35 EXPERIENTIAL GIFTS

This year I published ten gift guides, pinned 150+ more gift ideas, shipped what felt like 139479 orders from my own boutique… and yet I think I saved the best for last. The holiday season is about so much more than shopping for the perfect present for every friend and family member — it’s about creating memories and moments you’ll cherish for years to come. That’s why I love gifting activities and experiences in lieu of traditional wrapped presents and decided to share a few of my favorite ideas with you. (Two years ago, I signed my entire extended family up for a private krav maya lesson the morning after Christmas. I don’t think any of us retained much about self-defense, but it made for one of the most hilarious Christmases in recent memory.) I love to partner up with my siblings and brainstorm activities that our family members will love. It’s also really fun to have an activity or event to look forward to in the new year!

Psst! This is also a great tactic for those of you who still have a number of people to buy gifts for. If you’re stressing about either paying an arm and a leg for expedited shipping or duking it out with hundreds of other shoppers at the mall, ask yourself whether there’s a thoughtful experience you could gift instead! No shipping, no wrapping, maybe just a print-out of tickets and a thoughtful note. Without further ado, 35 activities to give as gifts:

35 experiential gifts activities and events instead of traditional presents!

{pin it for future reference!}

  1. Aerial yoga class (dying to do this!)
  2. Art lessons
  3. Baking class (I’ve done macarons but cookie or cupcake decorating would also be cool!)
  4. Broadway tickets (see three plays I saw this year and recommend)
  5. Calligraphy workshop (I took this one)
  6. Ceramics workshop (check!)
  7. Cirque du Soleil tickets (my favorite has been La Nouba in Orlando but I’m dying to see O in Las Vegas!)
  8. Coffee tasting
  9. Concert tickets (Will gave me Taylor Swift tickets for our anniversary!!!)
  10. Cooking lesson
  11. Comedy club (love the Comedy Cellar in NYC)
  12. Dance classes (I would totally take a hip hop class with my sister…)
  13. Day at an amusement park
  14. Hang gliding (my brother and I went in Switzerland and need to find a place to go in the U.S.!)
  15. Horseback lesson
  16. Hot air balloon ride (bucket list item!)
  17. Gift certificates to favorite restaurants (we love doing this for our parents)
  18. Language classes
  19. Mani/pedi gift certificate
  20. Membership to a local theater (we loved the Westport Country Playhouse as kids!)
  21. Mixology class
  22. Movie theater gift card
  23. Museum membership (I just joined the MoMA)
  24. Sailboat ride (we did this on Nantucket but you can go in New York too!)
  25. Skydiving
  26. SoulCycle classes
  27. Spa day (best mom present ever)
  28. Sports tickets
  29. Surfing lesson
  30. Sushi making class
  31. Tennis lessons
  32. Trapeze lesson (this.is.so.fun!)
  33. Turkish bath (if you’ve met me in real life, chances are you’ve heard about the Turkish bath my mom, sister, and I went to in Istanbul… suffice it to say my mom is probably the only one who would repeat the experience but it made for a great story!)
  34. Whitewater rafting
  35. Wine tasting

A few resources for booking events like these: Gilt City, Groupon, Ticketmaster, and Vimbly. And if you’ve already finished your holiday shopping, consider getting your family involved in a charitable activity on Christmas Eve! We like to bake cookies for the nurses at the hospital where my mom works and sing Christmas carols to patients. Are there any activities your family participates in each Christmas? What experiences have you given as gifts? I’ll add more as I think of them (I have a feeling I’ll be referring back to this post pretty often!) and I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments!