Want to surprise that person who has everything? … Need a gift that they don’t already have? Heres our list of the top 60 experience gifts!
We all have that friend or family member who rushes to buy the latest gadget or fashion trend the moment it drops. Who has 50 pairs of shoes, three phones, and a new car every 12 months. What do you get the person who owns nearly everything and buys the rest on Afterpay? A great experience, of course. Here, we rank 60 experience gifts for the hard-to-please folk in your life.
60. A HelloFresh Subscription
HelloFresh makes cooking achievable for those poor on time and culinary skills. Their simple but creative recipes and delicious secret sauces will turn even the most unsophisticated of amateur chefs into an instant Jamie Oliver clone.
59. MasterClass
MasterClass is the hot new thing in online education. The platform launched with its acting class taught by Dustin Hoffman and has gone on to release dozens of courses taught by world class professors, from Timbaland’s course on beat-making, to Natalie Portman’s course on acting, to Gordon Ramsay’s course on cooking.
58. ClassPass
ClassPass has taken over the world of fitness with its monthly membership to thousands of boutique health and fitness clubs. Instead of gifting one membership to one club, a ClassPass subscription gives the special person in your life access to an all-you-can-eat buffet of workout options.
57. Learn A Language
Give the gift of tongues with a pass to a local language course or one online, like Rosetta Stone.
56. Cat Cafe
Keep the dogs v cats debate alive by treating your hard-to-please pal with a trip to a cat cafe in your local area. After all, who doesn’t like the idea of hugging a furry cat over a frothy cappuccino?
Book a table at Cashmere Cat Cafe Melbourne.
55. Driving Range
Perhaps not the most riveting of ideas on this list, but if your gift receiver is a golf lover, perhaps a whack of a few golf balls will make them happy.
You can book a bucket of balls at the Yarra Bend Golf Club or the Albert Park Driving Range.
54. National Parks Pass
You can buy annual national parks passes in all the states, which make for a very underrated gift for those who love the outdoors but never get around to organising regular trips.
Click here for the Parks Victoria schedule of fees and charges.
53. Zoo Tickets
If the person you’re buying for is a tragic animal lover, one-off or even annual tickets to the local zoo might be right up their alley.
Click here for tickets to the Melbourne Zoo.
52. Luxury Hotel
No one, no matter how spoiled they are, can turn down a weekend stay (or even a night) at a luxury hotel. It doesn’t even need to be out of town; a night’s staycation is an A-grade gift.
51. Zip Lining
This one’s only for those who love a bit of adventure (and don’t hate heights), but ziplining is outrageously fun. Usually done in a forest, above the trees, it’s also breathtaking.
Click here to for tickets to Trees Adventure ziplining.
50. Yoga
For the ultimate zenmaster, treat your friend or family member with a membership to a series of body-bending yoga class (or go the extra mile and subscribe them in a course).
49. Mini Golf
Mini golf can double as a romantic date or a fun group activity with friends. However you use it, it makes for a much more exciting present than an Amazon gift card.
Click here for a hit at Holey Moley.
48. Bowling
Spoil your hard-to-buy-for person by reuniting them with this retro classic. Slip on those gumby shoes, hitch up the bumpers, and remember to let go of the ball in front of you, not behind.
47. DJ Lessons
For the music lovers, get their creative juices flowing with some one-on-one or group DJ lessons. Nothing says you’re special to me like an invitation to spin dem decks.
Click here to take part in the DJ School in Melbourne.
46. Sushi Making
Maki, temaki, uramaki, sashimi, nigiri. What do all of these have in common? They’re all downright delicious. Spoil your friend or family member with a traditional sushi making class.
Click here for sushi making with Gourmet Shin.
45. Kayaking
If your special person is a water lover, take them on a kayaking exploration in your local area. Either hire the vessels yourself or treat them to a guided tour.
Click here to explore Melbourne by kayak.
44. Skateboarding Lessons
For a childhood-nostalgic experience perfect for the rebels at heart, have them strap on the elbow and knee pads and send them for a daring skateboarding lesson.
