How to Gift Experiences Instead of Stuff This Holiday

With another holiday season fast approaching, inflation-weary Canadians are anticipating the squeeze of higher prices.

Most Canadians (85%) plan to spend money on holiday gifts for friends and loved ones this year, according to a recent survey conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of NerdWallet. Among them, 57% plan to spend $500 or more.

Concerned about sustainability and overconsumption, some Canadians may be thinking about giving experiential gifts versus buying more “stuff.”

Gifting a memorable experience, instead of a material good, can be a way to delight your loved ones and your wallet. Here are some tips for pulling it off.

Why give an experience, anyway?

When people were stuck at home during the pandemic, online shopping and quick-shipping schemes reigned supreme. But as lockdowns subsided and people got outside again, consumers increased their spending on travel and experiences, says Bruce Winder, a Toronto-based retail analyst and advisor.

Experiential gifts include: a gift certificate to a favorite restaurant; museum or concert tickets; a spa day, hobby classes or even a travel getaway. There are even DIY options, like hosting a home movie marathon night, demonstrating your secret recipe, or curating a playlist on your favorite streaming music app.

Experiences can be tailored to the recipient in a way off-the-shelf gives can’t, creating a lasting memory they’ll cherish for years to come — something that’s increasingly important to younger Canadians.

Younger millennials and Gen Z are much more experiential while other segments, like boomers or Gen Xers, tend to be more product-oriented, Winder says.

He adds that there’s a growing sentiment, particularly among younger consumers, around the negative environmental impacts of overconsumption. “There’s a lot of people talking about over-consumerism. Look at fast fashion, you look at all those things we have; we have too much stuff,” he says.

Tips for gifting memorable experiences

Receiving an experience as a gift can be equally touching and thoughtful. However, like any purchase, you want to ensure the recipient gets what you think you’re paying for.

“There’s so much data that proves experiences provide more long-term happiness than material goods. However, you’ve got to be careful what experiences you’re purchasing,” personal finance expert Jessica Moorhouse said in an email.

Giving experiential gifts can spark joy for both the gift giver and recipient, but it also comes with a bit more risk than gifting someone a product they could easily exchange or return.

Understand your recipient’s preferences

Before dropping cash on an experience, consider whether it’s something your recipient will enjoy and appreciate. For example, do they enjoy outdoor adventures or are they a homebody? Do they have a favorite musical artist, sports team or hobby you can tap into for inspiration?

It’s also important to think about whether the experience will be accessible to the recipient. If travel is required, for instance, that may be cost-prohibitive to the gift recipient and create a financial burden. Plus, consider any physical or mobility limitations they might have when choosing an experience, says Winder.

Set a realistic budget

Before you shop for any gifts — experiential or otherwise — evaluate your finances and set a realistic spending budget that won’t put you into debt.

Nearly 3 in 5 Canadians who shopped last holiday season (59%) incurred credit card debt for those purchases; among them, about a third (32%) are still paying that debt off, according to the NerdWallet survey.

“It may sound cheesy, but the best gifts aren’t the most expensive; they are the most thoughtful,” Moorhouse said. “So figure out what you can realistically afford first, what makes sense for your budget, and then find gifts that will really connect with your recipient within that budget.”

Read the fine print

Unlike physical items you may not be able to get a refund for an experiential gift, or you might have to redeem it by a certain deadline, Winder points out.

Moorhouse cautioned against using third-party websites when buying travel experiences because they often have limited customer service help and rarely have any refund policies. In other words, you might be better off booking an experience directly with the provider.

“Look at the fine print to find out their [cancellation] or rescheduling policy,” Moorhouse advised. “For example, if it’s an outdoor event and it’s raining, can you get your money back? If you find out some people can’t make it, can you reschedule at no extra cost?”

Think about timing

It’s important to consider your recipient’s schedule and general availability. For instance, if they have a demanding work or childcare schedule, an experiential gift might be too risky, especially if it’s on a specific date and they have to arrange childcare or take off work.

“You never know who’s going to fold, and once they have your money and they fold, it’s gone,” Winder says, adding that a tangible product can always be resold. But an experience will be forfeited if the recipient can’t use it right away and the company goes out of business.

Survey Method

This survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of NerdWallet from September 23-26, 2024 among 1,016 Canadian adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 3.6 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Bria Weaver, [email protected].