Imagine a vacation for the soul, an hour or less from their doorstep; a day spa for the spirit; an adventure for the mind, body, and heart.

For some it will be whale watching in L.A., cruising along the coastal waters while these ancient beasts breach in the cold tides. For others it will be a culinary tour of their favorite food scene, food trailers in Austin or ethnic foods in New York City’s trendy NoLIta district. Still others would give up a limb to race a Sprint Cup stock car on the track, and maybe you yourself have always dreamed of flying.

All these things are not things at all, of course. They are experiences, the makings of memories that don’t fade, don’t accumulate in dust-proof clusters, don’t take up precious space in our cluttered lives.

They get us out exploring, testing ourselves or indulging our senses or falling in love all over again. (Witness the vineyard tours, the gondola dessert cruises, the kayak to dinner on the dunes at sunset.)

They are experience gifts. Adventure gifts, gift experiences, whatever you want to call them, the point is to get away from material stuff and give what matters in life–experiences, memories, new passions and old dreams come true.

With over 1,700 experiences in 40-odd cities across the country, from helicopter skiing in Telluride to chocolate-making classes in NYC, there’s an adventure gift for every adrenaline junky, homebody, budding artiste or golf fanatic on your list. Search by city, category, price or all three, without the risk of running out, getting stuck in a snowstorm, or a hesitant smile on Christmas morning right here: Christmas Experience Gifts.

And maybe next year, it’ll be you who’s so lucky.

This holiday season give someone you love a heartwarming childhood memory with this charming snowman frame.

Perfect for? The gal who has everything. The gal who wants nothing.  The gal whom you love, and who loves new experiences.  And it’s called an experience gift.

It’s an afternoon at the spa, pampered by expert hands, getting her toes rubbed, scrubbed and polished after sinking into an aromatic bath, before getting the kinks massaged from her weary body.

Or perhaps it’s a cooking class, a gourmet chocolate making lesson, learning how to temper, mold, dip, decorate and savor that exquisite blend of cacao and butter (and, sometimes, milk) with the guidance of a thirty-year veteran chocolatier.

Instead of a hand-blown glass vase (and for the same price tag), you could shoo her into a glass-blowing studio, the kiln glowing, lighting up an ear-to-ear grin as she blows her very own glass vase.

For the daredevil, it might be a guided trek through California’s Angeles National Forest, hiking her way to the famed Bridge to Nowhere–off which she’ll hurl herself–bungee jumping.  For the eccentric, Aerial Fabric Classes to loop herself in ropes of silk fabric, an elegant combination of gymnastics and dance.  For the foodie, a cultural food tour downtown; a champagne brunch cruise for her and her partner.

These are experience gifts, adventure gifts, gift experiences–a day in another life and the experience of a lifetime, perfect for the unique Christmas gift you’ve been searching for. No boxes, no ribbons, no bows (unless you’re so inclined), perhaps just a camera full of photos and a new sense of herself.

Now that’s a gift.

For the last 20 years PoetryGift.com has been creating special Christmas gifts for mom. The company is known for their one-of-a-kind real rose poetry domes. Another popular item is their musical picture frame that combines a song with a heartwarming poem.

Maybe you’re a poet and you just don’t know it! Use the “design your own poem” feature of the website to create a gift for mom that will have her showing it off for years to come.

Nothing says “I Love You Mom” better than a heartfelt poem that she can read over and over again. Oh yes – a hug to go with it makes it the perfect Christmas gift for Mother.

Now what if you could buy roses for the holidays that would not wilt but remain a lasting gift for someone you love?! PoetryGift.com, the leading website for personalized poetry, can make it happen for you. Real preserved rose domes are glass domes with a wooden base and matted personalized poem surrounded by preserved roses.

Each real red, pink, blue or ivory rose is carefully dried and then dipped in a special sealer to lock in natural beauty. These preserved roses will remain vibrant ensuring that your Poetry Rose Dome will become a lasting keepsake.

These unique real preserved rose domes can only be found at PoetryGift.com. As one customer commented, “It’s great to give a personalized Christmas gift and see it proudly displayed throughout the year.”

Real roses + heartwarming poem + personalization = Priceless Poetry Gift

He tips his visor against the glinting sun, adjusts his cleats on the green, and with a PGA professional whispering trade secrets over his shoulder, he finally masters his swing with this golf lesson with a PGA pro.

Roll the crystal stem of a champagne flute between your fingers, glimpse out at the scrolling city skyline, and clink a toast with him on a champagne cruise.

Brace yourself for years of play-by-play recollections after you send him out to the local racetrack, professional teams suiting him up and strapping him into a bona fide Sprint Cup stock car for the ride, quite literally, of his life—as a racecar driver for a day.

