5 Last Minute Experience Gifts for Girlfriends

‘Tis the season of giving, and if you are anything like me, you are frantically buying last minute gifts. Every year I commit to starting early, doing some baking, DIY’ing some gifts, and being generally organized. Yet somehow, every year I find myself scrambling to buy gifts on Christmas Eve. 

girlfriends[Speaking of girlfriends – meet Salma!]

Part of the problem is my poor planning, and part is my decision paralysis when it comes to gifts. Everyone pretty much has everything these days, and I hate adding to the piles of ‘stuff’ my friends and family are already dealing with around their house. 

Thankfully though, I’ve figured out the solution for all the girlfriends on my gift list this year – experiences. I’m not giving my friends things they have to store somewhere, I’m giving them memories. As an added bonus, I’ve planned some experiences where I can tag along and hang out too. It’s a win/win – a gift for you, and a gift for me!

If you still have a girlfriend on your list that you need to get a gift for, I’m sharing my top 5 experiences to gift (and share)!

Absolute Spa[Excuse my tired face – this girl really needed the spa day!]

A GROUP PEDICURE
This is such a classic gift you can’t go wrong with. If you have a group of girlfriends that haven’t seen each other in a while, buy everyone a pedicure gift certificate, and then go one step further and co-ordinate a date to  go together in January. 

Just last week my girlfriends Rebecca, Eschelle, and I visited the Absolute Spa at Century-Plaza Hotel for a group mani/pedi – it was such a fun morning, and so relaxing. They have an awesome setup where all three of us could have our pedicure at one time (a must for groups), and the service was amazing. I’m going to share more about my awesome nail technician and all her manicure tips next week, but I highly recommend them for a gift idea!

embassy suites anaheim[Again excuse the poorly lit picture. Spent a night at the Embassy Suites in Anaheim for work recently, and got the whole bed to myself. Bliss]

HOTEL STAY
If your GF is a mom, no explanation needed for the hotel stay. Just book her one night away, all by herself to sleep (or stay up for girl chat if you are crashing in her room). If you really love her then book a room at the Century-Plaza, and book a pedicure at the Absolute Spa (see above) first.

A NIGHT AT THE BALLET
Nothing beats getting dressed up, going out for a drink, and then watching a really good ballet. Ever since I watched Romeo & Juliet a few years ago I’ve been dying to go to another show. In fact, if any of my GF’s are reading this and still need to buy me and Xmas gift – THE NUTCRACKER … hint, hint.

COOKING CLASS
So this may not work if your friend isn’t a foodie, but I think everyone loves cooking in a beautiful, clean, and well-stocked kitchen that they don’t have to clean afterwards!

I took a macaron making class at the Northwest Culinary Academy that I really enjoyed a couple of years ago, and they have a whole range of classes to choose from.

high tea empress

HIGH TEA EXPERIENCE
Salma & I had the Gingerbread High Tea at the Fairmont Empress a few weeks ago, and it was such an amazing experience. In fact, it was the experience that got me rethinking my gift giving plans. (More about the Empress and Victoria is also coming, I promise – so behind on blog posts!)

If you are looking for a really special experience to gift a girlfriend, a high tea is the way to go. What I love about this gift is, it could also become an annual tradition. Something you do with a certain girlfriend every year – I’m looking at you Salma, time to start planning for 2017?

What do you think of experiences versus material gifts? Any other ideas for great experience gifts that I missed, share in the comments below – let’s chat!

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1 Comment

  1. December 22, 2016 / 5:50 pm

    So may great ideas!

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