We've explored various strategies for approaching your financial planning for the upcoming holiday season, particularly regarding gift-giving. Today, let's delve into the reasons why experience gifts can truly reflect your authentic self.
o Brief Summary of objectives (3):
· You’ll walk away with a few reasons to why experience gifts can be the perfect way to give your gifts this holiday season.
· Look at some ways you can give an experience gift for those on your gift giving list this year.
· Let me give you some ideas on experience gift giving to those in your life.
· Topic 1: Why experience gifts?
o Think about it this way, the experience gift can help to reduce the stress of finding the perfect gift for those in your life.
o There are many reasons to choose and do an experience gift for those in your life, but overall, it can just be a gift that keeps on giving.
· Create memories
▪ This can be because you go with them somewhere or you give them a gift to go with someone special. The memories that are created here are giving to a lifetime.
▪ As I personally reflect on the years of experiences gifts they are ones that bring a smile from my 25th birthday to San Diego, La Jolla, and Los Angeles that a friend planned almost every detail of the trip to make it special as we celebrated that part of life launching into what was to come for our lives we followed that by going to Napa Valley and San Francisco a few months later to celebrate her birthday and my little sister’s. We had a blast on those trips seeing sea lions, a hot air ballon ride, massages (the most stressful thing I’ve ever done), and quality time together. This will always be one of my favorite birthday celebrations! Or the botanical garden membership I got for Christmas and have gotten to visit botanical gardens across the country throughout the year and it has been really cool to see the gardens from state to state and see the differences. Last year my husband and I gave my niece a gift to go explore the Georgia Aquarium, which she loved getting to see all the different animals throughout. It was one of those gifts that just created a fun day to share with her my love for education through learning about the information on the animals and regions.
· Strengthen relationships— this might give you an opportunity to grow your relationship with the recipient through a shared experience or just their stories back to you from the experience they get to go on.
· Personalization as you are giving to someone’s interests rather than just guessing at a material item. This means you might give a science museum to someone in your life with kids, so they are able to go all year long and when there are special events happening.
· Reduce stress as you might be able to give someone a new hobby or build on their hobby that gives them a reduction in stress.
· Doesn’t take up space in their house, which can make it a good option for those who are living in a tight space or trying to reduce their material items.
· Happiness can be associated for a longer period when you are with an experience gift than with a material gift.
· The anticipation to leading up to an experience gift can make it even more fun. Just remember if it is an event you might have to check with their calendars to make sure they don’t have something conflicting.
▪ Last year my husband sent me the Hank Williams Jr poster for his concert in Birmingham like five times in a row— meaning it was something he really wanted to go to and was so excited about when he opens the gift from his mom for us to attend the concert. We had a blast and enjoyed it! You can create sparks of joy throughout someone’s year based on the anticipation of a gift.
o Handwritten cards have become increasingly popular as people seek meaningful and memorable ways to celebrate special occasions. Unlike traditional gifts, which may eventually be forgotten or discarded, experience gifts provide lasting memories and unique moments that recipients can cherish forever. Whether it's a hot air balloon ride, a gourmet cooking class, a thrilling skydiving adventure, or a relaxing spa day, experience gift cards cater to a wide range of interests and preferences.
o These thoughtful presents not only offer the joy of anticipation but also encourage individuals to step out of their comfort zones and try something new. They can foster a sense of adventure, enhance personal growth, and even strengthen relationships when shared with loved ones. In a world where material possessions often dominate, giving the gift of an experience can truly stand out as a heartfelt gesture that resonates deeply with the recipient.
o The “why” to experience gifts is simple because you get to dig into how you authentically know someone with how they will enjoy something for the year to come and how it will continue to give back through memories for years to come.
· Topic 2: How do you do an experience gift?
o The gift of an experience gift is the gift you give to someone as an experience instead of the physical items. This can look like all kinds of things, but the fun part is it is personalized to the person you are buying for.
· You can do experience gifts for holidays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, wedding gifts, and so much more.
o Gift ideas can vary from person to person, but that is the fun in how you are giving the gift of experience, you’ll just have to decide if it is something for you guys to do together or if you are giving for them to do solo or for them to pick who is going with them.
· If you have someone who is tactile and creative, then you could give them a pottery class
· If you have a wine lover in your life, take them to a vineyard or give them the gift of wine tasting
· If you have a camper in your life, you can reserve them a campsite and pay for it in advance for them to really enjoy a camping trip
· The foodie in your life might just love to attend a cooking class to learn how to prepare a new meal
· You can gift the fun experience of an escape room for the fun of solving puzzles and riddles. This one can make for a great outing with friends or family to have time together during the holiday season.
· Plan a vacation together for the upcoming year. This one can look like you have a specific account that you put into all year long, so that you are able plan the trip according to what is in that account.
· Gift a museum pass that is an annual memberships that allow them to visit the museum as many times as they want to throughout the year to come.
o The opportunity of gift experience gifts is endless from dancing classes, game nights, meal kits, coupon books, date nights, coffee classes, and so much more! These are just the gifts that keep on gifting. You just want to personalize it to who you are purchasing for because that is the whole point of gifting to them, so they will be able to use the experience in the upcoming year and really enjoy themselves.
o You can create your own kits like an art box, movie night box, cooking basket, or an all about you basket.
o As you are presenting your experience gift, you can do it through writing them a coupon, wrap up the actual ticket to the event, print out the logo for what you are doing for them, buy a small item to represent, or you can give them something they need for the gift.
o You can always package your experienced gift in a themed package.
· Topic 3: Experience gift ideas
o Set-up a peaceful weekend getaway that will just help you have a peaceful time away from home for a few nights.
o Plan an adventure — like find somewhere to go on a hot air ballon ride over a unique scenery.
o Set up a moonlight hike with someone who loves to be in nature. Set a time and date that the moon will give you a beautiful light for a night hike.
o Find a show on Broadway that the person would love to attend and give them a couple of tickets to the event.
o Book a cooking class for that person who loves to be in the kitchen being creative.
o A gift card to somewhere like an escape room for them to take a group for a fun night out and you could pair that with a restaurant that is close to the escape room, so they can make it a complete night.
o There are monthly subscription boxes that are experience you can gift to someone who wants to learn about cheese, wines, an escape room, art and so much more that you can find for an interest that would keep on giving for a couple of months.
o You can give them an instrument lesson for the year or a few months.
o Art museums, science museums, botanical gardens, or zoos these are examples of annual membership options that you just might want to keep in mind as options for gift giving. These make for great annual gifts for some of those in your life to give them the gift of visiting all year long.
o Monthly flower subscriptions that would deliver to them monthly a beautiful seasonal bouquet.
o You can give a gift of masterclass
· Call to action: Select two to three individuals from your gift-giving list and treat them to a memorable experience this holiday season that they can cherish.
