11 gift ideas for the person in your life who has enough ‘stuff’

Gift giving doesn’t have to be about swapping ugly sweaters, plastic stuff and cash.

My siblings and I started giving our parents experience gifts several years ago. We knew they didn’t need stuff, and one more gift card to a chain restaurant would kill us.

The gift of an experience is my go-to now. And when I can join in the fun, it makes the memory that much sweeter.

This year, my mom and I took a cooking class with Heidi Billotto for Mother’s Day. I took my dad to the Annual Fourth Ward Holiday Home Tour when he was visiting Charlotte. We’ve purchased Flatrock Playhouse tickets for my father-in-law and sent him to the Carl Sandburg Home in Hendersonville. My best friend and I tubed down the Green River for her milestone birthday. We’ve given our kids annual passes to the USNWC, tickets to the circus and the Charlotte Symphony for Christmas.

If you’re ready to make the leap from traditional gift-giving to a hands-on experience for a family member, a friend or your kids, here are several ideas:

(1) Get a gift card for a class or workshop

Choosing a class for someone else takes thought and possibly some digging: What interests this person? Is this a skill they want to learn? Will this help them try something new? Is this a class you can take together?

These businesses and nonprofits offer classes throughout the year.

Charlotte Center for Literary Arts

Use a gift card to take a class about fiction, poetry, memoir or novel writing.

1817 Central Ave., Room 302

(704) 315-2131

@charlottelit

Price range: $65-$390

[Related: Fancy yourself a writer? A poet? You can join the Charlotte Lit community]

Charlotte Meditation

Give the gift of an eight-week group program beginning on Jan. 9.

725 Providence Road, #300

(704) 277-6049

@charlotte.meditation

Price range: $950

Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen

This gift might just benefit you. Send a loved one to a cooking class with topics such as winter Thai, comfort foods, winter vegetarian, chocolate, Galentine’s Day and Super Bowl spread.

4001-C Yancey Road

(704) 817-7568

@chefalyssaclt

Price range: $70-$75

Jesse Brown’s

Have your friends expressed an interest in fly fishing? Treat them to a casting lesson for beginners or advanced.

4732 Sharon Road, Suite 2M

(704) 556-0020

@jessebrownsclt

Price range: $45

The Light Factory

Get your mom to stop chopping off heads in photos — send her to an introductory level digital photography classes. They have intermediate classes, too.

1817 Central Ave.

(704) 333-9755

@thelightfactory

Price range: $275-$325

The Little Studio

Learn how to use a potter’s wheel. There are beginner, intermediate, one-and-done and eight-week long classes.

3432 The Plaza

(980) 277-4010

@thelittlestudioclt

Price range: $37-$145

Thomas Pottery

Make a sunflower bowl, dish or vase with the help of an expert potter.

1295 S. NC-705, Seagrove, NC

(336) 879-4145

@thomaspottery

Price range: $40-$60

(2) Send history buffs on an outing

Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum features USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier, USS Laffey Destroyer, USS Clamagore Submarine, 28 historic aircraft and more.

40 Patriots Point Road, Mount Pleasant, SC

(843) 884-2727

@patriots_point

Price range: $16-$24

(3) Buy a wine and beer passport

With a Yadkin Valley Winter Wine and Beer Passport, your gift recipient can visit 10 wineries, four breweries and one distillery in the Yadkin Valley between Nov. 29 and March 22 for tastings. The passport includes discounts at local hotels and other businesses.

257 Standard St., Elkin, NC

(336) 526-1111

@yadkinvalleync

Price range: $65 per individual or $99 per couple by Nov. 28; prices increase on Nov. 29 to $75 per individual and $115 per couple

(4) Treat the parents to a bed and breakfast.

Why not splurge on your parents? They did give you life. Here are a few traditional B&Bs with a gourmet breakfast in the North Carolina mountains. Or find one at the Asheville Bed & Breakfast Association.

