What gifts are you planning on buying for your kids or spouse this year?  If it’s just another toy, gadget or pair of socks, you may want to reconsider.  Think about it for a bit.  How many toys do your kids have socked away in their rooms that they haven’t even touched in months?  Is that what you want to spend your hard earned money on?  My guess is no.  So, instead of filling up your house with more stuff, why not consider spending it on experience instead?

If you haven’t thought much about experience gifts, maybe you should start.  Here are 5 reasons to choose experience gifts over regular gifts this year.

1. It’s unique.  People give material gifts all the time so, while we all appreciate receiving these gifts, they are not unique at all.  Getting the gift of an experience is not that common and people are excited by the adventure.
2. It’s more personal. If you are looking for a gift for a music lover, what do you think would be a better gift.  A standard gift basket or tickets to a concert that they have been wanting to see?  I would say the concert because you know that it fits in with their interests and sometimes a concert is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
3. Memories last a lifetime.  Memories can last a lifetime, whereas the newest gadget might last 6 months or a year.  I would go with the lifetime choice.
4. Something that you can do together.  Okay, so you may be tempted to buy your teenager the newest iPhone, but the truth is, you aren’t going to be spending much time together in that situation.  They will be busy staring at their phone.  Instead, choose an experience that you can do together as a family and spend more time bonding.