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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

Ideas for presents that are "non physical"

26 replies

gracepoolesrum · 14/10/2019 19:26

Long story short, I have to take a train across the country to get to family for Christmas. I usually go loaded with presents but I now have a baby in tow and won't be able to carry anything extra. Looking for ideas for presents that I don't have to carry like vouchers but ideally more interesting! Ideas so far:

magazine subscription
subscription boxes (but they seem so overpriced! Are there any good ones?)
Experiences (but again, don't know what's reputable?)

Anything else?

OP posts:
recklessgran · 14/10/2019 19:40

Cinema gift box
Buyagift, Virgin experience days and red letter days all good. [Do your research first!] I have used all of those over the years without problem.
Afternoon tea vouchers.

Whoops75 · 14/10/2019 19:44

Could you get amazon to deliver the gifts there and get a relation to wrap them for you?

Ricekrispie22 · 14/10/2019 19:48

National Trust/RHS/English Heritage membership
Annual pass to a nearby attraction e.g. zoo

Fstar · 14/10/2019 20:16

Groupon vouchers for pub lunch, afternoon tea, spa etc

Fstar · 14/10/2019 20:17

Or buy online and ship to where your staying?

AudacityOfHope · 14/10/2019 20:24

Llama or alpaca farm experience is popular round here.

Wrongdissection · 14/10/2019 20:25

Theatre tickets

CaptainCallisto · 14/10/2019 20:30

A couple of years ago I did what pp's have suggested and ordered things online to be delivered to the house I would be in for Christmas. (Obviously I checked with them first). As stuff was addressed to me they knew what was unsafe to open.

CaptainCallisto · 14/10/2019 20:30

I mean unsafe in terms of spoiling a surprise, not that the contents were unsafe!

reluctantbrit · 14/10/2019 20:56

We did The Spicery subscription last Christmas as a family gift, lovely kits, you get a notification what you get and you can swap if necessary. I think we have the Easy Kit.

DD got a Bakedin baking subscription for her last birthday, so far it was very easy to follow and successful. Not the most adventures mixes but quite fun.

We gave a virgin experience as a gift but be careful, the vouchers are only valid 12 months so better check if it is suitable and won’t cause timing issues. The one we did was only possible April-October, so that needed to be taken into account .

Other small gifts which are easy to take are jewellery or some accessories like thin scarves. I also packed successfully toiletteries by buying the actual item and packing it nicely on location instead of getting sucked to buy gift sets.

Original poster
gracepoolesrum · 14/10/2019 21:32

Thanks all - did consider having gifts posted to the relatives' address but they're in their 80s and easily overwhelmed so I think even that may be a bit much. Think I'll go down the experiences route as it'll also make a nice change from buying "stuff". I'll have a look at what's local to the various relatives.

OP posts:
Winteriscomingfast · 14/10/2019 21:40

You might as well burn £10 notes as get experiences.

Groupon- time limited, you have to get to the venue, often very timer restricted (thursday between 3-5 etc)usually a reduced offer and not a bargain. The recipient has to pay something often for an experience that they didn't want

Red letter days. These are the worse. Overpriced- often way over the price of booking locally. If you want to change it you have to pay- and they expire quickly. Someone bought my DH an experience that he couldn't do as he was on a particular treatment (the giver with didnt know or didnt think). The experience was actually 200 miles away and would have cost £400+ in travel and overnight! We tried to change it but there was nothing except afternoon tea local to us and the fee change was more than the cost of buying tea somewhere much nicer. So £160 was wasted.

Winteriscomingfast · 14/10/2019 21:41

Just read they are in their 80s. So definitely not experiences.

user1493413286 · 14/10/2019 21:44

I’d look online for afternoon tea or restaurants in their local area as a lot of places offer gift cards and will post them to you.

Original poster
gracepoolesrum · 14/10/2019 21:46

Sorry- to clarify, not everyone I'm buying for is in their 80s, it's just that the rest of the family is scattered around the country and convenes at grandparents', so that's the only address I could post to. The family is a wide range of ages/interests!

OP posts:
Stompythedinosaur · 14/10/2019 21:47

I think cinema vouchers are good for kids. My dm liked a flower subscription to Bloom and Wild I did one year (the flowers are posted in a special box).

reluctantbrit · 14/10/2019 21:52

Ok, at that age range I wouldn’t do any experiences or subscription unless they are really into cooking or a magazine one.

Could you google what is local to them for a day out, concerts, theatre, membership for NT or RHS or any local attraction they may like to visit regularly?

My PIL and my mum are all in their Eighties and like to get either practical stuff (I lost count on how many hats we gave FIL) or something they can consume or do on one day without time restrictions (in case of FIL it depends on his health day by day).

Is there anyone nearby you could deliver things to for safekeeping?

Original poster
gracepoolesrum · 14/10/2019 21:53

Ooh like the idea of a bloom and wild subscription for my DM... will definitely have a look at that.

OP posts:
ODFOx · 14/10/2019 22:01

I got Bloom and wild last year for elderly relative: flowers that come through the letterbox but are lovely. They did a miniature Christmas tree that could go into the garden afterwards and then 2 bouquets (monthly intervals) so there were lovely surprises into spring. The trees aren't on their site yet this year.

You could buy gifts for everyone, wrap and post them yourself in one package, rather than having them delivered and having to wrap on arrival.

Vouchers for afternoon tea at local place (to recipient, not you!).
magazine subscription.
lovely stationery isn't too heavy or bulky.
spice or recipe subscription.
cheese subscription
scarves/gloves/jewellery as pp suggested
fit bit/kindle are light.
amazon dot.

ODFOx · 14/10/2019 22:03

oops: too long to type, so all my suggestions already covered

mumwon · 14/10/2019 22:04

garden centre vouchers are good - they can be used usually for afternoon tea or garden stuff.

mumwon · 14/10/2019 22:05

voucher for local theatres or cinemas

Barbarara · 14/10/2019 22:22

Concert tickets - but only suitable if you know the dates will suit.

Not on the high street do a fairy letter subscription for children, and a book subscription too.

I would absolutely love a cheese subscription!

Cornerstone do personalised razors and a subscription of blades and toiletries. They were very popular here last year (or the year before)

There are some good magazine deals this time of year with fairly substantial free gifts included. I’m not sure how the timing would work out for Christmas though.

I gave a gift of a subscription to newspaper archives to an elderly relative which was a very successful gift.

You could organise a subscription for Spotify or audible.

here are instructions for giving kindle books as gifts.

JayeAshe · 14/10/2019 22:24

Beerbods for anyone who appreciates craft beers www.beerbods.co.uk

reluctantbrit · 14/10/2019 22:40

Our neighbour got Bloom and Wild flowers as a leaving fit from work , we rescued one set when they were away and they lasted quite a while (I got her some flowers as a replacement).

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