Here’s some good news and some great news about finding the Best Experience Gifts for Christmas this year.
The good: your holiday presents for everyone on your list are entirely sorted.
As America’s connoisseurs of giving unforgettable holiday memories, we here at Virgin Experience Gifts have put together a list of our 50 Best Experience Gifts for Christmas.
That said, here’s the great part: we’ve also included some inspiration regarding how, exactly, to give an experience gift for Christmas.
Because let’s face it. Giving experiences that will forever add to folks’ life stories is a pretty thrilling mission. So it only makes sense that unwrapping them should be just as exciting for the lucky recipients. But is it really possible to wrap an intangible?
You bet. Pair an experience gift’s printable certificate with a solid partner that’s easy to put in a festive box or bag. Scope out this year’s hottest and most memorable experiences below, along with the magic that makes them un-wrappable on December 25th!
50. Learn to Fly
Pop a model airplane in a box with a gift tag addressed to your favorite aspiring pilot. Both airplane and helicopter lessons are available from coast to coast.
49. La Jolla Sea Caves Kayak Tour
Time on the water will be well-spent with a waterproof watch strapped to a wrist that’s paddling among some of Mother Nature’s most breathtaking scenery.
48. Food Tour
Pack a picnic basket with an experience gift for Christmas, redeemable for a tasty tour in the future, then top it off with a cheerful bow.
47. Skydiving
Go a bit old school. Buy a Tom Petty CD featuring “Free Falling.”
46. Fighter Pilot Mission
When it comes to the Best Experience Gifts for Christmas, you can’t go wrong with this one if you pair this holiday present up with a Top Gun DVD.
45. San Francisco Sunset Catamaran Cruise
This popular experience gift warrants more photo opps than you can imagine. Invite your recipient to pick a favorite to preserve forever in a photo frame.
44. Vineyard or Wine Tour
There’s no better way to present someone with a vino tasting tour than filling a wine gift bag with a favorite bottle of red or white. Plus it’ll wet the ol’ whistle for what’s yet to come!
43. City Tour
Get an urban explorer pumped for a romp through a city’s fascinating food, history, art, sights and more! A delightfully touristy souvenir can easily be ordered online and adorned with tissue paper and ribbon, making it a perfect gift for Christmas morning.
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42. Cooking Class
The best way to give a Christmas present for him or her that entails sharpening culinary expertise is to help him or her dress the part. Especially when a monogrammed apron isn’t all that will wrapped up and ready for gifting.
41. Spafinder Wellness 365 Gift Card
Make the return back to reality after the holiday hiatus a bit easier on your lucky recipient with a spa escape. And if heading home after a day of pampering is equally as tough, some bubble bath should ease the blow.
40. Race Car Driving
Don’t have a bow big enough for a day at the track? No need for one! A wind-up car is the perfect holiday gift idea for letting someone know they’ll soon be burnin’ rubber on a race track, behind the wheel of a stock or Indy vehicle.
39. Scenic Dining Cruise
Keep memories of this unique gift for Christmas forever preserved with a classic ship in a bottle. The dining, dancing and scenery that come with this afternoon or evening outing are highly deserving of the top shelf space.
38. Champagne Brunch Cruise
Is your lucky recipient more into brunch, rather than lunch or dinner affairs? Let ‘em pop a bottle of bubbly in eager anticipation of this holiday gift for him or her that will head to the H2O!
37. Exotic Car Racing
Even the sexiest, savviest fella will get a chuckle out of opening a box holding a cheesy keychain. Especially when he realizes exactly what this Christmas gift for him actually entails!
36. Scuba Lesson
Entice your recipient to dive head-first into a new adventure! Nothing will extend the invitation more cleverly than a swim cap.
35. Golf Lesson
Whether inviting someone to play beside a PGA pro or enjoy a weekend hiatus, a box of balls or new golf glove are a tee-rific ideas for revealing such gifts for Christmas.
34. Hot Air Balloon Ride
Tie the printable certificate for this experience gift to the end of a helium balloon bouquet. Wrap them in a box so they float up when opened.
33. Sushi Rolling Lesson
Got a gal who loves to be a culinary hostess with the mostess? Tie together this Christmas gift for her by throwing in a set of fancy chopsticks!
32. Mani-Pedi
Get her fingers ready to feel festive with a gift bag full of nail polish, to tide her over until she can reap the benefits of her mani-pedi holiday gift.
31. Hiking, Spelunking or Cavern Adventures
The great outdoors will never look better, thanks to a stocking-stuffer like a head lamp to go with ‘em!
30. Brewery Tour
A cold one will taste even more refreshing when you gift the beer-lover in your life with a personalized pint glass to go with the brewery tour he/she will soon indulge in.
29. Fishing Excursion
There’s no better way to reel in the best fishing gifts for Christmas than with a “Big Mouth Billy Bass” wall mount singing the praises of fly fishing, deep sea sport fishing, and anything in-between.
28. Helicopter Tour
Get someone ready to defy gravity! A remote control helicopter is a wonderful holiday present to unwrap before hopping into the passengers’ seats of a whirlybird.
