The holiday season can be overwhelming for so many reasons, but one of them might be because we are trying to find the perfect gifts for everyone on our list. We also may be anticipating receiving gifts that will have to find a home for once Christmas is over. I wanted to share some non material gift ideas that you could give this holiday season.

First is AN EXPERIENCE. There are all sorts of experiences you can gift to someone. It can be an experience that you plan for them that you could do together, or it could be something that they can do on their own or with others. 

➤A vacation or plane tickets 

➤Movie tickets

➤Theme park tickets

➤A  tour – wine or factory tour or helicopter or small plane tour

➤Concert tickets

➤A spa day package

➤Nail salon gift card

➤Coffee shop gift card

➤A cooking, painting, or some other sort of class

➤Museum pass

➤Silent Disco tickets

Season passes or a gift card to a local venue they like to frequent:

➤The zoo

➤Children’s museum

➤Arcade

➤Indoor trampoline park/bounce house park

➤Roller skating rink

The next idea is to offer YOUR SERVICES. We all have gifts and talents to share with others. The gift of your time is a really great idea if you are on a tight budget. 

➤Maybe you like to cook or bake – you could offer to provide meals or baked goods. 

➤If you enjoy spending time with children, you could offer babysitting services. 

➤You could offer to clean, organize, do laundry – any number of household responsibilities. 

➤Maybe you have a craft – like woodworking or some other hobby where you could offer to make something for someone that they have been wanting.

Another idea is SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES/MEMBERSHIPS. There are so many online, streaming subscription services that many of us appreciate. 

➤Netflix

➤Hulu

➤HBO Go

➤Disney +

➤Spotify

➤Audible 

➤Gym membership

➤Yoga/spin studio membership

GIVE TO A CHARITY in their honor. There are many charities that appreciate end of the year giving. Think about what charity might be meaningful to the person you are purchasing this gift for. One year for Christmas, my husband purchased several livestock animals for “me” through an organization we trust, to help support an impoverished community in another part of the world. It was SO meaningful to me. I loved that I wasn’t bringing more stuff into my house, and we were able to bless someone else at the same time.

Lastly, is not exactly non material, but to give CONSUMABLES. Many people enjoy receiving special treats that they would not purchase for themselves. Eventually these items will be used up, so won’t need a permanent home.

Bath products

➤Bath bombs 

➤Bubble bath

➤Lotion 

I love getting these items at Lush, they have high quality items.

Food/Snacks

➤Candy

➤Salty snacks

➤Soda

➤Wine/beer (age appropriately of course!)

➤Funny treats (like an extra large gummy bear) VAT19 has great ideas for this!

You could come up with a creative way to display these items. One year for my son’s birthday I used a variety of candy to write out a fun message using the words from the candy to form the message. Or you could make a candy arrangement, like a candy bar bouquet or candy/snacks arranged in a tiered way to make it look like a cake.

I hope these ideas gave you some inspiration to find some non material gifts to give this holiday season!