Give Experiences Rather Than Things

While having lunch with a couple of friends this week, the topic of Black Friday came up. (Cue the dark music here.) One of them said I would "hate" the experience of a true Black Friday experience.  And, yes, I visibly cringed when she explained how people not only wait for hours to get into the store but then (naturally) wait for almost equally long amounts of time just to get someone to take their money! O.K. so I knew this happened.  I'm not that naive.  I just didn't know that it happened at every single Wal-Mart and every single Target and every single Home Depot and every single Macy's and every single Old Navy in Every Single Town!  

And, yeah, she's totally right.  I would not enjoy it.  As a teenager, my mom and I used to go shopping on the day after Thanksgiving (I don't even remember it being called Black Friday back then) but we never set our alarms or waited outside locked doors.  It was still overwhelmingly crowded when we showed up at noon though!

Don't do it... or at least don't make me.

Anyway, our lunch conversation veered toward what kind of gifts we truly enjoy giving and receiving.  We all agreed that experiences and thoughtfully homemade gifts outweighed anything from the mall.  

One friend makes gourmet kitchen items (think vanilla extract, spice mixes, and flavored olive oils) that she packages in reused glass jars.  People save baby food jars for her so she can reuse them.  The other friend said she usually gives donations in honor of each of her family members.  She asks each person about their favorite charities in advance so everyone is happy.  (I love this idea so nobody feels "ripped off" when it's not the charity of his/her choice.)

We've done each of these kinds of things but we've yet to find our "signature" gift.  Some of our biggest successes has been "adopting" an endangered species which comes with a stuffed animal or purchasing animals for a family in need plus a book about that particular animal for the birthday boy.

The thing we all seemed to like the most was giving or receiving an experience gift.  

There are a lot of ways to do this.  Is your husband's favorite band coming to town soon?  Get him tickets to the show.  Have a foodie friend or just someone who would rather not wash dishes every night?  A gift card to a local restaurant would probably be appreciated. If your recipient lives near a great botanical garden, you could give an annual pass.  Near a favorite theme park? Try giving a couple single day tickets. These types of gifts seem especially popular when bought for a child because then the parent (your friend, sister, cousin) or the giver (you) gets to make memories with the child when the gift is "cashed in."  

My best friend and I started giving these kinds of gifts when we were in college.  It worked out great.  She would buy me something like "a facial with a friend" package and I'd get her two tickets to a Broadway show or something similar.  No strings attached.  It worked out nicely that we usually didn't want to go with anyone else so we also ended up treating ourselves to a luxury and fun with a friend.  Win. Win.

Reuse a gift bag when needed but
experiences don't need wrapped!

Do you have anyone on your list that would appreciate an experience?  
Go greener; give less stuff but more fun this year!

Peace,

Stacey