As a company selling physical gifts, it may seem strange to hear us singing the praises of experience gifts. However, after many years in business we know a thing or two about gifting, and absolutely believe that there is a place for both physical AND experience gifts. Experience gifts often tick a lot of boxes physical gifts can’t, especially for certain recipients.
Here are five reasons why you should consider purchasing experience gifts for your family and friends:
1. Reduce clutter
The recent trend of minimalizing, simplifying, and decluttering has led many people to judiciously consider every single item they bring into their home. As a result, many recipients become frustrated when all their hard work decluttering throughout the year comes undone at Christmas time and birthdays. After these gift-giving occasions they suddenly have to find space to store a bunch of gifts they didn’t request (or really want). The pain is particularly real for people renting or living in small apartments where space is at a premium, and they will eventually move from.
2. The gift that keeps giving
The beauty of Experience gifts – such as a facial or massage, tickets to a show or sporting game, or an “adventure gift” (like skydiving or bungee jumping) – is that they are all things that need to be booked in advance. The person giving these gifts usually wouldn’t book these on behalf of the recipient in advance for fear of giving away the surprise, or booking a date that doesn’t suit the recipient. Therefore, the recipient has to book the experience after they receive it, which provides the added bonus of anticipation – looking forward to the activity – after the gift has been given. Gifts that require booking keep the joy of a special occasion (such as a birthday) alive long after the event has passed.
3. Can be enjoyed with others
Many experience gifts, such as a meal out, or a weekend away are activities that can be enjoyed with other people – like the recipient’s partner or family. Including other people in the experience make it more memorable and fun for the recipient when they look back and recall “remember when we had that beautiful meal at my favourite restaurant?”. The recipient gets to relish a wonderful moment with loved ones at the time, PLUS the memory to look back on – double gift!
4. Create memories
As above, experience gifts shared with others can create beautiful memories to be treasured, but the experience itself can also be a wonderful memory, especially if you learn of try something new (such as cooking or eating a new cuisine), or meet new people as a result. Many of our strongest memories are centred around “firsts”: first day of school, first date, first kiss, etc., so giving a “first” experience gift works in much the same way.
5. Help them tick off their bucket list
The ultimate experience gifts are the ones we have on our bucket lists – the things we’ve always wanted to do, or plan to do in the future. Many bucket list items feel extravagant or unjustifiable to organise ourselves because of time and money…these make the PERFECT experience gifts! The trick is working out which items these are on your recipient’s list – this is where a heartfelt conversation about what’s important in their life over a glass of wine never goes astray…as long as you make a note of what they said! If the item is too expensive, consider going in with a group of friends – especially for a milestone birthday. Conversely, be sure to let your family and friends know the special things on your bucket list so they can do the same for you!
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