Click here to learn to skate with RampIt.
43. Sport Lessons
Golf, shooting, bowls, bob sleighing, squash. For your most active friends, why not cure their curse of abundance with a voucher for some professional sport coaching?
42. Makeup Courses
For those who already own all the makeup in the world, why not help them put it to good use with an expert makeup course?
41. Music Lessons
For the aspiring Beethoven or Beyonce, treat their musical heart with some formal lessons with a master musician.
40. Pottery Making Classes
Treat your hard-to-buy-for friend or family member with the chance to re-enact that famous scene in the 1990 classic, Ghost, with some pottery making classes.
Click here for pottery making classes with Slow Clay, Victoria.
39. Scenic Train Ride
Take it down a gear or two and slow things down with a train ride through a picturesque scenery. Stop off at some small towns or just let the bustling world slowly pass by your window.
Click here for seats on the Puffing Billy.
38. Circus Classes
Let’s face it, there’s nothing more fun than the circus. And there are few more exciting experience gifts than classes to become a circus clown or acrobat.
37. Photo Shoot
If your buying for someone who loves the camera and who’s more photogenic than the Kardashians, put them in the spotlight with a professional photo shoot.
36. Picnic
Pack the cane basket and throw out the rug for an experience that won’t break the bank or take too much organising. Or if you have a little more budget to play with and really want to impress, gift a Mystery Picnic Experience - solve clues and riddles to collect your delicious gourmet picnic spread. All pre-arranged, prepaid and of course comes with the full picnic kit!
35. Concert Tickets
If you go down the path of buying concert tickets for your hard-to-buy-for friend or family member, the world is your oyster. Whether it’s music or comedy, you can’t go wrong.
34. Escape Room
Escape rooms have taken over the world over the past couple of years, and it’s clear why. On paper they sound more frightening than fun, but, trust us, you’re guaranteed to enjoy it.
Click here for tickets to the Escape Room Melbourne.
33. Trampolining
Like escape rooms, trampolining venues have cropped up everywhere recently. They offer an enormous load of fun that will give you vivid memories of your childhood.
Click here for passes to Bounce, Victoria.
32. Hiking
If the person you’re buying for is active and loves a bit of adventure, why not organise a hike through a national park? Combine it with a picnic and you’ve got yourself one of the best experience gifts ever.
31. Farm Stay
For a city slicker who has it all, turn their world upside down with a farm stay. Even if it’s just for a night or two, a couple of days in the fresh, open air might be just what the doctor ordered.
30. Vintage Car Rental
If you’re shopping for experience gifts for a rev head with petrol running through their veins, treat them to a day driving around in that classic vehicle they spend all their time talking about.
29. Sporting Tickets
If you’re buying for a sports fan, they’ll probably love nothing more than an afternoon or evening in the stands at a big game.
28. Driving Lessons
Another one for the engine lovers, put them behind the wheel of a high-performance vehicle and pay for a professional driver to show them how to handle it.
27. Wildlife Tours
If you’re gifting for an animal lover, they’ll probably love nothing more than if you treat them to an exotic wildlife tour.
26. Museum Visit
Remember how exciting it was to visit a museum when you were a kid? Funnily enough, it’s actually more exciting as an adult because you understand the exhibits more than you did when you were just there to ogle at the dinosaurs on display.
25. Roller Skating
Another of the experience gifts on this list that will probably remind you of your childhood. Give your special person a thrill by hiring (or buying) some roller skates and finding the biggest hill in your suburb to cruise down.
Click here for passes to the Roller Skating Centre.
24. Beer Brewing Classes
If the person you’re buying for only drinks hipster beers with weird names and weirder tastes, blow up their world with tickets to a craft beer brewing class.
23. Surfing Lessons
Cowabunga, dude! If your hard-to-buy-for friend or family member is an ocean dweller, hit them up with a one-off surfing lesson (or a couple) to see how they fair on the board.
