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If the collective wisdom of Harvard's 80-year-long study on happiness and every film ever made are to be believed, it's not stuff that makes us happy - it's people.
Regardless of the backdrop (holidays, birthdays, or mundane weekdays), it's our relationships with one another that lend meaning and joy to our lives.
So, unless it's precise, like a personalized keepsake or thoughtful hobby accessory (take running for instance), you might be better off gifting an experience if your intention is to be impactful. They may not need another purse or a cutting board that can be used to artfully serve cheese. They may, instead, appreciate and remember an afternoon spent making ravioli with you and a local chef for far longer, and far more fondly.
And, contrary to most big-gesture rom-coms, an experiential gift doesn't have to be a surprise flight to Italy or a tour of the South of France on a 50-foot yacht. You can book the chef and the ravioli and BYOB for the same as what you would have spent on the purse she'll never use or the cutting board she'll always feel slightly too guilty to give away.
Below are 11 great experience gifts that won't break the bank:
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