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This holiday season, if you're looking to get away from a typical material gift and give something more exciting and enriching, there are incredible experiences all over the country that make unique and memorable gifts. From cooking classes to paint nights, here are some of the best experiential gifts to treat everyone on your list.
Prices and availability are subject to change.
Price varies from Let's Roam
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Let's Roam crafts scavenger hunts that also double as city tours in over 400 locations around the world. You walk around your city looking for hidden secrets and must-see spots in a gamified app-driven hunt full of puzzles, riddles, and challenges. You can also choose from themed hunts, including bar hunts, date nights, and ghost tours, to further personalize the gift.
Price varies from Cinemark
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If there's a cinema buff in your life, you can do better than a new streaming stick or a collector's edition of their favorite film. Cinemark allows you to host private watch parties for up to 30 guests at theaters across the country. They can choose from several popular films, and the price is a lot more reasonable than you'd expect, depending on time and film.
$10 per month and up from MasterClass
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Whether you know someone who's celebrity-obsessed or just loves learning, a subscription to MasterClass and its expert-led courses could be the gift that keeps on giving. Each class includes an average of 20 lessons, but they aren't a huge time commitment at roughly 10 minutes a pop. The gift membership offers a full year of access to the entire MasterClass library. They can take a creative-writing class from Margaret Atwood, learn about conservation from Jane Goodall, or drop in on a chess lesson from Garry Kasparov.
$25 and up from Uncommon Goods
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Here's a gift idea for someone who loves handcrafts from stores like Uncommon Goods. Learn how to create hot sauce or mix a cocktail, paint your pet's portrait, create handmade jewelry, and more with one of these online experiences.
$30 and up from The Adventure Challenge
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Who doesn't want more quality time with the people they love? These books contain 50 scratch-off suggestions for fun activities for couples or the entire family. Each "surprise" adventure comes with an estimated time commitment and cost, usually $20 or less. And each entry includes a place to include a photo and notes, so books become cherished keepsakes even after the challenges are long-completed. There's also a version for solo adventures, a "naughty" edition, and bundles that include an instant camera.
Price varies from American School of Floral Design
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Many nurseries offer flower arranging classes for amateur florists, as do botanical gardens, arboretums, and college extension programs. The American School of Floral Design has schools and classes across the country, as well as COVID-friendly online classes. Participants are sent a full box of flowers so that they can easily follow along from their own homes.
Related: The Best Gifts for Plant Lovers
Price varies from Cameo
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Here's a fun gift for someone besotted with celebrities, athletes, and pop stars. Cameo connects gift givers with celebs to create personal greetings and one-on-one virtual experiences. The lucky recipient can share their gift on social media, so friends and family can share in the fun.
$29 and up from Sur La Table
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Indulge the foodie in your life by giving them cooking classes that will help sharpen their skills in the kitchen. If you're lucky, they may even treat you to a meal after. Sur La Table's famed cooking classes have moved online and offer a huge range of dishes, from fresh pasta to stir fry. Each class lasts about 90 to 120 minutes.
Price varies from Driftaway Coffee
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What coffee lover wouldn't love the opportunity to learn how to properly brew, serve, and savor their favorite beverage? These live events are hosted by 2013 World Brewer's Champion James McCarthy, who leads participants though tasting and evaluating four coffee samples.
$80 from USGS Store
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For the outdoorsy folks in your life, a chance to explore the nation's national parks might be the greatest gift of all. With the National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Annual Pass, an avid hiker or camper can enjoy the nation's natural wonders all year long. The pass allows the holder and up to three adults access to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites.
Related: Outdoor Gift Ideas Under $50
$40/year and up from Curiosity Stream
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Perfect for the film buff who has already depleted the documentaries on other streaming services and loves to learn. Curiosity Stream focuses on movies, TV shows, and even live education events, covering topics on science, technology, history, culture, and more.
$97 per year from Craftsy
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We all know someone who always seems to be knitting, scrapbooking, sewing, or otherwise finding outlets for their creativity. Think of Craftsy as a sort of MasterClass for crafty types. It offers more than 1,500 expert-led classes in an array of disciplines, including crochet, watercolors, jewelry making, knitting, and more.
$12,000 and up from LifeTime Memoirs
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Talk about the ultimate gift of a lifetime, literally! LifeTime Memoirs connects the gift recipient with a credentialed biographer, who will interview them in person or virtually over the course of 12 or more sessions. The result is a bound, published biography of up to 45,000 words, plus audio highlights and more.
Price varies from Porsche Experience Center
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There's no better gift for a car enthusiast than the chance to get behind the wheel of a vehicle that they would otherwise likely never be able to touch, let alone afford. The Porsche Experience Center in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Birmingham, Alabama, allows drivers to pilot the latest Porsche models on thrilling courses. There are also exceptional restaurants, state-of-the-art driving simulators, and a selection of vehicles from the Porsche Museum in Germany and collectors in the United States.
Prices vary from Ecole Chocolat
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Chocoholics will love the gift of chocolate-making classes that they can complete in the comfort of their own kitchens. Ecole Chocolat offers an intensive professional chocolatier program and a bean-to-bar program for professionals and home chocolate makers, as well as options for those who want to learn more about chocolate but not as a profession.
Price varies from TaskRabbit
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Everyone can use a break from chores, projects, tasks, and "honey dos." Whether it's a DIY project they've been meaning to get to or just the weekly housecleaning routine, give someone a break by hiring someone from TaskRabbit to do the job instead. The gift of extra free time is priceless.
$67 and up from Babbel
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It's never too late in life to learn another language, and lessons can be an amazing gift for an eager learner. Babbel offers gift codes that allow the recipient to unlock access to 6 months, 12 months, or 24 months of lessons for a single language. Pay a bit more and they can dabble in all 14 languages that Babbel offers, from Spanish to Turkish.