22. Theme Parks
Nothing says fun more than rollercoasters, fairy floss, and the potential to vomit on someone sitting three rows behind you.
21. Opera
If the person you’re buying for is a lover of the arts, treat them to a mystical night at the opera. It might not be your cup of tea, but if you’ve never been you’d be surprised at how captivating it is.
20. Bath House
Now we’re talking. Forget the skateboarding, or the race car driving, or the roller skating. No one, no matter how hard they are to buy for, can turn down a treatment at a luxury bath house.
19. Photography Lessons
Another of the experience gifts on this list for those with some artistic flair, why not treat your special person with some professional photography lessons?
18. Ice Skating
What is it about risking the safety of your fingers, gliding around a frozen puddle of water with a hundred other people that’s just so… fun?
17. Massage
No matter how hard the person is to buy for, I can’t think of many gifts that are more universally appreciated than a massage. And if it’s for a partner, make it a couple’s massage and give yourself a treat, too.
16. Cycling
Either hire some bikes or take your own on a planned adventure around your city or a national park in your area.
15. Pub Crawl
For those with an iron liver and a merry heart, organise a day of bar hopping through the city or your own suburb. Keep the list of pubs to yourself for some surprises along the way.
14. Whale Watching
While this one depends on the season (and where you live), there are few more enchanting experience gifts than a day spent whale watching.
13. Horseback Riding
Another one for the animal lovers, why not treat your hard-to-buy-for friend or family member with a day of old fashioned horseback galavanting.
12. Road Tripping
Ah, the ultimate experience gift. Hair blowing in the wind, tunes blaring, rubber eating up the sweeping coastal road. You can’t go wrong with a well-planned road trip.
11. Hot Air Ballooning
Instead of cruising the coastal roads, why not overlook them from the surreal comfort of a gravity-defying hot air balloon?
10. Dance Lessons
If your hard-to-please friend or family member is a dancer at heart (or a wannabe one), surprise them with a group or one-on-one dance lesson.
9. Wine Tasting
There are no experience gifts that merge picturesque scenery and unlimited alcohol consumption quite like the gift of wine tasting. Drink responsibly, of course.
Click here to book a personalised wine tour.
8. Theatre Show
Outside of Abraham Lincoln, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t enjoy a good night out at the theatre. And so long as John Wilkes Booth isn’t in attendance, tickets to a show make for one of the great experience gifts.
7. Rock Climbing
If the theatre is a tad too dull for the person you’re buying for, perhaps a night of rock climbing will do the trick.
6. Helicopter Flight
Now we’re talking. If you have the budget for it, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who won’t enjoy a ride, 20,000 feet in the air, in a chopper.
Click here to book a helicopter ride over the 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road.
5. Comedy/Improv Show
If the person you’re buying for has a great sense of humour, perhaps a night of standup comedy or improv is the perfect way to show them you care.
4. Skydiving
Forget the sense of humour, if the person you’re buying for loves the thrill of heights (or, if you want to be cruel: perhaps if they don’t), frighten the crap out of them by throwing them out of a moving aeroplane with nothing but an oversized hanky strapped to their back.
Click here to skydive over the Great Ocean Road.
3. Camping
One of the classic experience gifts, if your hard-to-buy-for friend or family member isn’t afraid of the outdoors, treat them to a cosy weekend camping.
2. Sailing
For the ultimate adventurer, treat your special person to a day on the water. It’s not only an enjoyable way to spend a day, they’ll also learn a ton about the art of sailing.
Click here for sailing lessons.
1. Flying
If you think skydiving (item #4 on this list) is a little too risky to give someone as a gift, keep them in the plane but have them take the wheel with a personal flying lesson or two. Slightly on the expensive side, but we can’t think of a more exhilarating experience gift than this one.
Click here for flying lessons.
Conclusion
There you have it, our countdown of the 60 best experience gifts for that hard-to-please person in your world. If you’re wanting to really impress with an out-of-this-world experience, remember to check out our experience gifts for couples, families, or friends.
