SP Premium
CODEMAULER
200,000-249,999 SparkPoints 202,875
SparkPoints
 

Gift Giving Idea - Experiential Purchases

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

From Lumosity.com (http://www.lumosity.com/)

Several recent studies suggest that experiential purchases produce greater and longer term consumer satisfaction than do material investments.

A rainy camping trip or a day spent lost in a foreign country can be remembered as a challenge overcome or a formative moment, even if it wasn't fun at the time. Experiences also trump goods since experiences bind us socially, through storytelling and humor.

Some ideas for gift giving (or personal indulgence) that will have high psychological payoff include:

1- a weekend getaway
2- a class, program, or lessons
3- an IOU for homemade dinner or a picnic
4- a city or tasting tour
5- tickets to a performance

***

It seems like such a simple approach, but when was the last time I did any of those things that are listed? It's been a while! For 2010 I'd like to try and incorporate these suggestions and include some friends to share the experience.
Share This Post With Others
Member Comments About This Blog Post
  • GIRLHALFFULL
    Love this and we (Relocated and I) have incorporated this into our lives... although at the moment with the situation at hand, we have had to put all presents on side line until our situation is worked out.

    However, in the past instead of getting another object, we would do something fun that the other wanted to do or had been craving to do. We would rather spend time in each others company and doing something together than receiving a material gift. Those are the best kind of gifts!

    :) Hugs & Love
    4086 days ago
  • RCHRISPY
    Great ideas! We don't go on dates enough cuz of his schedule. That would probably be a great thing to use as a gift and rewards.
    4089 days ago
  • no profile photo RODEORHI83
    That is a great idea! So much deeper a meaning and a better experience than just opening a box and getting some material possession. Especially getting to share the experience with someone, or just letting them have the time with their loved ones (something we all ten to have a hard time doing) makes it a much more gratifying gift.
    Thanks for the post!

    emoticon
    4092 days ago
  • MORTICIAADDAMS
    I'm with you girlfriend!! What I don't need or want is another friggin box of chocolates or more bath products!! Enough already. I'm as clean as I'm going to get.

    I once did something like this for myself. Without telling anyone I went to the local college and took a class to become a NOAA Weather Spotter. I always loved the weather and built my own weather station when I was in 8th grade. When I came home from the college with my book and certificate my husband and son, who are both heavily into science too, were just amazed that I had up and done it. My son is a science teacher and my husband is the supervisor in a manufacturing plant and he works with the engineer to design machines. They both looked at me oddly for days like I was someone a lot more interesting than the "mommy" and nurse they had come to know and love. LOL. They were both jealous of me and in awe of me for having the guts to do something that was just for me.
    4092 days ago

    Comment edited on: 12/22/2009 7:06:23 PM
  • KELLYBEEEEE
    Because we both have jobs where we work pretty hard/long hours, we have started rewarding ourselves with vacations, either for a week or even long weekends. As time goes on, we end up finding science/educational related things to do where we're going.

    In Mexico, we went to Mayan ruins (Chichen Itza, Coba, Ek-Balaam). In Hawaii, we went to the Mauna Kea observatory and saw the stars, and went on a helicopter ride to see Kilauea. In Puerto Rico, we went to the Arecibo telescope and did a kayaking tour of one of the bioluminescent bays.

    We quite like reminiscing and looking at our photos of our vacations (we're both photographers), and I think that we greatly prize our memories of our vacation adventures over the things we buy each other (except for when we're into a hobby and get hobby-related stuff for it from each other).


    4092 days ago
  • AMEG35
    I will remember this for birthdays next year.Bit late for this xmas. Tee hee
    4092 days ago

    • Add Your Comment to the Blog Post

    Log in to post a comment


    Disclaimer: Weight loss results will vary from person to person. No individual result should be seen as a typical result of following the SparkPeople program.
 

More Blogs by CODEMAULER

View All ›