After a year of staying home, not going out to buy anything fun, and missing out on many important family dates such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and so much more, you can see why the shift towards physically experiencing life is at an all-time high!
But, we’re evolving into a power-spending generation buying what we want, when we want so buying gifts for someone else has become extremely difficult as more often than not, the person you want to buy for has everything they need!
This is why, combined with being in lockdown for a year, experiences make better gifts than objects.
What Are Gift Experiences?
Experiences are anything that can be purchased and then taken at a different date. For example:
Despite thinking that material things will make our friends and family happier, the reality is that people prefer experiences, according to research. So why is this?
Wait For It
An integral part of a gift experience is the time you wait for it to happen, as the anticipation is almost like a bonus part of the gift.
This is because you’re given a physical present in the form of a voucher or email, then you have the other side to the gift which is taking part in it. A twofold gift!
Feel Valued
Despite research from 2014 showing that we believed that material gifts would make us happier and would be better value for money, it transpired that experiences made us happier in the end.
This is due to economic forecasting in that we prefer to go for value for money, which is generally thought to be material items, whereas if you prioritise happiness over value, you’ll choose experiences.
Share the Love
Choosing an experience over a physical gift means that you’re choosing quality time with a loved one. You’re more likely to partake in days out with other people, in turn meaning that you are creating great memories together.
Scientists call this ‘social connectedness’ which is the glue bringing us back together with someone we haven’t seen or feel we would like to improve our relationship with.
A photo of you and a friend hurtling off a bungee platform is going to hold more value than just a photo frame they gave you!
Healthy FOMO!
Unfortunately, humans have an innate ability to feel like they’re hard done by, even if they’re holding the latest gadget! This is because we always compare our gifts to others, whereas receiving an experience doesn’t garner the same sort of jealous emotions.
Don’t be part of the ‘hedonic treadmill’ getting used to new fun things very quickly. Although the novelty slippers seem like a good idea now, memories created with loved ones in unknown environments will far outweigh any pair of Star Wars slippers!
Choose Gift Experiences Over Things
As far as we're concerned, a hot air balloon ride will always be at the top of any gift experience guide.
But there are many more experiences out there if flying is not your thing (even though we will never understand why!).
From racing a supercar around the track to enjoying a tipple and cake with your favourite people at afternoon tea, today's choice of gift experiences is bigger than ever before.
