Why You Should Gift Experiences To Your Loved Ones

The Lord of the Words @ PassionDig.com. Make a life worth living for!

Oh no!! It’s nearly Christmas?! “It’s only September” I hear you say? Yes there are still green leaves on the trees and yet various stores across the globe have unboxed their decorations and put them on display, hinting to you it’s just around the corner.

Do you ever torture yourself on what to buy your loved ones? Don’t worry, I am here to help. Follow me down the purple brick road to take a look at what it means to give Material Gifts compared to Experiences.

Picture the following scene. It’s Christmas Day and you’re sitting in front of the tree with your loved one, in their dorky reindeer jumper, and they hand you a beautiful present with a crooked bow. It’s a gorgeous watch! You put it on and love it. You show it to everyone with excitement, and they see how shiny and new it is. You have a new favourite object which you can’t bear to part with. Fast forward 6 months, and you arrive at the office without even realising the watch is on your wrist. You adored it at Christmas and now you barely notice it at all, so what happened?

Many believe material purchases which last longer physically, will bring the most happiness in the long run when compared to a one-time vacation or concert. However, research shows this isn’t true.

Dr. Thomas Gilovich who has been studying the question of money and happiness for over two decades explains why:

“One of the enemies of happiness is adaptation. We buy things to make us happy, and we succeed but only for a while. New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them.”

Simply put, material gifts are exciting at first. They are new and shiny with glitter on top, which the brain loves, but the more we use them, the more the shiny glitter falls off. Soon, the gift you once loved so dearly becomes another piece of the furniture.

So what should you do? What is the solution?

Gift an Experience

Do you want a gift that will bring you closer to your friends and loved ones? Do you want a gift that will be remembered fondly throughout the years instead of something that sits on a shelf? This is what gifting experiences can offer you.

Although a concert or a meal in an expensive French restaurant cannot be taken home with you in a bag, it will still bring you happiness for years to come.

Let me give you an example. Recently I celebrated an anniversary with my fiancée, Eve. I thought long and hard about what to buy her for a gift. Eve loves to sing, play piano and create music. I walked the streets of the city centre for hours and finally picked out a necklace containing a stone which brings relaxation and creativity. I also bought her a pack of blank music sheets to write her original songs on. She loved the gifts, but after a month, they lost their magic and disappeared into the abyss of her cupboard.

Now compare this to an experience gift I bought her when we were first dating. I paid for the two of us to go on the High Ropes Course in Liverpool. This experience involved an obstacle course that was 30 feet high! (Catch your breath, it’s okay!)

Eve finds experiences like this both mentally and physically challenging. This was shown particularly when she had to walk on a skinny rope while holding a huge ball. “I can’t see my feet!” she yelled. I reassured her once, twice, thrice….and twenty minutes later she made it across! The experience provoked a lot of emotions, deepened our bond and gave us memories we could look back on for years to come…something that cannot be achieved by giving someone an Apple watch.

Experiences help us grow as individuals. When you do a daring experience, you will discover a lot about yourself and see just how far you can go, developing traits such as confidence and determination.

When you gift an experience, it doesn’t matter if you’re thousands miles apart. Your friend or family member can still take part in the activity you enjoy and help bring a stronger connection between the two of you.

People argue their material items shape who they are as a person. At the end of the day, an item is separate — it stays on the nightstand when we go to sleep, on the shelf while we watch a film or in the pocket of our coat. An experience, on the other hand, is something we carry inside us and never lose, as Dr. Gilovich states:

“Our experiences are a bigger part of ourselves than our material goods. You can really like your material stuff. You can even think that part of your identity is connected to those things, but nonetheless they remain separate from you. In contrast, your experiences really are part of you. We are the sum total of our experiences.”

What will you give this year?

Will you gift someone some clothes, an iTunes card, a phone cover…or will you gift them an experience like how to fly a plane, perform circus stunts or make their own kite?

What Experiences can bring to the table:

• They bring people together every day, creating friendships and deeper bonds.
• You can’t put them a bag but the memories can live forever in your heart.
• They might take you outside your comfort zone, but it will help you discover things about yourself you never knew.

Remember, a material gift is a classic, but an experience can last a lifetime — not just for Christmas.

I would like to end with a poem I have written for you:

For the friend who wants to learn how to cook but is afraid to try,
For the partner who wants to dance and create some chai,
For the father who wants to make some friends,
Gift them an experience with memories that will never end.

P.S. What are your thoughts or personal experiences on this matter? Please share or comment.

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