What do you get someone who has everything?
This question likely echoes through our thoughts during every gift-giving season or special event. In a world where it’s so easy to buy yourself exactly what you want or need when you want or need it, the skill of giving meaningful or sentimental gifts can be hard to come by.
But it might be time to reassess your approach. What if your loved one doesn’t need something — but an experience?
Whether your goal is to help them create memories that will last a lifetime or just provide them an afternoon of relaxation and stress relief, there are plenty of experience gifts out there that will make your gift recipient feel special and appreciated.
Not to mention, an experience gift is also typically a more sustainable gift. No shipping, wrapping, landfills, or waste required.
Here are some of the best experience gifts you should consider this season —
By the way, some of the products and links in this article are affiliates, which means we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Everything in this article was independently and honestly written by the Good Good Good team. Thank you for your support!
You might also like: The Best Consumable Gifts
Our Favorite Experience Gifts — That Are Way More Memorable Than Any Old Item
A Kobo eReader
Gift a page-turning present for the reader in your life – from the armchair detective to the bathtub-reading romantic.
Kobo eReaders are jam-packed with features they’ll love, like front lights, an always-open bookstore, public library access and many more.
Can’t decide which model to choose? We’ve reviewed some of our favorite Kobo eReaders to make it even easier.
An excursion from Getaway
Getaway has “Outposts” in various cities in North America that are designed to be more than a destination and “create distance from the relentless demands of work, schedules, and technology.”
Gift the person you love an unscheduled, unstructured, and uninterrupted vacation that will leave them feeling refreshed and energized.
A meal subscription box
You’ve heard all the rave reviews about meal boxes — who wouldn’t want to make their weekly grocery load lighter?!
Gift them the greatest present of all: Not having to decide on dinner.
→ Shop: Misfits Market | Purple Carrot
Language-learning lessons
Is your gift recipient planning a big trip to a foreign country? Do they want to reconnect with their heritage? Or do they just want to sound cool while speaking French?
Consider a subscription to a language learning software!
→ Learn a language with Rosetta Stone
A flower delivery subscription
There are few experiences more delightful than a surprise flower bouquet to freshen up your space and remind you how loved you are.
Don’t just let this joy be a one-time event, and set up a flower delivery subscription for the special people in your life.
→ Send flowers from Urban Stems
A book filled with adventure prompts
Sometimes the best thing you can give someone is an idea of what to even do! The Adventure Book is full of scratch-off activities — for couples and solo travelers alike.
→ Shop: The Adventure Challenge | Amazon
MasterClass subscription
MasterClass is a platform where the world’s greatest leaders teach next-level classes to help you learn new skills and see the world differently. It’s almost like an exclusive TED Talk.
With a wide variety of topics in activism, conservation, business, food, wellness, and more — taught by leaders such as Dr. Jane Goodall and Amanda Gorman — there’s a MasterClass for everybody.
→ Gift a MasterClass membership
A custom video from their favorite celebrity
Cameo is a place where you can request custom video messages from a huge library of celebrities, influencers, athletes, and more. Find your gift recipient’s fav and give them some words of encouragement they’ll replay over and over.
An outdoor class or expedition from REI
Whether it’s a hiking trip led by an expert, or an all-expenses-paid course on outdoor and survival skills, your adventure lover will love this.
An appointment to get a new piercing
Rowan is a piercing salon with locations across the company. The best part? It’s marketed as the safest piercing experience ever — done only by licensed nurses.
An escape room in a box
OK, we’d recommend starting with an IRL escape room experience, but if your gift recipient is a homebody who loves a good puzzle, this is the gift for them.
This exciting cooperation game requires players to solve 19 mental and physical puzzles that even connect to Amazon Alexa for an enhanced experience.
→ Shop: Amazon
Or, for the true crime enthusiasts, a murder mystery game
If your gift recipient is a little more interested in the macabre, there are also loads of true crime games on the market that will make for a fun night in.
Whether they want to “Hunt A Killer” or sort through some “Unsolved Case Files,” their murder mystery is just an “add to cart” away.
→ Shop: Amazon
A subscription to Rent the Runway
Got a fashionista on your gift-giving list? A subscription to Rent the Runway is a great way to help them embrace some new styles without breaking the bank — or the planet!
Psst… check out our other recommendations for renting a dress, too!
→ Gift a Rent the Runway subscription
A cooking class led by a culinary expert
Whether your loved one is already a whiz in the kitchen or they need to learn some more basics, there is a cooking class out there that will cater (pun definitely intended) to their every wish.
→ Shop: Uncommon Goods | Sur La Table
A Make Your Own Hot Sauce kit
Do we have a “Hot Ones” fan in the house?! Help them bring their spiciest fantasies (no… not that kind) to life with a DIY hot sauce kit.
→ Shop: Etsy | Uncommon Goods
A homemade sourdough starter kit
So what if they’re a few years late to the sourdough game? Bread is always a good idea.
→ Gift a sourdough starter kit
A spa treatment of their choosing
Gifting someone a spa treatment can always be difficult. How long of a massage would they want? Or would they prefer a facial? Maybe they just want their nails done?
