Electronics, toys, clothes and other material gifts will no doubt bring delight on Christmas morning, but at some point — for the more fortunate among us, of course — they all might start to feel like just too many things.
What’s an alternative to piles of stuff? How about an experience? A promise of something fun and/or enlightening and enriching to do in the New Year — adding anticipation of the future to this particular Christmas present.
And while your loved ones may enjoy a class or an event or an outing on their own, you could also plan to share that experience. Time together and making memories are precious gifts, too.
So grab a pretty box, and some way to write out an IOU to offer someone a gift of an experience in 2022. (If you want to get creative, my mother perfected delivering IOUs in silly rhymes to add to the holiday entertainment.)
For all ages, there are many options out there, but here are 10 ideas for experiences close to home to get started.
Bonus idea: While these suggestions cost money, gifts of experience don’t have to. If you’re short on cash, an IOU for an adventure in an unfamiliar stretch of woods, or at Cape Cod Baseball League games next summer, or a day of art-gallery hopping work just fine, too.
The Cape Cod National Seashore is a conservation jewel we are lucky enough to live near, and passes are ways to feel free to enjoy its vast expanse as much as possible during the summer, without worrying about the pesky $25 beach parking pass. Annual Cape Cod National Seashore passes are currently listed at $80.
There is also the America the Beautiful – The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Series that can give you admission to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites across the United States — including the National Seashore. That series includes annual passes that are $80 — but age is an asset here: It’s also $80 to get a lifetime pass for those 62 and older.
According to the Seashore website, the passes generally cover a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle, or up to four adults at sites that charge per person. Children age 15 or under are admitted free.
Another way to enjoy the beautiful outdoors is becoming a member of Mass Audubon, which has multiple sites on the Cape and Islands, including the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. Audubon advertises this as the gift of “adventure, fitness, play, or even quiet contemplation,” with membership allowing the recipient free admission to more than 60 sanctuaries around the state as well as discounts on programs and special events.
Tourists come here to enjoy our ocean, and there are multiple ways for your gift recipient to do the same. Try an IOU for a charter fishing excursion, if that’s of interest, or perhaps a sunset boat ride around Hyannis Harbor or through the Cape Cod Canal. Multiple businesses rent stand-up paddleboards and kayaks, and Cape Cod Kayaks in Bourne is one that offers various types of kayak tours through much of the year to places you might not explore on your own.
Looking for a different perspective? Take someone up in the air. Plan to go parasailing in good weather, with multiple local businesses taking you out to sea, then floating high up from the back of a boat with your own parachute. Cape Cod Airfield in Marstons Mills offers ideas for the even more daring: rides in an old-fashioned biplane or Skydive the Mills.
Want something tamer? The Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum reopens in the spring to offer a long walk up but views that stretch for miles in every direction. (The monument is illuminated each night through New Year’s, and for a more immediate gift, you can pay to have the monument lit in someone’s honor for a certain period of time.)
There are multiple local concert series to buy subscriptions to, or to buy tickets for shows by favorite local and visiting musicians. Just announced are five new subscriber series — covering jazz, dance parties and much more — at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in South Yarmouth. The Cape Cod Museum of Art is selling subscriptions to its Sunday afternoon Music & More winter concert series. The Cape Symphony in Hyannis is part-way through its comeback season, while Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis and Payomet Performing Arts Center in North Truro already have a list of some summer fare (plus off-season shows at Payomet).
Several local theaters offer season subscriptions, with discounts, seating choices and other rewards for loyal fans. Cape Playhouse in Dennis has announced its full summer season, with plans to recreate what had hoped to be on that historic stage in 2020, including “Grease,” “An American in Paris,” and “Murder on the Orient Express. Cape Rep Theatre in Brewster, in the midst of an expansion campaign, typically sells subscriptions, too, and various theaters offer gift certificates for nights out at future shows. Membership at other venues, such as Cotuit Center for the Arts, gets you discounted tickets to theater but also all types of shows.
Membership means numerous privileges at most local museums, too, and there are more than 75 of those on the Cape and Islands. Something for every interest! Your recipient will never be at a loss for a place to go on a rainy or any other day because many memberships offer free admission for a year. That can be particularly key with kids who, depending on their tastes, can have free rein to visit, for example, sea life and other science exhibits as often as they want at Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster or delve regularly into yo-ho-ho history at the Whydah Pirate Museum in West Yarmouth.
For that loved one who has always wanted to cook fancy treats or an easy dinner, or is fascinated by trying new things, why not take a cooking class together? Two places where such lessons are regularly offered in group settings (of many choices) are Highfield Hall in Falmouth and the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in South Yarmouth. At the latter, the chef/instructor themes his lessons to places, events or days of history for a little extra flavor.
There are numerous classes offered everywhere from libraries to community centers around the Cape, and the gigantic list of topics can include books, history, science and more. With the Cape such a cultural destination, art classes abound, with options available for all ages and skill levels. The Falmouth Art Center, Cape Cod Art Center in Barnstable and Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis are among the places with regular rosters of classes, and the Cotuit Center for the Arts is bursting with educational ideas and art-making opportunities – including the busy world in its new McGraw Family Ceramics Studio.
It’s sometimes surprising how many Cape Codders not only don’t cross the bridges very often, but don’t visit the islands just off our southern coast. So gift a couple of ferry tickets and plan a day trip to Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket. Both destinations are easy to get around by foot or bus and offer the feeling of getting away for a day or overnight without going too far. (And if you’re reading this from one of the islands, just take the ferry the other way and come to us.)
Memberships to gyms or signing up for fitness classes with a buddy or two can help make the inevitable New Year’s resolutions be a lot more successful. Or just make someone feel better. The gift of health is always a winner, and could inspire a new hobby or regular pastime — such as running or mountain biking.
There are multiple options to offer someone the chance to try a yoga class, too, whether it’s at a studio or some type of community or cultural center. And after the past couple of years, as we head into an uncertain winter, who wouldn’t welcome the promise of a little serenity?
Contact Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter: @KathiSDCCT.
