28 One-of-a-Kind Experiential Gifts
For the person in your life who has absolutely no need for any more things, try an experiential gift this year. Here, 28 suggestions, from altruistic (a donation to send five public school students to the City Ballet) to lavish (an island in Maine for a week) to unexpected (sessions with a dialect coach to perfect that Scottish accent).
*This article appears in the Winter 2015 issue of New York Weddings.
An Island in Maine for a Week Great Duck Island houses a closed-to-the-public bird sanctuary, which you can roam as you please.
Hunky #Instalover San Francisco–based ManServants offers hunks on call for pool-cleaning and grocery-shopping. Until the start-up lands in New Yo...
Hunky #Instalover San Francisco–based ManServants offers hunks on call for pool-cleaning and grocery-shopping. Until the start-up lands in New York, enlist one to like (and comment adoringly on) your Instagram account for one month.
Theremin Classes After this workshop in perfecting piercing tunes, the neighbors will be calling 311 before you know it.
A Matching Miley Tattoo If you can’t afford celebrity tattooist Keith McCurdy, a.k.a. Bang Bang, who gave Miley her LOVE YER BRAIN ink, one of th...
A Matching Miley Tattoo If you can’t afford celebrity tattooist Keith McCurdy, a.k.a. Bang Bang, who gave Miley her LOVE YER BRAIN ink, one of the staffers at his new eponymous shop will be happy to oblige.
Ebola Doctors Fund three on-the-ground UMass Medical School physicians at one Liberian treatment center for a day.
Cooper Hewitt Membership The Smithsonian’s design museum reopens in December after a three-year renovation, with 60 percent more gallery space. G...
Cooper Hewitt Membership The Smithsonian’s design museum reopens in December after a three-year renovation, with 60 percent more gallery space. Get in on it.
A Day Pass for Cinecittà World The 11-years-in-the-making Roman amusement park, built on the grounds of the legendary studio lot (“Hollywo...
A Day Pass for Cinecittà World The 11-years-in-the-making Roman amusement park, built on the grounds of the legendary studio lot (“Hollywood on the Tiber”), opened in July.
Photo: 2014 Ernesto Ruscio
Launch a Pet's Remains Into Space And return them to your living room with the memorial-spaceflight service Celestis Pets.
A Night in a Beagle Okay, so you’re going to have to get yourself to Cottonwood, Idaho. But it’s worth the journey to stay over at the Dog Bark I...
A Night in a Beagle Okay, so you’re going to have to get yourself to Cottonwood, Idaho. But it’s worth the journey to stay over at the Dog Bark Inn, a beagle-shaped, 33-foot-tall B&B built by two chainsaw artists; $15 extra to bring your own dog.
The Nutcracker for All This donation covers the cost of sending five public-school students to City Ballet’s production of the George Balanchine ...
The Nutcracker for All This donation covers the cost of sending five public-school students to City Ballet’s production of the George Balanchine classic.
Neon Classes At UrbanGlass’s Neon Weekend workshop, students get their Tracey Emin on.
A Scottish Accent Dialect coach Patricia Fletcher, whose past clients include Harvey Keitel, will have you “I am William Wallace”–ing in no time....
A Scottish Accent Dialect coach Patricia Fletcher, whose past clients include Harvey Keitel, will have you “I am William Wallace”–ing in no time.
A Weekend in a Swedish Tree Stay in one of the six “treerooms,” each designed by a different architect, near the Arctic Circle. Take your meals (...
A Weekend in a Swedish Tree Stay in one of the six “treerooms,” each designed by a different architect, near the Arctic Circle. Take your meals (the changing menu could feature reindeer, moose, or bear, so something for everyone) in the 1950s lodge or just order tree service.
Hangover Relief The gift of reprieve from last night’s tequila tasting, which the house-call-making IV Doc team delivers in the form of an electr...
Hangover Relief The gift of reprieve from last night’s tequila tasting, which the house-call-making IV Doc team delivers in the form of an electrolyte drip.
Shark Week(end) It’s believed that the biggest congregation of whale sharks in the world hovers off Luzon Island in the Philippines. With the Sha...
Shark Week(end) It’s believed that the biggest congregation of whale sharks in the world hovers off Luzon Island in the Philippines. With the Shark Diving Philippines snorkel tours (which include breakfast and two nights in a nearby resort), expect to see plenty of the “ocean’s largest fish” over the course of two days.
Lighthouse Living Put up a seafarer at a two-story Victorian in the shadow of the historic North Head Lighthouse in Washington State.
Anthopomoprhic-Rabbit-Taxidermy-Class For your friend with that home to decorate upstate.
Screwy Family Drama Tickets to three Broadway matinees that make you feel better about your family: You Can’t Take It With You, The Curious Incid...
Screwy Family Drama Tickets to three Broadway matinees that make you feel better about your family: You Can’t Take It With You, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and A Delicate Balance.
A Quick Getaway Skyscanner pulls up the cheapest flights out of the country, like a one-way to Russia for $340.
A Tantric Orgasm The secret to a mind-blowing erotic encounter is revealed at this three-day workshop — called the Urban Tantra Experience: Breat...
A Tantric Orgasm The secret to a mind-blowing erotic encounter is revealed at this three-day workshop — called the Urban Tantra Experience: Breath and Touch — held by Barbara Carrellas in the Berkshires this April.
Abrons Arts Center Donation Help low-income children and adults on the LES get in on art, music, and drama classes.
Private Investigator Michael McKeever will spend the day tailing that friend’s suspicious-seeming spouse.
Better Handwriting Cherrell Avery will give your chicken scratch a makeover in her handwriting course — trip to the Idler Academy in London not i...
Better Handwriting Cherrell Avery will give your chicken scratch a makeover in her handwriting course — trip to the Idler Academy in London not included.
A Private Tugboat Tour Mosey around the harbor with 12 of your buddies aboard a century-old tug. ($1,500, email pamela@tugpegasus.com)
A year of Clean Linens Give a fancy sleeper monthly sheet cleanings from pickup launderer French Presse.
A Midtown Parking Spot Never worry again (or at least for a year) about alternate-side parking rules.
Absolution Starter Pack During the Renaissance, Roman Catholics made hefty donations toward securing a spot in heaven. The wealthiest gave about ...
Absolution Starter Pack During the Renaissance, Roman Catholics made hefty donations toward securing a spot in heaven. The wealthiest gave about six guilders (i.e., 21 grams of gold) annually. Adjust for today’s gold standard ($38.32 per gram), multiply by five, and you’ve got a five-year starter pack to set you on the path to those pearly gates.
A Church The architect’s New Canaan three-bedroom has been called “a livable version of the Glass House.”
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