45 Excellent Experience Gift Ideas

I’m not going to pretend it’s not happening: Christmas is coming!! In less than a week folks! How organised are you? Have you already bought all of the presents you had planned to? Or are you still desperately trying to come up with some original Christmas gift ideas?

Ok, let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?

Buying gifts for Christmas, en masse (but birthdays too) can be stressful. You’re daydreaming of having a few days off work. Maybe planning what you are going to feed everybody. The shops are full. It seems that every other person in your town is out there RIGHT NOW doing the same harried shopping trip. If you’re lucky you can go shopping alone, without the kids who GUARANTEED will see more things to add to their Christmas wish list. And if it’s a successful shop, you have to lug it all home, wrap the gifts and hide them somewhere (don’t forget to remember WHERE!!!) until Christmas.

If you are trying to be even the least bit conscious of reducing the plastic packaging and waste in your household (like we have been trying to do. Here you can read about some small steps to try to get started!), it all feels like a big, dirty contradiction.

So is there anything you can do, to still enjoy gift-giving this holiday season without the shopping mall stress and mounds of paper, packaging and plastic? Sure there is!!!

Give the gift of an experience!

Don’t know what I am talking about? Well…

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning that I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.

Experiences vs Material Possessions

What does this even mean?!? Well, material possessions are anything we can literally see and hold. Things that you have. A phone. A TV. A book. A remote-controlled car. A coffee grinder. And so on. Our homes are filled with them. You might even say, overflowing with them.

Experiences are those things that you do. Going to the dentist is an experience. And so is filling your car up with petrol. Those ones are humdrum and everyday type of experiences. But they’re not the ones I am talking about!! I mean the cool ones! Watching the sunrise over your favourite beach. Or going abseiling for the first time. Or going to see your favourite comedian live.

Why Giving an Experience Gift is a Great Idea

Can you remember the first time you flew in a plane? Your first rollercoaster ride? Your first kiss?!? I’ll bet you can!

Now how about this: Can you remember the toys you were given on your 12^th birthday? Do you still own them? What about that really cool must-have gadget from 15 years ago? No?!?

So what’s the difference, between the experiences you’ve had and the material gifts you have been given? Chances are, the majority of things you have ever had in your possession, have long been thrown away. And the rest of your stuff, you have just become accustomed to. Jeans? Got ‘em. Latest model phone? Sure! DVDs? Stuff them in the drawer with the others. Where’s the excitement in that?!? Do these things make you happy over and over and over again?

What did you do with all the packaging from those things? And all the things need to be stored somewhere. (Did you know that 1 in 11 Americans pay for a self-storage unit for all the stuff that doesn’t fit in their homes?!?). And then what happens when you decide you don’t want to have the things anymore?

But an experience… That’s an entirely different story! That first plane ride you ever took? That is forever etched in your memory. Maybe you have a postcard from that trip. Or a photo of you waiting excitedly at the airport. But otherwise, you get to keep that memory forever and not be weighed down with stuff. And you can revisit that memory whenever you want. You know that quote that often gets shared, something like “You are the sum of your experiences”? Well,…

Now imagine if you could be the one to give someone else a joyful memory (without the storage and waste problems 😉) that they can cherish forever. Sounds like a brilliant idea, right?

The Ultimate List of Experience Gift Ideas

Unlike a lot of other articles I have read, I am not going to divide this list into a Gifts for Him / Gifts for Her. Who said that only guys are interested in going for a Quad Bike tour? Or that only women want to learn how to make the perfect Italian pasta? And what about the kids?!?

I have decided to list these experience gift ideas in categories of interest. Male, female, young, old, single, married… None of it matters! Have a look through the categories and find something to give as the perfect gift this Christmas. Maybe you’ll even find something you want to give yourself… 😉.

Some of these things can be done alone, some are definitely more fun in groups. Some of the experiences can be done any time it suits, others may set for a specific date. Some will just be something you get to organise together without there being a gift voucher or course involved. Some might be really expensive while some won’t cost you anything at all!

But no matter what, you are sure to find some inspirational ideas here that will really impress that special person!

Let’s do this!!

Creative Experiences

Painting Class

Crocheting, Knitting or Sewing Class

Pottery Class

Home-brewing (Beer) workshop

Hand-Lettering Class (seems really trendy these days; believe this was formerly known as Calligraphy)

Photography Class

Action & Adventure Experiences

Skydiving

Flying Lesson

Hot-air Ballooning

Hang-Gliding

Quad-bike Tour

Indoor Climbing

Laser-Tag

Paintball

Whitewater Rafting

Escape Room

Day out on a Yacht

Culinary Experiences

Cooking Class (the sky’s the limit here: sushi, pasta, Indian, vegetarian, bread…)

Chocolate Seminar

Beer Tasting

Wine Tasting

Whisky Seminar

Reservation at a Restaurant- Dinner, High Tea, Degustation Menu etc

Cultural Experiences

Art or History Museum Pass

Theatre Tickets

Music Concert Tickets

Comedy Show Tickets

National Parks Pass

City Sightseeing Tour

Pampering Experiences

Massage Gift Voucher

Facial Gift Voucher

Manicure or Pedicure Gift Voucher

Hotel Accommodation

Meditation Retreat

Yoga Workshop

General Fun Experiences

Aquarium Pass

Circus Tickets

10-pin Bowling

Zoo Pass

Mini-Golf

Cinema Tickets

Professional Photo Shooting Session

Host a “Murder Mystery” Dinner

Go out for drinks together

Go for a hike together

There you have it! A HUGE list of unforgettable, fond-memory-making experiences that you can give as gifts! Which ones are your favourites? What did we miss out on? Have you ever received an experience gift yourself? Tell us about it below!