5 Experience Days which Make Unusual Christmas Gifts

Someone once said that life is made up of one long series of experiences. A new century and one bright spark later and now we're being charged for them. What a jip. These money-making cretins are counting, of course, on the fact that we're all lazy so-and-sos who would never have the time or the know-how to arrange these experience days by ourselves. Unfortunately they're bang on the money. And at a second glance, some of these experience day gifts are actually rather good. Blast.

1. The Adrenaline Junkie
Unless you are seriously well connected or you run around on secret missions for MI6, the opportunity to jump out of an airplane, bungee off a bridge, go off-roading or drive around in a Lamborghini is unlikely to present itself. Action-packed experience day gifts like these offer the perfect way to shake up mundane lives and scratch that James Bond itch. Just make sure it's a legit company - getting your loved ones mortally injured because that sky diving company are a load of old phonies could be a real downer over your Christmas holidays.

2. Pamper Days
Maybe it's our hectic lives and all that time spent feeling overworked and under-appreciated that sparked our nationwide love of pamper days. Or maybe it's a chance to live like kings. For men at least, the well-manicured, bronzed beauties dishing out treatments play a pretty central role. But whatever our motives, at Christmas a gift experience pamper day is a sure-fire win.

3. Food Food Food
Yes, that's right. You can actually pay for the experience of eating out in a restaurant. Worth considering though if your culinary experiences stretch no further than a few favourite hotspots – and you order the same thing off the menu in each one. By treating your special someone at Christmas to a slap up meal you might also score extra relationship points. And heck, whatever happens you get a meal out of it.

4. Get Cultured
Experience day gifts that revolve around cultural escapades like going to the theatre or wine tasting are brilliant, especially if your cultural high point over the Christmas holidays consists solely of Eastenders the Christmas special. With limited sense or good taste you can choose all kinds of life-enriching tomfoolery for you and your partner. Alternatively send them off without you - the blessing of experience day gifts is that you get to make that choice.

5. Treats for Two
The only thing better than seeing the look on your partner's face on Christmas day when they find out that you've ditched the trademark slippers for an exciting experience day, is knowing that you get to reap the benefits too. Get in on all the action of any of the above experiences - it's like a big bonus Christmas gift from you to you. Go on, you deserve it.

Phil Ward works in online marketing at Gizoo, a leading UK retailer gift experience days. If you're stuck for Christmas gift ideas, you'll find Gizoo offers a great choice of adrenalin experiences as Christmas gifts for him and pamper day experiences at exclusive spas as Christmas gifts for her.