18 Experience Gifts That Are More Fun Than a Blender

Yes I do want to go on a beekeeping adventure for my honeymoon, thanks

The older I get, the more I move away from wanting to give and receive physical objects as gifts. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the thought that goes into them. It’s just that I really don’t want any more stuff in my house.

I mean, this is the battle cry of so many engaged couples, right? Your community wants to get you a gift to commemorate your nuptials. The aunties really would prefer if it were something they could wrap in nice paper and pair with an overly sentimental card (bonus points for glitter embellishments). But you really, really don’t need another set of pots and pans. And so you put the word out that you’d like cash, or cobble together a non-traditional registry that maybe includes some subscriptions or a honeymoon fund.

a couple stands kissing in an exotic locale with a tinggly experience gift box in the foreground

I often think experience gifts are one of the best solutions to this problem. They’re thoughtful, more significant than cash, and your guests have the satisfaction of knowing they got you a thing. But every single time I consider buying one for someone, I get overwhelmed and close my computer. What if my friends don’t actually want the experience I pick out? Or what if they move and can no longer do a Napa Valley wine tour? Which is why when I first heard about Tinggly, the experience gift service that lets your recipient pick out their own experience gift, I was like:

via GIPHY

Because you know what I want way more than pots and pans? Surfing lessons. Wine tasting on a sailboat. Or maybe, I don’t know… two days of beekeeping in France? (Hey, a girl can dream.)

a styled layflat of a tinggly dream wedding experience gift box

The idea behind Tinggly is actually really simple. Instead of buying your besties an experience gift that you pick out, you give them a Tinggly gift box (or printable PDF or email depending on how you roll.) Then they can take that gift and redeem it for one of 2,000 experiences in 100 countries worldwide. A Tinggly gift is good for five years, so there’s no worry that your procrastinator friends might forget to redeem it and then not be able to 🙋. And since they offer experiences all over the world, a Tinggly box is the perfect addition to your friend’s honeymoon, even if they don’t know where it’s gonna be yet.

a styled image of a tinggly wedding gift box

Tinggly’s wedding gift boxes start at just $119, which is not too shabby for, say, a kayaking tour of Stockholm, or parasailing in France, or a sunset dinner cruise in Thailand. But if you ask me, Tinggly is the gift I would want to have for doing something special in my hometown when my anniversary rolls around and I realize I haven’t planned anything special with my partner. Which I do. Every. Damn. Year. And spoiler alert: the stateside gifts are just as baller as the international ones. I might just do this sailing cruise next time I go home to Maine. And this SF GoCar experience gift is calling my name for Michael’s birthday.

So if you think the next wedding gift you give should be a little more outside the box, here are just a handful of experiences your recipient could choose from if you were to gift them a Tinggly wedding gift:

International Gifts

two couples sit in a thermal spa in New Zealand as part of a tinggly experience gift

Thermal Spa Experience in New Zealand

a couple holds up a bee hive as part of a tinggly beekeeping wedding experience gift

Two-Night Beekeeping Adventure in France

several bowls and plates hold traditional portugese food

Traditional Cooking Class for Two in Portugal

a couple scuba dives in the underwater museum in cancun as part of a tinggly experience gift

Scuba Diving the Underwater Museum in Cancun

bubble hotel in france

Spend a Night in a Bubble Hotel in France

several people paraglide in France as part of a tinggly experience wedding gift

Paragliding in Armenia

a tea field in china with several tea pickers in the background

Learn About Tea Culture in China

a woman floats in the dead sea as part of a tinggly gift experience

Float in the Dead Sea in Israel

several people go kart on ice as part of a tinggly experience gift

Go Kart Racing on Ice in Finland

a large boat in a marina in barcelona stands tall against a bunch of smaller boats

Explore Barcelona by Helicopter, Boat and Foot

Domestic Gifts

three people ride on horseback along a california hillside as part of a Tinggly experience wedding gift

Horseback Riding Under the Hollywood Sign in LA

a man windsurfs in Florida as part of a tinggly experience gift

Windsurfing Lessons in Florida

a pair of hands holds gold during a panning experience in Alaska as part of a tinggly wedding experience gift

Gold Panning and Salmon Bake in Alaska

a person cross country skiing in the Catskills as part of a tinggly experience gift

Catskills Ski Trip Getaway from NYC

close up of modern calligraphy from a class in boston from a tinggly experience gift

Calligraphy Lessons in Boston

a close up of wine grapes in Livermore, CA

Wine Trolley Tour in The Bay Area

a person sits in a cave in Utah, looking out at the side of a large cliff

Utah Canyon Adventure for Two

the front of a boat from a lobster cruise in Connecticut

Lobster Dinner Cruise in Connecticut

So if you’re looking for that perfect compromise between non-traditional gift and cash, how about the gift of an amazing memory? Because no one ever complained that their bungee jumping adventure was taking up too much space in their closet.

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