With so much going on during the holiday season, it’s easy to suddenly realize you forgot someone on your list with only a few days to go until your gift exchange. If this happens, there’s no need to freak out — you can easily give them a last-minute gift that will not only be unforgettable but also will make it look like you had this planned all along and definitely did not forget.
Tickets to a Sporting Event
If you’re looking to gift an experience to someone who loves a certain sport or team, you can give them tickets to a game or event. If you’re looking for something more expensive, you could even gift them season tickets.
For example, if your gift recipient loves Nascar and has a preference for watching races on short tracks, speedways, or super-speedways, you can buy them tickets to one of the races on that type of track. You can even include accommodations if they’ll have to travel for the race.
Wine Tasting or Tour
Wine tastings and tours are a great experience to gift if you live close to a winery or wine region. Wine tours can work in a few different ways, either being run by one specific winery and taking you through their wine process, or they can be run by an outside tour company that takes you to multiple wineries.
If you don’t live near any wineries, you can look for tasting rooms nearby and give a gift card that is the cost of a tasting as well as a promise to go to the tasting with your gift recipient. A tasting is a great way to try out some wines you may not have before and learn more about the wines you’re trying.
A Helicopter Tour
Helicopter tours are an extremely unique experience that many people haven’t experienced before. Make sure that your gift recipient isn’t afraid of heights and get ready to see your city or town in a completely new way. The US has five times more heliports than any other country, so there will likely be an opportunity for a helicopter tour near enough to you and your gift recipient.
A Learning Subscription
Subscriptions to a service like Skillshare or Masterclass are a great way to help your gift recipient learn more. If they’re someone who picks up a new hobby every couple of months, this is a great way to facilitate their hobbies without accidentally giving them something that they’ve already moved past. A subscription to one of these services or a similar one will help your gift recipient learn almost anything they want to.
Pay for an Elective Treatment
When it comes to elective medical, dental, or orthodontic treatments, insurance doesn’t always cover it. If your gift recipient has mentioned in the past how much they think they would benefit from braces or a dermatologist consultation, you can gift them those things. Make sure that if you’re doing this, you’re gifting them something that they have mentioned before. Even if you know that the benefits of braces or other orthodontic treatments go past an aesthetic change, it may seem insulting to give someone who hasn’t asked for braces a promise of a set as a gift.
A Hobby-Based Trip
Trips that revolve around a certain activity or hobby, like skiing or surfing, are great ways to ensure that your gift recipient will enjoy their present. Because those activities are very location-centric, the recipient of your gift may not get to do that sport or activity as often as they may want. Depending on the schedule of the person you’re giving the trip to, you can have it just be an overnight excursion, a long weekend adventure, or a full week-long vacation. Make sure to think about this before you gift the trip to them.
Museum Passes or Memberships
If your gift recipient is a fan of a certain type of museum, you can gift them passes to a new museum or a yearly membership to a museum that they love. Many museums will offer memberships that include perks like more time in the museum, free or discounted tickets, or special offers that are only extended to members.
You can also gift a set of passes to your gift recipient so that they can visit a new museum that they have mentioned or that you think they would like. This gives them a chance to try out the museum without having to spend their own money and fear not enjoying the museum.
Annual Pass to National or State Parks
This gift will depend on where your gift recipient lives. If they aren’t near any national parks but are near a few state parks, a state park membership can be a great option. This is the perfect gift for someone who loves outdoor activities, like hiking, camping, fishing, or climbing. It can save them a lot of money on park costs and encourage them to get into the great outdoors more often than they may have without the pass.
Scavenger Hunt
If you’re looking for a low-budget activity to gift, a homemade scavenger hunt could be the option for you. Find a day when you know your gift recipient is free and set up a series of clues around your home, town, or city that will guide them through spots that matter to the two of you. If you want to spend some money, you can include tickets for spots like museums or money for shops that they love. This experience is fully customizable and is definitely the most flexible option on this list. You can do this anywhere and make it perfect for anyone as long as you put in a few hours of forethought.
Forgetting someone’s gift until the last minute doesn’t mean that you have to get them a generic gift card that shows you forgot. Gifting an experience can show that you know someone well and you know what they care about. The memories that they will have from the experience you gift will last much longer than anything else you could possibly gift them.
What experiences are you gifting this holiday season? What’s the best experience you’ve ever been gifted? Let us know in the comments!
