Christmas Gift Guide 2018 – Part 2: Fabulous Experience Gifts!

This year I decided to split my Christmas Gift Guide into three parts. The first (over here) was the usual format, just lovely things on my wish list that I thought you might like, travel-based and otherwise. And I have another one coming up with gifts specifically for baby-mamas-to-be.

But this year I’ve noticed a bit of a change in my gift choices. I’ve been more about gifting experiences to my friends and family for their birthdays. Ok partially because I’ve had other stuff going on (lol like growing a human) and experiences are easier to buy and don’t require wrapping. But also, because I really think they are more fun and exciting and memorable. I don’t remember what most of my friends got me for Christmas last year, but I remember the Chilli Afternoon Tea experience Josh’s sister got us because it was such a fun day! (I’ve included it below FYI)

So yes, here I am, with part two of my Christmas Gift Guide, filled with experience-based gift ideas for your nearest and dearest.

Please let me know if you end up booking any of these! Would love to know if your giftee enjoyed it!

Experiences To Gift Your Pals This Christmas

The Weird And Wonderful

A Llama Trekking Adventure

I went on a llama trek with my pal Sam in September and it was such a fun day! Cute llamas, a nice walk through the countryside with one of my besties and we followed it with a drink at the pub – what more could you want?! You can read about my experience over here or buy a voucher for a llama trekking adventure for two from Virgin Experience Days here.

Outdoor Cinema Night Out

I love outdoor cinemas. I just think going to one is such a lovely evening out in the summer with your friends. So this year I bought my pal Lauren an outdoor cinema experience for two, to visit one of several locations in the UK, complete with a glass of bubbly. We’ve actually been shit at organising it, so have extended it until next summer, but I’m very excited to hopefully watch The Greatest Showman in the Hitchin Lavender Fields. The ultimate combo.

It looks like the exact one I bought isn’t available at the moment but head over here for cinema-based experiences.

Crystal Maze Experience

Ok I seriously want to do this one – recreating the Crystal Maze experience sounds epic, right?! It’s a bit pricey so definitely one for your best pal or other half, but I just think this would make such an cool Christmas gift! You can experience it either in London or Manchester and both come with a souvenir crystal and T-shirt. YES.

Arm Knitting Workshop

I wanted to add a crafty experience to the mix and one I’ve been wanting to try for a while is arm knitting! You’ve probably seen those extra chunky blankets on Instagram, they look so cool and cosy. Well you can book onto a workshop to learn to make your very own. And actually, these classes tend to be cheaper than buying a blanket alone, so could be neat?

Not for everyone, but I’d be keen. I found this one in London by Tea & Crafting.

Quirky Afternoon Teas

Chilli Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea experiences are always a winner and like I said, I really enjoyed the one Josh and I did at Edible Ornamentals at the beginning of the year. The chilli afternoon tea experience included a tasting session of the chillies they grow on site, as well as all of the chilli sauces, jams and chutneys they produce. Definitely a good one for the hot head in your life! My review of the experience is over here, or you can find the chilli experience vouchers here.

Afternoon Tea On A London Bus

I like the look of the B Bakery vintage afternoon tea as it takes place on a London bus! I mean it’s definitely something a bit different! You can sip tea, eat delicious sweet treats and spot the London sights as you drive past in the 1960’s bus – pretty cool huh? You can find the experience for two over here.

Harry Potter Afternoon Tea

Themed afternoon teas are a lot of fun and seem to be quite trendy at the moment, which means there’s a lot of them about! The one I’ve got my eye on though is the Harry Potter afternoon tea at Cutter & Squidge. It’s an immersive wizarding experience based around a Potions class and just sounds really fun – read Sam from Yokomeshi’s review of the experience over here.

Travel-Lover Goodies

A Game Of Thrones Tour of Northern Ireland

I absolutely adored my trip to Northern Ireland this year to explore all of the awesome Game Of Thrones filming locations (read about my trip over here!). So I think this experience day voucher is pretty epic! It’s a day tour from Belfast visiting some of my fave filming locations, including Winterfell and beyond the wall, and includes meeting the Direwolves! Love those pups.

Honestly, this was so fun, you and your pal will love it.

A Spa Day Experience!

I really enjoyed my spa day with Josh at Eden Hall last month (read about it here) so I think gifting your best mate or your mum a spa day for Christmas is a pretty neat idea. It’s a nice way to spend some quality time together, plus you get to indulge in a massage too, so win/win!

There’s a whole bunch over here on the Virgin Experience Days website, at loads of different budgets, or if head over here if you liked the look of my Eden Hall spa package.

A Canopy & Starts Gift Voucher

I’m a sucker for quirky places to stay and often find myself scrolling through the Canopy & Stars website looking at treehouses and yurts and lighthouses I want to stay in. So I think a gift voucher for a glamping experience is a pretty cool gift to be fair.

For Your Foodie Buddy

Pizza-Making Workshop

I actually love foodie experiences and cooking classes. Totally up my street. And I’m so excited that I’m going to be trying out this Pizza Making Class at BungaTINI in London soon! The guys at Virgin Experience Days sent it over to me as an early Christmas Gift and I’m psyched to try it out (watch this space for my write-up). And I feel like it’s a bit of a no-brainer gift for any of your friends. I mean, who doesn’t love pizza?!

A Day of Wine Tasting

A couple of years ago I learned how fun wine-tasting can be with your pals, on a Barossa Valley tour in Adelaide, Australia (read about it over here). So I think this could be a really fun experience to give your pals. This one in Kent looks pretty cool, or this is the one we went on in Adelaide if you’re heading down under any time soon!

Voucher For Brunch

Everyone loves brunch, boozy or otherwise. So I think a gift voucher for brunch is a gift that everyone will like, but still feels a bit more personal that a gift voucher for a shop, y’know? Good options include vouchers for The Breakfast Club, Bourne & Hollingsworth and Grind. And hopefully they’ll invite you along too!

There are so many more experiences you could gift as presents this year, but they’re the ones I think are pretty cool.

Would you gift your pals experiences for Christmas? Do you think they’d like any of these ideas?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Or head on over to my Instagram and Twitter channels for regular updates on my travels and life in general.