Lounge away the morning with breakfast in a pillow-top bed, imagining your husband as he chips wildly in a world-class sand trap, over a weekend at a high-end golf resort like The Homestead.

Through the hum of the engine, over the rolling quilt of the earth, the certified pilot instructs your husband on maneuvering the air currents ten-thousand feet up, during his first flight—a flying lesson lifting him one notch closer to his dream of flying on his own.

These? Are experience gifts (a.k.a. adventure gifts or gift experiences), and they will rock (perhaps literally) his world—and maybe yours, too. Instead of a new watch ticking off the seconds, make him forget time itself. Instead of a pocketknife, send him packing on a white-water rafting trip through the Coloradoan (or Oregonian or Washingtonian or…) wilderness.

What you see is just a tiny fraction of what you get. These experiences last lifetimes, fulfill dreams, craft a particular brand of fade-resistant memories. They are Christmases not to be forgotten.

For what you’d spend on a box set of Clint Eastwood movies all the way up to the grand adventure of his lifetime, for the bookish types inclined toward terroirs and architecture and the thrill-seekers hunting down buddies on the paintball field, there’s something out there for your guy–and it doesn’t involve watching Clint make surly faces on grainy film for the next month.

And, of course, they aren’t just for men. At Cloud9Living.com, you’ll find thousands of gifts sorted by medium (water and snow, spa, golf, etc.) and by city for your perusal. San Diego photo safari, anyone?

What happens at Christmas? Sure, you want to send great Christmas Gifts to family, friends, customers, and colleagues all around the world, but no one wants the hassle of Christmas shopping in overcrowded stores, wrapping, and then – the REAL problem – shipping gifts internationally and waiting to see if they’ll make it through Customs, waiting to see if your recipient will have to pay taxes when they arrive – probably late – how embarrassing.

There is a solution; a place to do all your holiday shopping at once, get amazing gifts that everyone will love, and send them quickly to anyone in over 130 countries without the hassle of Customs or the embarrassing problem of taxes. From international Christmas gifts  that are perfect for VIP customers and business associates to Christmas gift baskets that have something for everyone, Gift Baskets Overseas .com can take care of your international Christmas needs quickly and easily, and they’ll make sure your gift makes a great impression.

With their network of offices all over the world you can send holiday gifts to Canada, to the UK, and to Australia all in one shopping trip! Gift Baskets Overseas .com has every corner of the world covered: check out their gifts to China, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, even South Africa, and everywhere in between! With an A-rating from the Better Business Bureau, tons of positive recommendations from previous customers, and years of experience in the international gift-giving business, you’re guaranteed an excellent experience when you shop at www.GiftBasketsOverseas.com. You’ll enjoy being generous so much, that you’ll make excuses to give gifts for more holidays than just Christmas!

It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of Black Friday sales and ‘must have’ gift advice, but the truth is that gifts that are made for the masses generally fail to deliver the personalized touch that can make gift giving so special. As neat as a new iPad would be, it sort of loses its luster when you realize that everyone else you know has one as well, doesn’t it?

That’s where this article comes in. If you’re looking for a gift that is truly unique this year – a gift that will undoubtedly get a ‘thumbs up’ from even the most reserved gift recipient – you need to put down the Sunday ads for big box stores and start thinking outside the box. In fact, you need to stop thinking about gifts as you know them.

Traditionally, gifts are things. Material objects. A gadget or piece of jewelry or a clothing item, for example. They can be seen, touched, heard, tasted, and felt. They are also subject to technology advances that make them obsolete, fashion trends, personal taste, and Father Time who often misplaces things, breaks them, or puts them away, never to be used again. This is where many gifts fail. People stop using them (or never use them). Things break. Stuff gets lost. And what was once a valiant attempt at giving the perfect gift becomes a thing of the past, forgotten like so much else. What did you get for Christmas 5 years ago? I can’t remember either.

So what is the solution? It’s simple and brilliant. Stop shopping for gifts that are things. Instead of looking for a material object this holiday season, consider shopping for an experience gift. Instead of giving the racing fan in your life a new jacket with his favorite driver’s number on it, send him to the track to drive the race car! Know a foodie that you were considering buying some fancy, destined to be used only once or twice, kitchen gadget for? Buy them an evening with a personal chef or a tour of their cities top restaurants instead. Experience gifts make incredible Christmas gifts for men, women, families, couples, or even yourself! There are experience gifts available across the country for people with nearly any sort of interest on any kind of budget. Go all out with bucket list items like flying a fighter jet or keep it simple with a day at the spa. The possibilities are nearly endless!