Price varies from SpaFinder
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Sometimes the best experiential gifts are the ones where the recipient doesn't have to do a thing. Treat a special someone to a day at a spa, where they can get a massage, soak in hot springs, lounge in the sauna and steam room, and enjoy lots of pampering. Gift cards through SpaFinder cover thousands of locations across the country.
Price varies from Yaymaker
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Whether they're an aspiring artist or more of a paint-by-numbers enthusiast, an evening painting their own masterpiece offers the chance to get artsy while enjoying a drink and a little socializing. Yaymaker offers virtual painting events for those who would prefer not to participate in person.
Price varies from Virgin Experience Gifts
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The perfect gift for that friend or family member who has always wanted to take to the skies, a scenic glider ride promises stunning views and the thrill of a lifetime, without all the noise from an airplane engine to distract them. Virgin Experience Gifts offers glider rides in a variety of locations including from Boulder, Colorado, where highlights include breathtaking views of the Flatirons, the Continental Divide, and more.
Prices vary from American Alpine Institute
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If someone you know has always wanted to climb or improve their climbing skills, treat them to lessons. The American Alpine Institute offers climbing courses for all levels around Washington, California, Alaska, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. On the East Coast, try out Eastern Mountain Sports Climbing School in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Prices vary greatly depending on skill level, length, and location.
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$75 and up from Trapeze School New York
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For the friend or family member who always fantasized about joining the circus, trapeze schools offer them the chance to float through the air with the greatest of ease. Trapeze School New York offers classes for all levels in flying trapeze, silks, trampoline work, acrobatics, and more, and it also has locations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
Prices vary from Go Ape
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Treetop adventure courses challenge participants to make their way across tricky rope bridges, climb across shaky platforms, and woosh down zip lines. Go Ape has 14 courses sprinkled around the country, and prices vary based on location and activity, but expect to pay about $40 or $50 at least. Gift cards are available.
$20 per month from Steezy Studio
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Whether they have two left feet or already feel at home on the dance floor, dance lessons are a fun gift for all skill levels. Most studios offer several levels, from beginner to advanced, and you can usually find a range of classes, including ballroom, tango, salsa, swing, modern, jazz, and even square dancing. Steezy Studio offers unlimited access to more than 600 classes.
$80 and up from Graceland
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If there's an Elvis Presley fan on your holiday shopping list, treat them to the ultimate experience by sending them to Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. There they can tour the home of the King, immerse themselves in interactive exhibits, and eat at the smokehouse or diner. COVID-19 safety protocols are in effect. For the more diehard fans, there are VIP tours that add more exclusive activities, including the ability to skip the line or get insight from an expert guide.
Price varies from School of Rock
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Whether they've always wanted to learn to play an instrument or are looking to improve their skills, music lessons certainly aren't limited to kids. If they love to sing, don't forget that voice lessons are widely available, too. School of Rock offers online classes for kids and adults of all skill levels on guitar, bass, drums, vocals, and keyboard.
$65 and up from iFly
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While skydiving from an airplane might be a little too advanced for some people on your gift list, indoor skydiving offers a less-lofty experience that's still a thrill. It's also suitable for people of all ages, from kids to seniors. Treat them to a gift card from iFly Indoor Skydiving, which has locations around the country and is available to participants as young as 3. Equipment is sanitized after each use, fresh air is used inside wind tunnels, and check-in is contact-free.
Prices vary from Professional Association of Diving Instructors
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If someone on your holiday gift list has always wanted to scuba dive or is looking to get more experience, you can make it happen with the gift of lessons. Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) offers lessons for all levels. Beginner classes start with online learning and transition to both confined water dives and open water dives with local instructors. It's just over $200 for a beginner PADI Open Water Diver course, and there are continuing education classes starting around $66.
$100 from Blending Lab
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A good bottle of wine is a common holiday gift, so why not mix things up and give someone the chance to blend their own wine? The Blending Lab in Los Angeles is offering virtual wine blending classes that allow participants to learn how to taste wine, find out what makes each grape varietal unique, learn how to blend their very own kind of vino. A blending kit, wine, and virtual class for two are included.
Related: The Best Gifts for Wine Lovers
$23 and up from Breakout Games
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Escape rooms are hugely popular and offer participants the challenge of solving puzzles with their teammates in order to get out of a themed room. Each room is unique, and the themes range from spy adventures and casino heists to prison breaks, haunted houses, desert islands, and more. Breakout Games has locations around the country that offer private sessions, contact-free check-ins, and more frequent sanitation.
$32 and up from Skirmish Paintball
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A fun way to get someone's heart racing while testing their aim, paintball makes for a great holiday gift. The incredibly elaborate castles and towns of Skirmish Paintball in Pennsylvania offer what might be the nation's ultimate paintball experience, with plenty of room on the courses for social distancing. Gift cards are available, too.
Price varies from Airbnb
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Whether you're buying a gift for someone traveling or staying local, Airbnb Experiences offers a great way to get to know cities both new and old. From ghost tours and scenic horse rides to taco crawls and Turkish coffee tastings, there's a little something for everyone on your gift list.
Prices vary from Farm Stay USA
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What do you get for that city dweller or suburbanite who's longing for greener pastures? A farm stay can offer a meaningful, memorable experience beyond a regular weekend trip, giving participants a chance to help chip in on working farms and ranches. Farm Stay USA is a good guide to options all over the country, whether you're looking to give an intimate experience or a stay on a larger farm. A picturesque Vermont farm, for instance, gives visitors a chance to collect eggs and cuddle barn kittens, while an Arkansas farm offers classes like cheesemaking and an array of animals, including alpacas and even lemurs.
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