Public Gardens Whether it’s the Japanese gardens with tea service, botanical gardens featuring local flora and fauna, or local estate or farm gardens, spending the day visiting a garden offers a way to connect with culture and the natural world. Zoos and Refuges A trip to the zoo is a great shared experience. Although popular during fair weather months, zoos are typically open year round and offer a variety of seasonal events to keep the public’s interest. So don’t write off a visit in the winter when the lights are on display! Similarly, if you have a wildlife sanctuary in your area, it makes for a memorable outing and a great gift for those who are passionate about animals and their wellbeing. From elk to wolves to crocodiles and turtles, there are countless ways refuges provide to interact with wildlife and help with conservation efforts. Pampering Gifts If you’re looking for a way to help a friend or family member relax, look into a spa certificate or a more targeted gift of massage, nail treatment, hair styling, or mud bath. Your gift will support the service industry and elicit a smile from your friend, too. Museum Memberships From galleries full of art to historical displays and traveling exhibitions, museums are a great way to expand our understanding of and connection to the world around us. A museum membership might be the perfect gift for the history buff, star seeker, art enthusiast, science geek, or entertainment lover. A year’s membership to your local art or science museum typically comes with its own perks, such as member newsletters, events, lectures, and other programming that allow your gift recipient to meet and mingle with others who share similar interests. Classes From wreath-making to cooking to scuba diving, with a little research you’ll find that classes are available for every interest and specialty. Encourage some new hobbies with the gift of learning.
Top Tips for Giving Gifts of Experience When you give an experience, bear in mind that it might take a while for the recipient to book and schedule their activity, but when they do you’ll be rewarded by hearing all about it or even being there to share in the memories (and the photographs). If you love giving a tangible gift and watching the recipient open it, you can still do this with experiences. Think about a small token or symbolic item that might symbolize the larger gift, or print out information about the experience and add it to a holiday card. tokens like luggage tags, passport wallets, travel guidebooks, or airplane pillows as gifts to signify the upcoming vacation. Living on the Edge If you have an adrenaline junkie on your list, look to experiences that involve helicopters, small planes, a closed racetrack with supercars, go-kart racing, bungee jumping, skydiving, or other activities that might be outside your comfort zone and fit well in theirs. Depending on where you live, there may be a local option like jet boats, parasailing, or sand surfing. Grab tickets to an escape room, head to the firing range, try out ax throwing, or hit a suspended obstacle course. Look into community listings for a three-hour class on basket weaving at your local arts collective or pay for a weekend workshop on native plants at the botanical gardens. Your neighborhood parks & recreation department or regional state park might offer courses where you can learn camping, kayaking, wilderness survival, fly fishing, or even mushroom foraging. Art schools, community colleges, and makerspaces offer lessons in ceramics, jewelry making, chocolate making, computer coding, painting, gardening, creative writing, foreign languages, or nearly any other field of interest. Trips Whether a short getaway or a full-fledged vacation, the gift of travel will always be rewarding for both giver and recipient. Book a weekend at the coast, nearby winery, or bed & breakfast, or visit a mountain cabin, historical site, or music festival. For a family or group trip, you might give your recipients small, useful
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