Downtown Segway Tour
- Glamping or Tiny House Stay
- Wine Subscription
- Cleaning Service
- Laundry Service
- Food Delivery Service
- Comedy or Improve
- Yoga Passes
- Professional Massage
- Bath House or Steam Room
- Sensory Deprivation Tank
- Wine and Painting Class
- Salt Cave
Experiences that Make Fantastic Gifts for People You Don’t Know Well
- Audiobook Subscription
- Movie Tickets
- Museum Tickets
- Art Gallery Pass
- Ticket to a Minor League Team Games
But what do I put in a box?
You can get creative with the presentation. You can put a voucher in the tiniest box and wrap it in fifty other things to get a huge box.
You can print an image of the location, glue it to cardboard, glue the voucher to the backside, wrap it in the tissue paper and put it in a gift box. I did that and it looked super fancy.
You can also get something that will represent your experience – a Nutcracker ornament for a trip to the ballet, Toy dinosaur for a History museum, 3D glasses for a VR trip, and so on.
As a bonus, it will make an amazing souvenir!
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