Give Your Loved Ones the Gift of New Experiences This Holiday

The chill has descended upon many of us in the northern areas of the world, and with it the snow is falling in great sheets of white crystal, and so it’s beginning to feel a lot like the holidays. But the holiday season have turned into a nightmare. Did that last sentence catch you off guard? Well, it’s true. When many families must save all year to afford a gift giving extravaganza or choose going in debt for much of the new year to be able to pull off Christmas, then the holiday is becoming more stressful than it should. Big business and marketing companies have a heyday making people think that it’s all about the gifts…

Truth is, that it’s not. The truth is that the holidays are for the time spent with loved ones, because life is too short, and these are the moments that matter most. While it’s easier to simply purchase a gift to show your love, it’s so much more powerful to be positive, loving, and supporting to your loved ones. So this holiday, I implore you to choose happy, choose to smile, and choose to love your family, but to also consider what might make the biggest difference in their lives. Do you notice they are unhappy in their current situation? Is it obvious they are spinning their wheels and need to get away for a while? Can you tell they need something new and exciting in their lives?

This holiday season, try giving your loved ones love and positivity, and new experiences. The most powerful gift I ever received was a chance to travel and see the world. If paying for an entire trip is out of the question, then simply plan a day trip and go with them so you both can share in a new experience. These types of memories are made quickly and go by in a flash, yet stay with your loved ones longer than trinkets, toys, or plastic crap. Think deeper this Christmas, and give more than something that will end up in a landfill in a month or two.

If you’d still like to see their face when they unwrap a gift from you, I’ve compiled a few travel-minded goodies that can really light up their face while giving them the opportunity to experience something new in life. Happy holidays, and remember, choose happy, choose love, and choose new experiences.

Patagonia Provisions Taste of Provisions Box
Patagonia Provisions specializes in quality foods with tastes from all around the world. Their Taste of Provisions Box includes a Wild Sockeye Salmon, Wild Pink Salmon, Red Bean Chili, Breakfast Grains, 3 Fruit+Almond Bars (Mango, Inca Berry and Apricot), Buffalo Jerky and Savory Sofrito Mussels. This variety box is a trip around the world of natural foods, and is packed full of deliciousness. The mango bars are the best, and you will want to keep eating them forever (believe me, I know the feeling), the salmon was surprisingly awesome, and the buffalo jerky was out of this world. So if you can’t afford to travel, at least bring some of the wild tastes from around the planet to you.

Conner Aztec Sun Hat
Made out of recycled plastic, the Aztec Sun Hat is a perfect choice for the new traveler as well as the aged adventurer, because it won’t fade, or shrink and it floats! Conner's Aztec Sun Hat packs flat, and can unpack and hold its shape, while also providing an internal pocket and breezy venting for blisteringly hot and humid days. It’s stylish, eye-catching, yet classy in its own right, with all of the great features of a high end safari hat. But even better than the price, is its ability to be lightweight, versatile and aiding in keeping you cool and comfortable, even when you find yourself in a new world with a stifling atmosphere.

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(Main photo by grandia via Flickr)

Toad & Co Kennicott Shirt Jacket
When I travel, I like to come prepared, because not only have I learned from being ill-prepared, but I’ve also come to realize how to do it smart and efficiently. One of the best ways to do that is to pack smart, like choosing clothing that can bridge the gaps in temperature and weather. Toad & Co’s Kennicott Shirt Jacket is a shirt and a jacket that is a perfect balance between a bit cold and a bit warm, and so it works great to cancel out too many extra shirts as well as a bulky coat. The Kennicott Shirt Jac is made with a Prato Wool Blend that feels great, looks sharp, while providing warmth when I need it, without adding the bulkiness of a big winter coat to my pack. Plus, the shirt is designed so you can avoid the itchiness that most wool jackets can cause.

​Zen Camera by David Ulrich
If travel is out of the question due to finances, give the eye and mind a chance to see the world differently, to see beauty where many see none, and to experience what nature and the greater world out there has to offer. Zen Camera is a guide that teaches creativity and self-expression, while walking you through the beauty of the world, inward and outward. From profound lessons in photography and life, to training your eye in photography and your mind in mindfulness, David Ulrich guides, unveils, and inspires in Zen Camera.