Leave the decision-making to them, but make pampering themselves a bit easier with a SpaFinder gift card. All they have to do is plug in their zip code to find a participating spa near them.
A GlossLab mani/pedi membership
Maybe a mani/pedi is the move. GlossLab offers manicures and pedicures in their hygienic and convenient studios across the country. When you become a member, you can have access to unlimited manis and pedis. That’s right — unlimited.
This one is perfect for the nail art queens out there.
→ Gift a nail salon experience with GlossLab
A hands-on class from SkillShare
Skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of classes across countless topics. For the creative-minded gift recipient, Skillshare is great for learning more about illustration, design, photography, video, freelancing, and more.
Gift a class or set them up for success with a membership.
→ Gift a SkillShare class or membership
Tinggly Happy Holiday Experience Gift Box
The Tinggly Happy Holiday Experience gift box allows you to pay for a loved one’s expenses on their next adventure! You pay a flat fee, and your recipient gets to select an experience or getaway of their choice.
Send them on a national park journey or simply can pick a destination like Colorado or Alaska and pay for your giftee’s stay in a beautiful hotel on their next journey.
Tinggly also plants trees with the Eden Reforestation Project every time you make a purchase!
An all-inclusive fitness and wellness pass
With thousands of classes and appointments to choose from — we’re talking fitness groups and sauna visits, people — a ClassPass gift card is the perfect self-care treat for those you love most.
→ Gift a fitness class with ClassPass
America The Beautiful National Park Pass
Need a gift for the national park lover in your life? Make it easy with an America The Beautiful National Park Pass!
This pass is good for a year’s worth of visits to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites across the U.S, including all the national parks. Take the stress of parking and logistics out of your loved one’s next trip with this easy and all-inclusive pass.
A tent for their next outdoor adventure
A solid tent is the experience gift that keeps giving! Keep them safe, cozy, and comfortable on their next camping trip with this awesome four-person camping tent with dark room technology.
An indoor skydiving lesson
Does your loved one have a taste for adventure — but maybe isn’t quite ready to jump out of a plane? We’ve got the next best thing!
Give them a memorable experience with an indoor skydiving lesson at a location near them.
This flower arranging class from Uncommon Goods
This 90-minute flower arranging class is perfect for any “budding” artist.
Help them enjoy the relaxing benefits of a creative, hands-on activity that allows them to create a work of living art, all directed by an expert floral artist who will share her professional techniques and designs.
→ Gift a flower arranging class
A goat milk soap-making kit
This fun and easy kit includes everything you need to make high-quality, custom soap — including three whole pounds of goat milk soap base.
Inspire your loved one to learn a new DIY craft or update their soap-making skills with these artisan creations.
This DIY solar printing kit
Who needs paint when you have the sun?! This eco-friendly DIY solar printing kit helps your giftee use items from nature to make beautiful art prints.
Using the craft of cyanotype printing, this beginner-friendly art method will turn into a hobby for the ages.
→ Gift a solar printing kit from Etsy
Headspace subscription
We could all use an excuse to take a deep breath these days. Give them the permission they need to unwind and mediate with ease.
Headspace has three-month and one-year gifting options to help incorporate everyday mindfulness, better sleep, and joyful movement into your loved ones’ lives.
→ Gift a subscription to Headspace
This create-your-own-video-game set
This digital experience is the perfect gift for gamers ages eight and up. Modeled after the first handheld video game console (from 1976), this customizable gaming device lets high-score seekers play their own game — or enjoy the classics.
With a computer and free web-based, beginner-friendly editor, gamers as young as eight can practice coding and programming to transform this unit into a portal to adventure.
A starter candle kit from Siblings
Siblings is an eco-friendly candle brand that meshes its commitment to the planet with a DIY element. With non-toxic scents, clean coconut wax blends, and 100% compostable packaging, your gift recipient can create their own candle completely guilt-free.
→ Gift a candle-making kit from Siblings
This unique tarot reading
The Tarot Trio from Birthdate is the ultimate experience, designed to use the mysteries of the tarot to reveal insights into one’s past, present, and future.
Inside three candles, your gift recipient will find gold-plated charms depicting three tarot cards in the most unique reading they’ve ever had.
→ Gift tarot candle reading from Birthdate
A fragrance Explorer Box from Olfactory NYC
If your gift recipient loves trying out new fragrances or can’t stop talking about how they’re still on the hunt for the perfect perfume, consider the Explorer Box from Olfactory NYC!
The box includes 3-milliliter samples of Olfactory’s nine core scents. Your gift recipient can choose their favorite to customize — and then get a $20 off coupon on the next step in the custom scent creation process.
→ Send a fragrance Explorer Box
This DIY silver ring-making kit
The only thing more fun than wearing and styling jewelry? Creating it.
This easy DIY silver ring-making kit is a great beginner gift that walks your giftee through the process of carving a ring of their own. The kit comes with jeweler’s wax and a video tutorial.
Once they’re done carving and sculpting, they’ll send it back to have it cast into silver and professionally polished!
