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Welcome to this month’s Blogorail Black Loop. Today we are sharing our holiday gift guides.
(This post contains an affiliate link- more on that at the bottom of this post)
Have you heard about “experience” gifts? These are gifts that keep on giving, and don’t take up a lot of space! Perfect for the person who has everything, children who have plenty of toys, or for families that you maybe want to give them something that will create family memories.
As you can imagine, our living quarters feel quite tight with two infants and all their gear in the house, and as a family, we decided instead of a bunch of toys, we wanted to focus on experience gifts this year. I had heard of experience gifts before, but looking into them, I realized how much variety there could be with experience gifts. In fact, I have so many experience gifts on my want and hope to give lists that I have Christmas covered for the next decade. (Okay, maybe not that long, but close.)
Experience gifts are just that- experiences. It could include trips, lessons, passes to local attractions, and more. These are the gifts that keep on giving and will create memories, instead of clutter. We love this idea so much, we are going to share with you our ultimate guide to Experience Gifts (and we will break them down by category/age).
Experience Gifts for The Adventurous Type
- White Water Rafting Trip/Excursion
- Skydiving
- ZipLining Adventure
- Paintballing Gift Certificate
- Cosmic Ropes Course
Experience Gifts For Couples (Give to your significant other or to a couple on your list)
- Weekend Getaway or Romantic Hotel Stay (local or away)
- Couples Dance Lessons
- Movie Tickets
- Couples Cooking Classes
Experience Gifts For Teens and Tweens
- Trampoline Park Passes
- Waterpark Passes
- Concert Tickets
- Music Lessons
- Manicure/Pedicure
- (Any of the Adventure Gifts)
Experience Gifts For Children
- Tickets to a show/event such as Disney on Ice
- Cooking classes
- Build A Bear trip/gift certificate (yes, this technically gives them an item, but it still is an experience)
- Zoo Pass/Trip
- Train Ride
- Passes/Trip to a Children’s Museum
Of course, if you want a great experience gift for the entire family that will make the most magical memories, I would surprise your family with a trip to Disneyland or Walt Disney World.
You know me, any excuse to plan a trip to Disney! Plus, that is part of how we are able to go to Disney so often is because we opt to put money away for trips rather than buying a lot of “stuff” for the kids that will just clutter up our house.
If Disneyland is your dream experience gift, I wanted to let you know that Get Away Today has some deals for you!
Their Black Friday sale will kick off early on Monday, November 23, 2015 (That is TODAY!). It is good for $75 off any 4-night or longer Southern California package (2 ticket minimum) for travel January – March 1, 2016. The package must be booked by Sunday, November 29. The promo code is: BlackFriday15
Their Cyber Monday sale will kick off on Monday, November 30, and will be good for $50 off the same package requirements: 4-night Southern California vacations w/a minimum of 2 tickets for travel January 1 – March 1, 2016. This will need to be booked by Saturday, December 5, 2015. The promo code is: CyberMonday15
Both of these specials can be used with any of these specials:
- Free Night Specials
- Extra Day Free Disneyland Tickets
- Save up to 20% at the Disneyland Resort Hotels
- Layaway Plans starting at $175 down
They also have a $100 off promo code: GATT1115 good for any 3-night or longer vacation package to Hawaii, Mexico or Orlando. This promo code can be combined with any of our current specials, must be booked by 11/29/15 and requires a $1,000 minimum with blackout dates: 11/19-25, 12/15-31/15 and 3/5-26/16. It can be used on their site or over the phone 855-GET-AWAY.
If you book over the phone, be sure to let them know you heard about the deals from Love Our Crazy Life. You can book online by CLICKING HERE.
So, what do you think? Will you be cutting some clutter with an experience gift this year? If so, comment below letting me know what you are giving, or maybe an experience gift you hope to receive this year.
check out the other great posts from the Blogorail!
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Black | Holiday Gift Guides Loop:
- 1st Stop – Saving Up for Disney | Disney-inspired Gifts for Kids Under 5
- 2nd Stop – What’s the Point? | Holiday Gift Guide: Must Have Clothes for Plus Size Disney Fan
- 3rd Stop – Love Our Crazy Life | The Ultimate Guide To “Experience” Gifts
- 4th Stop – Disney Mamas | Must-Have Disney Interactive Toys
- 5th Stop – Trips with Tykes | 20 Stocking Stuffers for Disney Parks Travelers
- 6th Stop – Family Travel Escapades | Comprehensive Gift Guide for Disney Fans
- 7th Stop – Superheroes and Teacups | Fun Star Wars Gifts for Kids
- 8th Stop – Frontierland Station | Gifts for Disney History Fans
- 9th Stop – Rolling with the Magic | 2015 Holiday Gift Guide for the Chic Disney Geek
*I am an affiliate with Get Away Today. When you book using my affiliate link, you get all the same great deals but I earn a little bit of money. Amazing deals on a magical vacation and you get to help support this blog- how cool is that?
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We have greatly cut back on our Christmas spending and the gifts our kids get for Christmas. We’ve done experience gifts the past few years, but I call them “the gifts that keep on giving” because we’ve bought sets of tickets to sporting events, etc. so that they could go several times throughout the year. We’re not doing that this year, but it’s been such a great thing because there’s nothing to find a place for in the house!
My husband got me tickets to Disney On Ice for our anniversary one year. It was so much fun! Also, several years ago, my family went to Walt Disney World right after Christmas. That was an awesome Christmas present!!
Experience gifts are my favorites. My husband and I haven’t really exchanged in years. I rather go see a play or go to a museum than get a trinket that I don’t really need. Thanks for outlining this like this. It’s really helpful!
I’m all about giving my family experiences rather than things. This is a great list to keep the clutter down in our house and make some memories.
Experiences really are the best gifts. The memories really are the gifts that keep on giving. Thanks for the great ideas!
Great ideas – especially for the couples. If you can swing a getaway just for the two of you do it! With little kids you just need some grownup alone time.
Yes, we almost always include an experience gift to our kids instead of something that will clutter the house. They love to have something to look forward to after the holidays as well!
Great suggestions! We are big on experience gifts year round. For Valentine’s Day and our anniversary we almost always do a cooking class at Sur la Table, and for our son’s birthday and Christmas at least one of his gifts is something for us to do together. Creating memories will last far longer than toys!