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:
{pin it for future reference!}
- Aerial yoga class (dying to do this!)
- Art lessons
- Baking class (I’ve done macarons but cookie or cupcake decorating would also be cool!)
- Broadway tickets (see three plays I saw this year and recommend)
- Calligraphy workshop (I took this one)
- Ceramics workshop (check!)
- Cirque du Soleil tickets (my favorite has been La Nouba in Orlando but I’m dying to see O in Las Vegas!)
- Coffee tasting
- Concert tickets (Will gave me Taylor Swift tickets for our anniversary!!!)
- Cooking lesson
- Comedy club (love the Comedy Cellar in NYC)
- Dance classes (I would totally take a hip hop class with my sister…)
- Day at an amusement park
- Hang gliding (my brother and I went in Switzerland and need to find a place to go in the U.S.!)
- Horseback lesson
- Hot air balloon ride (bucket list item!)
- Gift certificates to favorite restaurants (we love doing this for our parents)
- Language classes
- Mani/pedi gift certificate
- Membership to a local theater (we loved the Westport Country Playhouse as kids!)
- Mixology class
- Movie theater gift card
- Museum membership (I just joined the MoMA)
- Sailboat ride (we did this on Nantucket but you can go in New York too!)
- Skydiving
- SoulCycle classes
- Spa day (best mom present ever)
- Sports tickets
- Surfing lesson
- Sushi making class
- Tennis lessons
- Trapeze lesson (this.is.so.fun!)
- 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!)
- Whitewater rafting
- 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!
What a great list! I did the aerial yoga by Union Square and LOVED it! Let me know if you want to try it together. xx
Love this idea! Usually a bit more personal. I bought sports tickets for my boyfriend this year and we usually surprise each other with concert tickets throughout the year so we can enjoy events together. Some great ideas on your list!
Lauren
http://www.spacebyLV.com
This is a wonderful list! I’ve been wanting to take a calligraphy class for the longest time, but there are never any in my area 🙁 a hot air balloon ride sounds like a wonderful adventure for warmer days!
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
I always love your gift guides, but I definitely agree that these ideas are some of the best 🙂 Thoughtful and simple and don’t have to stress out tracking the UPS or FedEx # online all day like I currently am doing for other things!
http://www.itsthelittlethingsblog.blogspot.com
what a fantastic post! The gift guides are great but this is such a unique list.
I plan on borrowing a couple ideas to add to my resolution list for the new year.
As a traveler especially, these are awesome gifts! Though I’m quite curious about the Turkish bath story, as I’m leaving for Istanbul in t-9 hours… Hopefully I’ll love the hamaam there as much as I did in Marrakech!
Chloe | Wanderlust in the Midwest
Experience gifts have always been something in the back of my mind, but I am determined to give them when everyone in my family is a little bit older and can really appreciate them a lot more. I will definitely be pinning this – my hometown doesn’t have a lot of opportunities for some of them, but they are great to keep in mind for the future!
Happy holidays!!
Mikkaela
I love experience gifts! I would love to do so many of these things! Also, you can hang glide in San Diego! I have been dying to do it!
I know a lot of guys have loved the ‘racing track’ experience…they get to drive like crazy lambo’s and ferrari’s. my sister got her husband one for his birthday and i think it’s to date the #1 day of his life (besides i’m assuming marrying my sister…and the birth of his son) idk, close third though!
I loooove this list! Let’s make it a point to rendezvous over one or two (including #26, duh, but you know I’m biased…) in January.
Happy holidays + miss you! xxx
Such a good idea!
blousesandblush.com
Love this post! Last year I got Stephen a butchering class where we butchered half a pig (stay with me) and then got to take home 16 lbs. of fresh pork! I know that sounds crazy but we LOVED it – and it made us forever more conscious about where our meat comes from. 🙂
Happy Holidays!
Joyce
rejoyce
I love this post! I got my parents concert tickets this year and I’m so excited for them to find out! I made it the full experience; creating a riddle that leads to the tickets and a gift card for dinner before also!
Emma
http://www.defineddesignsblog.com
Oh how I wish I lived in a city where I had access to all these amazing experiences! I definitely agree though, giving experiences is such a fun gift!
xo, Scarlett
The Trendy Chick
This post was extremely helpful and I agree with you, it’s not about the perfect wrapped gift. It’s about spending time with your family and making plans to create new memories! Thank you.
Also, turkish bath story forever.
I’ve been dying to take a trapeze class!
These suggestions are fantastic! If you go with the person you are giving the gift to, it’s double the fun
Alyssa J Freitas
This is so great, Mackenzie! For hot air balloons—there are a few festivals in upstate NY, usually in late summer/early fall. I’m hoping to make it up to one this year!!