Some interior design help from Havenly
As beautifully chaotic as many home decor Pinterest boards are, sometimes we need the help of a professional. If your gift recipient loves styling and curating their living space, this could be the perfect gift for them!
Gift an online or in-person consultation with a professional interior designer. The experience includes tailoring a plan to your gift recipient’s preferences, collaborating with a professional designer, and access to a catalog of hundreds of home brands.
→ Gift an interior design consultation
Or a mindful decluttering workshop
Maybe your gift recipient isn’t ready to redesign their whole home but could use a little help making it more functional.
This Mindful Organizing workshop invites your gift recipient to spend two hours with a professional organizer — learning efficient, holistic ways to keep their space functional and clutter-free.
→ Book a decluttering consultation
This VR headset that contains hundreds of experiences
Got a tech-savvy loved one on your shopping list? A VR headset provides hundreds of immersive experiences they’re dreaming of.
With 3D positional audio, hand-tracking, and haptic feedback, users can access over 250 titles across gaming, fitness, social and multiplayer entertainment.
→ Shop: Amazon
A plant care workshop from The Sill
It’s the gift every overwhelmed plant parent needs: a plant care workshop! It can be so tricky to remember all the need-to-know info about various plants, so The Sill has created a multitude of online courses for the beginner green thumbs of the world.
The brand also offers a number of interactive in-person workshops, too!
→ Gift a plant care workshop from The Sill
For the dog parents, a DIY dog treat cooking class
As someone who loves her dog more than most human beings, I can confirm that this would be a dream experience to receive as a gift.
Your gift recipient will join other dog lovers for a 90-minute class that instructs them how to bake a canine-friendly cake and sweet, snackable dog treats.
→ Bake some biscuits with Uncommon Goods
Guitar lessons from Fender
Fender Play is Fender’s complete learning app for guitar, bass, and ukulele. By purchasing a gift card, you’ll help those budding musicians learn their first songs with step-by-step lessons, progress tracking, and an exclusive online community of players and instructors.
A songwriting studio session
Now, we can’t all be Taylor Swift, but if your gift recipient is a singer-songwriter who wants to improve their skills, this is a great way to support their craft.
A monthly knitting subscription box
Calling all crafters! This knitting subscription box delivers everything needed to create a hand knit or crochet project.
Each box includes one monthly project with instructions and materials like yarn, needles, tools, and more.
→ Gift a knitting subscription
A book subscription from Book Of The Month Club
For the reader who loves to stay on top of new book releases, Book Of The Month Club offers three-, six-, and 12-month gift subscription options.
Your recipient will get to choose from five to seven curated hardcover and audiobook selections each month — and their books arrive in a luxurious blue box complete with sassy bookmarks. Plus, they can easily skip any month until they find a story they love.
→ Gift a monthly book subscription
A Goodnewspaper subscription
If you’re loving the subscription idea, this one’s our favorite.
We’ll admit our bias on this one: Every month Good Good Good creates a beautiful print newspaper filled with good news.
You can join thousands of subscribers who receive positivity on their doorstep — with themed issues like The Animals Edition, The Sustainability Edition, and The Mental Health Edition.
Plus, it’s small enough to be a stocking stuffer.
A scavenger hunt around the city
Let’s Roam takes the tricky logistics out of adventures and makes them even more fun. Check out scavenger hunts in cities across the country, as well as other games, activities, and team-building exercises.
→ Book a scavenger hunt with Let’s Roam
For the snow bunnies, a ski pass to one of 36 resorts in North America
Whether you want to gift someone a day pass for an upcoming vacation or you want to fund their year of skiing the slopes, Epic Pass offers a few different ski pass options for the snow bunnies in your life.
Plus, skiers and riders get immediate access to an online concierge that helps them plan the perfect ski vacation and keep track of multi-day itineraries.
An at-home pottery kit from Sculpd
While the dream scenario is for everyone to be able to access a pottery or ceramics class taught by a skilled teacher, the DIY route is also a fun and accessible way to tap into their creativity.
This at-home pottery kit from Sculpd includes enough clay to share between two people for four to six creations, white paint and varnish, and an illustrated pottery guide.
Bright Cellars wine subscription
Let’s be real: The wine aisle isn't for everyone. Help your gift recipient take the guesswork out of shopping for wine with Bright Cellars.
All they have to do is take a quick seven-question quiz to assess their taste preferences, and Bright Cellars will deliver wine right to their doorstep.
For the botanical enthusiast, an at-home kombucha starter kit
True love is sharing your SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). This kombucha starter kit includes everything your giftee needs to make great tea right at home.
With organic tea, sugar, and a fresh live SCOBY culture, combined with materials like a glass jar and spigot, cloth cover, rubber band, and a printed brewing guide, they’ll be set up for success — and a healthier gut — in no time.
A night at the movies
Although it might seem simple, paying for a night at the movies is a generous gift almost anyone would appreciate receiving. Free tickets to the newest blockbuster? A large popcorn that doesn’t cost your life savings? Count us in.
