What if this year鈥攊nstead of giving more stuff鈥攜ou chose to gift your loved one something that could improve her life for years to come鈥攐r, at the very least, enhance his Instagram feed? From week-long stays in vintage VW buses to intensive meat camps, we found five ideas for experiential gifts your family and friends will never forget.
#Vanlife聽(From $150 per night)聽
, in Costa Mesa, California, outfits its clients with their own pop-top Westfalia, built at the height of the Clark Griswold era, and loaded with everything you鈥檒l need to cruise the coast. Head south for the classic surfing around San Diego or north to catch breaks in Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. One-week rentals start at $830.聽
Can鈥檛 stand the beach? , which just opened a location in Denver, offers a mountain-based alternative, offering vintage buses that are outfitted for winter, so you can head straight for the ski resorts of Summit County and beyond. Eurovan rentals start at $150 a night, and come complete with 24-hour roadside assistance.聽
Emergency Rescue (From $85)
With a membership in the , your loved one will have crazy discounts on gear, plus access to the club鈥檚 vast network of campgrounds and huts across North America, Chile, and New Zealand. But the real benefit? Members of the AAC get up to $12,500 in rescue coverage, which could come in handy if you find yourselves hurt or lost in the middle of nowhere. A portion of member dues also go to conservation efforts, and grants for ambitious climbers.聽
Cooking 101 (From $495)
Sure, you could just throw some tenderloin on the grill and burn it, but if you鈥檙e looking to elevate your barbecue game, may we suggest an intensive course. The two-day , held on the campus of Texas A&M, guides attendees through the history of slow-cooking. The聽course聽teaches the basics of building a good cooking fire before giving students hands-on training in overnight smoking. Tuition starts at聽$495.
Meanwhile, attendees of , in Macon, Georgia, will learn the nuances of cooking whole hog from Myron Mixon, four-time world champion and star of the show, BBQ Pitmasters. For the聽two-day class rolls through the gamut of BBQ, from whole hog to ribs, from chicken to brisket. Tuition starts at聽$795.
Better Turns (from $1,445)
Suppose the person you鈥檙e shopping for is already a lifelong skier, but wants to get better. Maybe they hang their season鈥檚 pass on their Christmas tree every year, or tally up their number of days on the mountain by notching lines on the wall of their house, but on the mountain, they鈥檙e hucking cornices and dropping couloirs.
For expert skiers looking to start tackling next-level terrain, is a four-day聽intensive 鈥渟ki school,鈥 at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Students learn to read slopes and choose the best line in a variety of situations, with a chance to explore double black slopes with the best instructors on the mountain. The clinic聽includes a primer on steep skiing etiquette, culminates with a trip to the infamous Corbet鈥檚 Couloir. The four-day course starts at $1,445, with lift access covered.聽
How to DIY (from $600)
There鈥檚 nothing more personal than handmade gear, and there are options for those who don鈥檛 know how to carve skis or build a singlespeed. Instead, give that special someone a certificate for a DIY gear-building class. At , in East-Boston, skiers design and build their dream sticks in the Custom Ski Building Workshop, choosing everything from the type of wood that makes up your core blank to the graphics on the top sheet. Four-day聽classes start at $950.
For the biker in your family, offers workshops in Alabama, with proceeds going to the Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization (HERO), a local housing and social services non-profit. Each month, can build their own bamboo road bike or single speed cruiser, with the help and advice from Hero Bike鈥檚 pros. Three-day classes start at聽$650.聽