12 Days of Underconsumption is a special series from one5c laying out everything you need to know to celebrate more sustainably.
12 Days of Underconsumption is a special series from one5c laying out everything you need to know to celebrate more sustainably.
Worried your holiday presents could wind up rotting in the back of a drawer or, worse, the dump? Giving an experience not only avoids turning would-be treasure into trash, but it can actually be a scientifically superior present. A January 2024 study found that people who received tickets to some kind of experience or event rather than physical gifts tended to be happier and more grateful. Picking up a subscription or an app or service can scratch the same itch, too.
Now, we’re not talking about sending everyone to Disney World, but rather affordable options like concert tickets, national parks passes, or cooking classes. If you’re unsure where to start, a giftee’s hobbies can provide clutch clues, so we rounded up ideas for experiences and apps that suit some of the most popular ways people in the U.S. occupy their free time.
For cooks and bakers
The experience: In-person cooking classes teach practical skills, provide a meal or a treat at the end, and can make for a fun date night. Local offerings will vary widely, but listings at restaurants, colleges, and cooking schools are a good place to start hunting. Sur La Table offers a handful of in-person classes in its stores for $100 per person. Focused lessons on knife skills, butchering, baking, and pasta making may appeal to even seasoned chefs.
The app: MasterClass offers a whole curriculum of online classes, including cooking classes taught by celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Alice Waters, and Thomas Keller. The standard subscription starts at $10 a month for access to the entire library. A Plus ($15) or Premium ($20) plan lets folks download classes to watch offline or across up to six different devices.
For pet lovers
The experience: Most organized activities for pets skew toward dog owners. The American Kennel Club has a nationwide directory of instructors offering agility courses, scent training, and tracking, among other skills. There are fewer in-person options for cat lovers, but Cat School is one of the better-known online providers for those hoping to teach their fuzzball tricks from leash training to clicker-based agility. Classes start at $25 a month, or $240 for a yearly enrollment.
The app: GoodPup is one of the more fully-featured pet training apps. It’s available for iOS and Android. For $30 a month, it includes a weekly video call with a real trainer, as well as chat support to address day-to-day training questions.
For outdoorsy folks
The experience: A national parks pass can meet the needs of a broad range of hikers, cyclists, canoers, and myriad other stripes of nature enthusiast. For $80, an America the Beautiful annual pass grants access to every national park in the country. For $35 to $75, you can instead opt for an annual pass for a specific park or group of parks, if your giftee is more likely to stay close to home or has a favorite spot. Keep in mind that not every park requires an entrance fee.
The app: AllTrails is among the most popular outdoor apps out there, and for good reason. Its catalog of hiking routes, park guides, and other info is backed by over 75 million users who help maintain a robust library of up-to-date comments and photos so you can stay on top of current trail conditions. Available for Android and iOS, it runs $36 a year.
For DIYers and crafters
The experience: For the artist in your life, investigate local pottery studios, knitting clubs, or makerspaces that come with access to tools, expertise, and a workspace. Some Home Depot, Lowe’s, or Habitat Restore locations offer in-person classes, as do chains with more scattered national footprints, like Wine & Design, Pinot’s Palette, and Color Me Mine.
The app: Craftsy has the broadest selection of virtual DIY classes, with more than 1,800 to choose from. Lessons range from cake decorating to spinning your own yarn, and they often include multiple sessions. Members get full access, as well as downloadable patterns, recipes, and other perks. It runs $123 a year, and the recipient can share it with up to three buddies.
For board-game geeks
The experience: For an avid board gamer, the appetite for new things to play can be insatiable. A membership or a gift card at your local tabletop gaming store can be just the thing to ensure access to the latest and greatest. For stores that offer memberships, they will usually charge either a monthly or an annual fee, somewhere around $15 to $40 a month, and $200 to $300 for a full year. Signing up covers table time, member-only events, and other perks, all the while saving your loved one the grief of maintaining a personal library that can eat up a lot of space and money.
The app: Tabletop Simulator, available for Mac and Windows PCs via the Steam gaming service, lets you play games in a virtual environment on your computer. It contains versions of thousands of board, dice, and tabletop role-playing games—from staples like Uno and Monopoly to more niche titles like Gloomhaven and Wingspan. It costs $20 for Tabletop Simulator itself, and $7 to $10 for paid game add-ons like Bristol 1350 and Zombicide, although the vast majority of content is free via the user-generated Steam Workshop repository.
For gardeners and green thumbs
The experience: The American Horticultural Society is a nonprofit organization that champions all things gardening. A $50 individual membership includes a handful of perks, among them free admission to more than 360 public gardens. Members also get a subscription to the American Gardener, AHS’s bimonthly print magazine.
The app: You’ll find no shortage of gardening-related apps (like Pl@ntNet, which is free), but PictureThis is one of the most popular plant identification tools. Take a picture within the app and PictureThis will not only tell you what plant you’re looking at but also give you information on its care, human and pet toxicity, and how to diagnose potential diseases. A one-year subscription costs $40 a year for individuals, and $50 a year for a family membership for up to six people.
For the fitness obsessed
The experience: ClassPass lets folks book exercise classes at more than 2,500 participating gyms around the world. It’s great for frequent travelers or workout junkies who like to mix things up. ClassPass works on a credit-based system beginning at $19 a month for 8 credits and scaling to 100 credits for $199 a month. Classes range from 3 to 15 credits depending on location, the type of class, and how popular it is.
The app: You can find a fitness app for almost every workout scenario and personality type, but among the paid apps, Ladder is adaptable to a wide range of people, particularly those interested in strength training. A customized weekly workout plan, which includes access to a team of virtual gym buddies and a coach, runs $30 a month. The $180 Annual Pro Plan lets users swap teams and coaches as often as they like.
For wellness and meditation enthusiasts
The experience: Massages and spa days are wonderful, but consider a retreat for a more immersive experience. Retreat.guru lists more than 4,000 destinations across the world, with experiences structured around yoga, meditation, sweat lodges, psilocybin ceremonies, and more. You can find everything from single-night retreats starting at $75 at a priory in Washington state to a $3,000, four-week plant diet excursion in Peru.
The app: Headspace remains the category favorite for meditation apps, with multiple studies supporting the effectiveness of its offerings. With its 50% discount running now, an annual plan runs $35, or you can gift the $6.50 monthly plan. Membership grants access to audiocasts and soundscapes focusing on sleep, meditation, movement, waking up, and improving focus.