Engadine Inn & Cabins

2630 Smokey Park Hwy., Candler

(828) 633-1110

@engadineinnandcabins

Price range: $129-$279

Sweet Biscuit Inn

77 Kenilworth Road, Asheville

(828) 250-0170

@sweetbiscuitinn

Price range: $160-$250

Wildberry Lodge

135 Potato Branch Road, Leicester

(828) 683-2525

@wildberrylodge3960

Price range: $169-$409

(5) Set up a surprise vacation

Pack Up & Go plans three-day excursions for people who are OK with the unknown. The company chooses your destination based on your budget, mode of transportation and answers from an interest questionnaire. Know your audience if you decide to go this route for a gift.

(6) Find high adventure

Who in your life would scream with delight if they could go hang gliding? If you can think of someone, then this extreme adventure will make their day. Hang glide from 1,500 ft. or 2,000 ft. over the North Carolina foothills.

Thermal Valley Hang Gliding

4098 Old Amherst Road, Lenoir

(828) 292-7473

@thermalvalleyhanggliding

Price range: $159-$199

(7) Plan a bike trip

Cyclist enthusiasts will appreciate a bike packing excursion. Overmountain Cycles, just 90 minutes from Charlotte, offers bike and equipment rental for day, weekend and week-long trips. They have maps and can offer suggested rides and resources to help plan the trip.

Overmountain Cycles

313 N. Green St., Morganton

(828) 413-1357

@overmountaincycles

Price range: Day trip - $65-$80; weekend trip $130-$150. Prices include bike rental and bike packing bags

(8) Buy a membership

A membership to a museum or attraction opens up a wide range of activities for individuals and families. It’s a gift that lasts an entire year and may include unlimited admission, discounts to other institutions and invitations to special events. Here are a few places for membership gifts:

Bechtler Museum of Modern Art

420 S. Tryon St.

(704) 353-9200

@thebechtler

Price range: $50 individual, $90 family

Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens

6500 S. New Hope Road, Belmont

(704) 825-4490

@danielstowebotanicalgarden

Price range: $50 individual, $85 family

Discovery Place Science

301 N. Tryon St.

(704) 372-6261

@discoveryplace

Price range: $80 individual, $150 family

Levine Museum of the New South

200 E. 7th St.

(704) 333-1887

@levinemuseum

Price range: $50 individual, $80 family

Mint Museum

2730 Randolph Road and 500 S. Tryon St.

(704) 337-2000

@themintmuseum

Price range: $60-$1,199

North Carolina Zoo

4401 Zoo Pkwy., Asheboro

(800) 488-0444

@nczoo

Price range: $59 individual, $84 family

(9) Book a brewery tour

The Brewery Experience brings guests to Greenville, South Carolina’s The Eighth State Brewing Company, Quest Brewing Co. and Thomas Creek Brewery in a 12-passenger van. Tour the breweries, taste samples and learn beer facts along the way.

The Brewery Experience

(828) 216-1343

@thebreweryexperiencecarolinas

Price range: $54-$59 for public tours; $79 for private tour, four person minimum

(10) Stay overnight in a tiny home

Send your loved ones glamping — camping with amenities — at The Ridge Outdoor Resort. It’s a small cabin with internet, linens, full fridge and a back porch for rocking.

The Ridge Outdoor Resort

1250 Middle Creek Road., Sevierville, TN

(865) 505-3111

@ridge_outdoor_resort

Price range: $99-$130

(11) Send someone on a hike

On Christmas morning, tell your loved one to take a hike, but in a good way. Snakeroot Ecotours offers guided hikes to waterfalls, creeks and swimming holes. Find mushrooms and orchids or plan a custom hike for a family adventure.

Snakeroot Ecotours

(828) 675-8218

@snakeroot.eco

Price range: $25 for a naturalist walk or $60 for half-day hikes with a $140 minimum; custom and longer hikes are additional.