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AIBU?

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Original poster

To dislike gift experiences

40 replies

paganmolloy · 04/07/2018 19:02

I know they are given with the best of intentions but of the three I have received

  • first we never got round to doing as a ‘dark sky’ experience wasn’t really our thing, it was on the other side of the country, trying to get a free weekend to tie in with clear weather during a year when it rained mostly was impossible.
  • next up a trip on a boat. One which we’ve already done twice and got no inclination to do it again. Gave it away to a pal.
  • finally a half day ‘making something’ experience which was also gifted to two other friends with the thought we could all go together. I have no interest in making the thing concerned, I’m miffed at giving up half a day at a weekend to do so, the coordination with two other friends was such a logistical nightmare it is eleven months before we could all get a date that suited us.

So in short they have all been a colossal waste of money and time and I feel bad about it as well as ungrateful.

OP posts:
ButterChickenwithyellowrice · 04/07/2018 19:05

Bloody awful gift. Might as well tear up £10 notes.

My DH , who is very sporty but also has to take tablets for high blood pressure was bought an sporting activity that he was not medically allowed to do.

So we tried to change it- afternoon tea!!! or paying extra for a weekend in a 3rd rate hotel were the options they suggested as available in our area.

So I asked Virgin Experiences if the experience of the money it cost could be donated to charity and they said no.

Pauperlil · 04/07/2018 19:06

I’ve only a gift experience to go to a theme park and stay a night in the hotel with hubby and kids , it was ok but it ended costing us more as had to pay for food etc at the theme park and at the hotel. I guess depends on the gift experience etc

AynRandTheObjectivist · 04/07/2018 19:10

I've bought them for people but I've been very careful about what I buy and for whom.

TheMagnificentEthel · 04/07/2018 19:11

I love such gifts.

AcrossthePond55 · 04/07/2018 19:18

There are only a handful of people I would 'trust' to give me an 'experience' I would truly enjoy.

Unfortunately I've found that most people give you 'experiences' they think you should have to expose you to what they like themselves.

SilentBob · 04/07/2018 19:24

I always find these things end up costing you more than the gift giver. I am grateful for every gift I have ever been given but I will admit I would be a little disappointed to receive an 'experience'

FlirtyRomanticToast · 04/07/2018 19:44

Ugh I got my friend a voucher for a helicopter flight near where she works and she was delighted with it but we had awful trouble booking it. As it turns out the voucher site gotten address wrong. There was no base anywhere near her. So we had to cancel the voucher.

FlirtyRomanticToast · 04/07/2018 19:46

*Got the address wrong, not gotten address wrong!

Isleepinahedgefund · 04/07/2018 19:53

I think an unsolicited random gift experience is a rubbish idea and I bet half of them don’t get used. I like giving experiences for gifts, particularly to children I know well and I know will get loads of tat from anyone else anyway, but I always say that’s what I’m going to do and consult with them/parents as to what they’d like to do.

busybuildingdens · 04/07/2018 20:00

Oh yes, absolute waste of money! We were given one, something which we had absolutely no interest in. Luckily we could change it for a different experience. We then spent 3 separate nights in hotels at our own cost, only to have the experience cancelled in the morning. We gave up in the end and it expired. Another one I was given was a child-free experience. We have no easily available childcare, so that one also expired. It’s an absolute con!

Sundance65 · 04/07/2018 20:26

In our family this is pretty much all we give - including to the children. Fed up with buying stuff more and more stuff that is not really wanted or needed. So we buy these - but rarely buy organised ones but tickets, days out etc. But have to say present giver normally accompanies the recipient and factors in price of travel and food into the gift.

Emma198 · 04/07/2018 20:29

I never buy a specific experience. Always one of the smart boxes where there's hundreds of things they can choose to do and they last two years.

Windmyonlyfriend · 04/07/2018 21:05

I agree, for me these are just an envelope full of guilt.

We got given an overnight glamping experience as a wedding present. Four of our closest friends clubbed together for it. On paper it sounded lovely but it was in the middle of nowhere in the countryside and we lived in London with no car. No nearby public transport. I’d just started a very stressful new job and was busy most weekends. When we did eventually try to book a weekend to do it, no one ever answered the phone.

The voucher expired a year later. Our friends never asked if we’d booked the night away, or whether we enjoyed it. I’m not sure if they know we never used it? It still haunts me seven years later.

(Phone initially autocorrected glamping to gimping! Definitely wouldn’t know what to do with a gimping experience! Grin )

troodiedoo · 04/07/2018 21:10

I used to work for a gift experience website years ago. Can't remember the exact figure but it was at least 50% that never get used.

Theycouldhavechoseneve · 04/07/2018 21:27

My friend was given a voucher for a Michelin starred hotel restaurant for a wedding gift, voucher was for £250. They ended up putting the same amount towards the total bill!

BustopherJones · 04/07/2018 21:30

L

LadyHonoriaDedlock · 04/07/2018 21:31

My mother just regifted me one of those for my birthday. Was all excited until I looked on the website and found the only things near me are driving experiences (I can't drive). Buggered if I'm spending $$$ on train fares for some 'pampering' experience or afternoon tea, so I've ended up with a coffee 'subscription' which is a bag of coffee per month for three months. Dread to think how much it cost the original giver...

Notcontent · 04/07/2018 21:32

Oh, I agree.

They are often not something that the person receiving it actually wants to do. And the other big problem is that even if it’s something you might want to do, the dates available or location mean that it becomes a huge inconvenience.

MoonsAndJunes · 04/07/2018 21:32

Organised 'fun' YANBU

MargaretCavendish · 04/07/2018 21:35

I was given one of these a few years ago and never used it - I still feel really guilty when I think about it because I think it cost a lot of money, but it was something I really didn't want to do, which would have cost me a lot to get to, and which I'd have had to do awkwardly alone.

AgentHannahWells · 04/07/2018 21:37

I've given them to DH and DC knowing that they would enjoy them and be able to fit them into our schedule, and they have loved all of them. I wouldn't give them to anyone I know is v busy though.

I would really like certain ones as a gift.

kalinkafoxtrot45 · 04/07/2018 21:52

I live in fear of spa vouchers.

Boyskeepswinging · 04/07/2018 22:06

Got one of these for Christmas one year and had to use the vouchers by April. We had literally not one day available when the whole family were free so I paid a small fortune to extend the vouchers by six months. Only to find that every time I tried to book I was told the activity was already fully booked so would I like to extend for another six months for yet another small fortune? Cheeky fuckery in the extreme and still pisses me off to think about it.

5foot5 · 04/07/2018 22:09

I think they can be good if you really know the person will like it and use it or, better still, if they express a preference for one.

DD (22) asked for some kind of "animal experience" for a present. After researching the possibilities she could get to we bought her a voucher for a special session at a safari park. This involved going in before it was open to the public and having a one-to-one tour with a keeper that lasted more than two hours, throwing meat to the wolves and getting up close with lions. She had a brilliant time but it is something I would never have thought to get her unless she had indicated she was interested.

I have a birthday coming up and have found a day long course in a craft I would like to do. DH has been emailed the link.

So, in short, I think they can be a good thing but don't just buy one unless you are very sure they are suitable.

Snappedandfarted2018 · 04/07/2018 22:14

Dh got one from mil to visit one of the stadiums in London only he had lost his job shortly after Christmas and didn’t have the funds to go down and use it by the time he did, it had expired. People need to be mindful the costs to go these experiences as it can be quite considerable.