100 Experience-based Holiday Gift Ideas

‘Tis the season to shop till you drop—but what if this year, you focused on giving experiences instead of material objects? It’s scientifically proven that experiential gifts improve relationships and evoke strong emotional responses. And let’s be honest—do you know anyone who’s ever said, “Gee, I sure wish I had more stuff in my house!”

Another great thing about experiential gifts is price—they run the gamut from thousands of dollars to absolutely free. The best part? The memories you’ll create, which are priceless.

Here are my favorite experiential gifts.

1. Get the outdoorsy person in your life an annual state or national park pass.
2. Art lover? Membership to a local art museum.
3. Looking for a kid’s gift? Hello, annual zoo or children’s museum pass.
4. Kids will go crazy over a gift card for a favorite ice cream shop.
5. A fun board game, like Apples to Apples, What Do You Meme, Bananagrams.
6. Spark your wanderlust without leaving your couch with a copy of Comfortably Wild: The Best Glamping Destinations in North America. This stunning coffee table book features fabulous treehouses, Airstreams, domes and more. Get a custom signed copy here.

7. Costco membership. Is it a store? Is it an experience? Is it a lifestyle? Who can even be sure these days!
8. Concert tickets.
9. Hotels do gift cards! Get them one and they can put it toward their next vacation.
10. Wine or beer tasting at a local brewery/restaurant/wine shop.
11. Check out a local dinner theater.
12. Book a food tour in your own city.
13. Create a mini spa day, with a manicure, pedicure and maybe even a little champagne.
14. Give a gift card to a favorite local restaurant.
15. Plan a weekend at a cabin or hotel a few hours away.
16. Take a sushi making class.
17. Plan a scavenger or treasure hunt (kids will love this!)
18. Give a gift card to a favorite local restaurant.
19. Stand-up comedy show!
20. Improv comedy show!
21. Gift card to Libro.fm—the first audiobook company that allows you to buy audiobooks through local booksellers!
22. Does your parent always talk about a dream vacation—like eating their way through Italy, exploring India’s colorful cities, hiking in Patagonia? Offer to help them plan, or if you’ve got some extra cash squirreled away, take them there!
23. Pay for someone’s passport. Help them navigate the application process.
24. Spotify membership. Crank tunes ad-free all year long.
25. Take a day trip to a cute small town with antique stores, quaint breakfast spots, and dive bars.
26. Go out for brunch.
27. Plan a movie marathon, complete with popcorn, drinks and cozy socks.
28. Learn a craft—glass blowing, wood working, ceramics, pottery.

29. Bring someone to an animal shelter and help them meet a furry roommate!
30. A fun jigsaw puzzle, especially one from a favorite place they’ve visited (how great is this one?).
31. Embrace your inner Great British Bake-off contestant and taking a cake making class at your local kitchen store.
32. Give a gift card to a favorite local restaurant.
33. A night or two at a posh hotel.
34. Book a day cruise or sunset cruise.
35. Gift card to the planetarium or science museum.
36. Indoor rock climbing.

37. Horseback riding.
38. Hot air balloon ride
39. Helicopter tour (splurge, but worth it!)
40. Indoor skydiving (outdoor could be great too, but know your audience.)
41. Take the kids for the day and let them be. Please, please, please get me this.
42. Gift card for a local yoga studio.
43. Ever done a float tank? Perfect for anyone who doesn’t get enough rest and relaxation.
44. Get tarot card readings. So fun to do in anticipation of the new year!
45. Subscription to the Calm app—who couldn’t use a little more ommmm in their life?
46. Take a train ride! You could do a short, scenic trip, or book a weekender on Amtrak (if you don’t love it, maybe it will make appreciate air travel again).
47. Give a gift card to a favorite local restaurant.
48. Take a ghost tour.
49. Top Golf!
50. Bowling!
51. Ice skating!
52. Roller skating! Everybody snowball!
53. Visit a salt cave. Whisper about whether or not you think it actually works.
54. Does your town have a sauna co-op?
55. Try an ancient bath ritual, like this one.
56. A recipe box subscription, like Blue Apron or Hello Fresh. You give them the code, they do the ordering—no one wants a surprise dinner they have to cook themselves.

