Ever since I started purging my house of clutter, I’ve felt that experiences are the best types of gifts to give and receive. Lo and behold, the latest episode of the Hidden Brain podcast affirms it! In “The Secret To Gift Giving” researcher Jeffrey Galak says:
There’s been a fair bit of work in psychology, generally, looking at the differences between experiences and material possessions outside of the world of gift-giving. And what we tend to find in that work is that, all else being equal (if you fix things on price), experiences tend to bring more joy to people. And that plays out exactly in gift-giving as well. The challenge, though, is that gift givers don’t understand and appreciate this. So gift givers prefer to give material possessions over experiences (again, all else being equal) but recipients prefer the opposite.
Hidden Brain podcast, 37:27.
So, generally, people really do prefer to receive an experience over something to store in their homes. Plus there’s a double benefit to experience gifts: first, there’s the delight of giving the person notification of the upcoming experience, then there’s the experience itself. Not to mention the anticipation in between! Here are some of my favorite experience gifts to give:
Hit the Movies ($)
A great experience gift for couples, families, or kids is a movie package. Movie tickets are still affordable, seats can be reserved online ahead of time, the “buttered” popcorn is so good and you can smuggle in $1 boxes of Junior Mints and Reese’s Pieces from the grocery store. Plus it’s easy to find out what the big theater chain is near your person and have a physical or e-gift card sent to them.
Brunch or Dinner Out ($$-$$$)
For Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and other days, too (Christmas, birthdays), I like to take my parents out for brunch or dinner somewhere. Our local brunch favorites are Snooze, Lucile’s and The Silver Grill Cafe (this is actually over an hour-long drive for me, but worth it for cinnamon roll French toast). For dinner we’re repeat customers at D Bar (don’t leave without having the churros!), Denver Chophouse and Izakaya Den. Giving super-local gift cards to people is also fun if you know them well enough to know they’ll enjoy using it. We’re giving my daughter’s burrito-loving high school homeroom teacher a gift card to local favorite Bonfire Burritos this year.
An Escape/Puzzle Room ($$-$$$ depending on the number of people)
A great experience gift for kids is a homemade gift certificates in their stocking letting them know they can look forward to a puzzle room experience with a couple of friends over winter break. The beauty of this is it’s a physical activity instead of a sitting-around one and it’s an experience that brings people closer together through working toward a common goal. Local favorites for us include Golden Puzzle Room, Conundrum (we did “Cabin in the Woods” and it was so good) and Puzzle Effect (especially “Curse on the Emerald Seas”). Sometimes you can find discounts on Groupon.
Pottery Painting ($-$$ depending on the pieces you choose)
My sister has taken her kids and mine to paint pottery as a Christmas gift before and they had so much fun together. It’s a huge bonus because we live an hour apart so it’s nice to do an activity that lets everyone sit and talk for a couple of hours, being silly together and being creative with paint. Her local favorite is Crackpots. I guess this is an experience and a physical gift because you come away with a souvenir after the pottery gets fired.
Indoor Play/Trampoline Park ($$-$$$)
I’m very big into getting the kids to be active, so getting them to an indoor trampoline park with their cousins or friends is a huge win all around. One thing to be aware of with these places is hidden costs like mandatory grippy socks that they make you buy there, or restrictions on outside food/drink. Despite those potential hassles, still a big win for the energy expenditure of would-be couch taters.
Afternoon Tea ($$)
In our area, afternoon tea seems to run in the $30 per-person range. I like it because when it’s done right, you get a delightful assortment of tiny foods which means you get to taste more things! Our favorite is D Bar in Denver. I like that it’s modern, not fussy, not “gendered” (boys like to eat good food, too!), and you get quite a bit of food. I took my daughter for her birthday last year and we both had leftovers to bring home. It’s good for a group, too — my parents have taken all of the grandkids, ages 4-16 at the time. Afternoon tea can be an especially thoughtful experience gift when you go with the person because it’s something you linger over and restaurants often offer it at quieter times of the day. There’s no need to fuss over the menu because it’s usually preset. Just pour your tea (or coffee) and nibble and chat away.
Museum/Zoo Outing or Annual Pass (varies from $$-$$$)
I know a lot of families that receive annual passes to area museums and zoos from their parents/in-laws. Meanwhile in the past I’ve taken my nieces to the Denver Zoo as their Christmas gift and plan to do so again! Other great spots in Denver to gift outings to are the Children’s Museum for families with little kids, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for kids of all ages and Meow Wolf — all places that I’ve been to with the fam and enjoyed. My sister treated the kids to an outing at The Wild Animal Sanctuary last year which is quite far from the city, but that made it even more “adventurey.” Certain events that are holiday-specific like Zoo Lights and Blossoms of Light also make great gifts and, in my experience, both of these are actually MORE enjoyable just after Christmas because the crowds are smaller.
Happy gifting!
What I’m reading: Find A Way: The Inspiring Story of One Woman’s Pursuit of a Lifelong Dream by Diana Nyad.
What I’m watching: The Peripheral on Amazon Prime Video. Dystopian sci-fi starring Chloë Grace Moretz.
Stacy
I love this so much!! You’re so talented!!