Gifting An Experience Instead Of "Stuff" - Fly & Sea Dive Adventures

If you’re like most people, the first twenty-four days of December are dedicated to scouring stores for the perfect gifts. Every year, this task becomes more difficult as everyone already has everything. So what should you buy them?

Let’s change course for just a second. Think back to holidays past. What is the most memorable gift you’ve ever received? We’re willing to wager an educated guess about that gift. It probably involved a memory made through an experience rather than a physical item.

We encourage you to consider the gift of an experience this holiday season. While it’s great to get a new pair of fins or a new mask, there’s no better gift than memories that long outlast even the toughest neoprene. This year, gift your family or friends a memory rather than a disposable present by booking them on a scuba diving holiday, or sign them up for a dive course.

Have We Taken The Joy Out Of Christmas?

If you have the feeling that everyone you’re buying for has too many things, you’re almost certainly correct. The LA times has reported that the average American household has over 300,000 items in it. A North American family spends on average $1700 per year on clothes and the average child has more than 200 toys, but only plays with 12 of them each day.

Do all of these things make us happier? The answer is overwhelmingly no. While we consume twice as many things than our predecessors did 50 years ago, we are statistically far less happy. In fact, 54% of people think they have too much clutter and another 78% of people have no idea how to fix the problem.

The holidays only serve to compound this issue. More than 50% of people report that they have re-gifted an item during the holidays, and 1 in 2 shoppers feel they cannot find a perfect gift for their loved ones. This certainly sounds like proof that the social convention of giving gifts has in reality taken the joy out of the holidays.

Why Is Gifting Experiences Better?

On the other hand, a recent study has proven that we receive far more satisfaction from experiential gifts than from physical ones. Be it a new dive certification, membership to a local dive club or even a dive holiday, 80% of people across all demographics would be happier to receive the gift of experience than a new piece of dive equipment.

For the families out there looking to give their children an adventure this Christmas, science backs your decision as well. The average parent spends more than $250 per child every year according to Parenting.com. This could easily cover the cost of a Bubblemaker course or an introductory dive.

Furthermore, a family that dives together, stays together. It might sound cheesy, but again, science has indeed proven a link between shared family experiences and a family’s well-being. These experiences also benefit children by giving them a stronger sense of identity and security, and kids who have positive family memories show fewer behavioral problems and higher rates of academic success.