27. Chocolate Tour or Class
If gift-giving life is like a box of chocolates, then your recipient might know what he/she is gonna get… apart from a sweet treat. Further tempt someone to make their own chocolate or sample their way thought a city!
26. Rock Climbing Lesson
The best complement to a Christmas gift like this is a bit of energy to go with it. A box of Clif bars certainly means it’s high time to climb!
25. NYC Wine Tasting Sail
A classy experience gift like this merits a chic pairing like a set of wine glasses.
24. Bicycle Tour
Put even more jingle in a holiday season by stuffing a stocking with a bike bell!
23. Photography Class
Gifts for Christmas that make this experience even merrier may be obvious—but are always helpful. The old-school photographer will adore rolls of film. Photo paper is a great back-up idea, too.
22. Wine and Paint Night
Affix a printed experience gift certificate to a blank canvas or pack of brushes. Then your recipient can take his/her newly learned skills to a creative level at home.
21. Beauty Consultation
As if a wardrobe or facial makeover isn’t already holly-jolly on its own, add a gift bag full of make-up goodies to the mix!
20. Craft Cocktail Tour
A tour is just the start of good vibrations thanks to tasty libations. Keep those vibes going strong with a “how to” mixology book, so your recipient can make their own magic at home.
19. Horseback Riding
This is a pretty lucky gift to unwrap all by itself. But what’s the harm in wishing your recipient even more good fortune beyond such a memorable experience.
18. Whale Watching Cruise
Binoculars offer the perfect way to play “I Spy” with the largest mammals on the planet! Not to mention they are THE perfect accessory for one of the Best Experience Gifts for Christmas.
17. Surfing or Stand Up Paddle Boarding Lesson
Whether your favorite beach bum wants to catch a big wave on a board, or simply paddle around on one, a beach towel will never be handier.
16. Harley Davidson Motorcycle Rental
A rad bandana or head wrap easily helps this holiday gift make big, bad bike dreams come true!
15. Bridge to Nowhere Bungee Jump
With a name as intriguing as this, gifts for Christmas that complement it should obviously follow suit. Pair this experience certificate up with some silly string!
14. Fly a Jetpack or Jetboard
Nobody knows the feeling of flying better than a superhero. So pop a novelty t-shirt sporting an iconic seal into a box, and top it off with a larger-than-life bow.
13. Bull Riding School
If a brave guy or gal in your life has a horned beast on the ol’ bucket list, a cowboy hat is a great Christmas gift for him or her to say, “Guess what you get to do?!”
12. In-home Personal Chef
Believe it or not, these fine folks exist! Introduce someone to this incredible concept with a new cookbook. Your recipient won’t need it to redeem their experience gift, but it’s always good to have on hand once the delicious eats from the pros have provided some culinary inspiration.
11. Private DJ Lesson
Spin some holiday happiness by pairing a Private DJ Lesson with a classic vinyl record. No player? No problem – vinyl doubles wonderfully simply as wall décor, too.
10. Tandem Hang Gliding
Double the high-flying fun in the air up there! A kite is the perfect introduction to sending someone to new heights to strap on their own set of wings.
9. Massage
The power of a gorgeously-scented candle can’t be underestimated. Especially when it later evokes relaxing memories of the deep tissue or Swedish massage that came with it.
8. Ninja Lesson
The chilly months are ideal for giving this gift. You’re wannabe action-film star will be shocked to find a winter ski mask brilliantly paired with an authentic ninja lesson.
7. Spa Facial
Gifts for Christmas like in-home mask remedies go a long way. Especially when someone needs a little tiding-over until the real spa deal is in the books.
6. Pottery Lesson
Prep hands for the pottery wheel with something that’s easy-peasy to wrap up, like modeling clay or PlayDoh!
5. Glass Blowing Class
Deck their halls with memories… starting with a delicate icicle ornament, and ending with an experience gift that gives them the chance to create their own glass masterpiece!
4. Phone-In Astrology Reading
Bring the wonder and awe of the stars into any gift with a festive Christmas gift that keeps giving year after year: a sparkly tree-topper!
3. Paintball Outing
The best way for the recipient of this holiday present to practice his/her “ready-aim-fire” protocol is by unwrapping a NERF gun on Christmas morning.
2. Whitewater Rafting
There may be plenty of rivers to choose from in the US of A—but only one perfectly paired item is worth revealing this experience gift come Christmas Day. A donut tube or a lounging raft impeccably announces the wet ‘n’ wild times ahead!
1. Virgin Experience eGift Card
The VEG eGift Card takes the cake for Best Experience Gifts for Christmas. This one-of-a-kind gift certificate allows your recipient to choose their own adventure. A swanky item from Tory Anne collections is the perfect partner for a printable certificate that come with endless possibilities! (Seriously, just search Amazon’s Home & Kitchen category for “choose your own adventure”—you’ll see what we mean.)
And that, as they say, is a wrap on our list of Best Experience Gifts for Christmas. (Or perhaps in this case, an UN-wrap.)
Not sure how the experience gifting process works? Never fear, your Fairy Giftmother is here!
