As summer gets closer, there are a lot of birthdays and anniversaries coming up in my life as well as for a lot of my friends’ and family’s. I’ve always appreciated that buying each other gifts has never been a huge emphasis with those close to me. I’m thankful for this because 1. it can be hard (though less hard when you follow my hack for never running out of gift ideas), and 2. “stuff” isn’t what these celebrations are about anyways.
While I definitely enjoy giving people things for their birthdays or other gift-giving holidays, it’s also fun to think outside the box and look for ways to treat them with experiences. This quote perfectly sums it up:
“Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.” Beyond gift giving, this is a goal I’m always working towards: to cherish adventures more than I do the occasional shopping trip. But especially with our anniversary coming up and a lot of birthdays, I love this concept of finding ways to enrich someone’s life through experiences.
Probably 5 or so years ago, Matt and I started making this transition to activities vs. physical gifts. It especially seemed like a no-brainer then because we called San Diego home and “exploring your backyard” was pretty easy.
Material objects lose their magic after awhile anyways, but the stories you create with someone else last forever. The next time you give someone a gift, or maybe want to treat yo’ self, I encourage you to get creative and go experience something instead of buying the usual physical gift.
Have you ever given or received an experience-focused gift?