57. Give the Dark Sky app. It’s a high tech weather radar that gets hyperlocal—Yes, it only costs $3.99 to give the gift of being a weather person!
58. Give a gift card to a favorite local restaurant.
59. Give a gift card to a favorite local restaurant.
60. Teach a family member a family recipe, or see if an older relative can teach you a family recipe.
61. Go to an author reading or book signing at your local book shop
62. Check out an escape room. Go with your family for extra incentive to get out quickly.
63. Give a gift card to a favorite local restaurant.
64. Sign up for a knitting, sewing or crocheting class.
65. A cool cribbage board and deck of cards. If you get a small enough one, they’re easy to travel with, too.
66. A great bullet journal.
67. Test drive a Tesla. Fingers crossed they let you go into ludicrous mode—some models go from 0 to 60 in 2.4 seconds.  

68. A flower arranging class.
69. These DIY bitters kits are the perfect gift for the cocktail aficionado
70. Axe throwing is definitely a thing now, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a place to do it near you.
71. Try Aerial yoga. It’s fun, and harder than it looks!
72. Plan a picnic with your loved one’s favorite foods… even if it’s freezing cold, you can host one on the living room floor.
73. A friendship lamp is perfect for long distance relationships. These in-sync lamps change color with a touch of your hand—or your loved one’s hand, no matter how far away they live. Each person sets up their lamp via Wi-Fi, then reaches out and touches the lamp whenever they want to let their loved one know they’re thinking of them. A material thing that fills every day with warm fuzzies.
74. Buy a great cookbook and make a standing date to make something from it once a month together.
75. Have I mentioned giving a gift card to a favorite local restaurant?
76. Try all the so-called “best” burgers, pizzas, tacos, wings, whatever your town has to offer. Make a booklet or check list you can use to track your progress and comments throughout the year.
77. Make getting outside in bad weather more enticing with these traction cleats that can attach to any boot!
78. Go sledding or tubing at a local ski hill.
79. Learn to cross country ski.
80. Or downhill ski.
81. Or snowboard.
82. Take part in a Japanese tea ceremony—most larger cities offer things like this, either at a local tea shop or even at a conservatory or library!
83. Give the gift of Hulu, Netflix, HBO Go, Disney+ or your favorite streaming service.
84. Take an improv class.
85. Give your favorite people a self-addressed, stamped postcard. Tell them to pop it in the mail when they’re feeling down later in the year. When you receive it, bake them cookies and send them in the mail.
86. Book a farm stay and lend a hand gathering eggs and caring for animals. Or just stay at a B&B on a farm and pretend you helped.
87. Bring your kids to something you adored from your own childhood—a soda fountain, Christmas window displays at the big department store, a classic arcade.
88. Plan a glamping trip in a yurt or rustic cabin.
89. Take kids on any sort of unique form of transportation. A trolley or train ride is pretty darn exciting for most kids. Even a city bus! You can’t make this stuff up.
90. Learn how to craft a perfect latte at a coffee making class.
91. I love an adult coloring book! Pair with the mega box of crayons or colored pencils.
92. Set up a family photo shoot. Get fancy and book a photographer. If you make it quick and easy, your family will forget the awkwardness of smiling for the camera the moment they see all the wonderful photos.
93. Give a gift card for a favorite restaurant.
94. Create a home wine or beer tasting experience. Buy a selection of the same genre of wine or beer (sauvignon blanc or stouts, for example). Offer bottles from different price points, parts of the world, etc. It can be consumed as a part of an event, or one at a time throughout the next few months.
95. Make someone a playlist. Bonus points if it’s on a CD. Double bonus points if it’s an actual mixed tape.
96. Teach someone guitar, piano or whatever you’re good at!

97. Have someone’s astrological birth chart mapped out.
98. Hire someone a housecleaning service.
99. Know someone who really loves to travel? Why not book them a flying lesson!
100. A surprise visit from a friend or family member they haven’t seen in awhile. Maybe even you!

What’s the best experience-based gift you’ve given or received? Share in the comments!

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