Christmas is in two weeks…how are you doing? Got everything wrapped up, under the tree, sipping on eggnog? I didn’t think so. Do the thoughts of hitting the mall make you feel woozy and faint, or maybe that’s just my husband who gets like that anytime he is near a mall in December? Do you have people on your list who always say they don’t “need anything”? Then how about giving a gift of experience? There are some great local events coming up or even memberships or subscriptions that is a gift that keeps giving all year! They are calling for another harsh winter…let’s face it…we are all going to need something to look forward to in the new year. Here are some of my favourite South Shore experiences to give.

Astor Theatre Concert Tickets- “Brett Kissel- Ice, Snow and 30 Below”

Well, the title of the show sounds just about right for the end of January! The Astor Theatre is a beautiful, intimate setting in Liverpool, NS for a concert where every seat is a good one. I know there are a lot of young and old country music fans around the South Shore. Brett Kissel is a Juno and multiple CCMA award winner who hails from Pride Lake Alberta. You’ve probably spent some time singing along to “Started with a Song” and “Airwaves”. What better than some concert tickets under the tree to look forward to at the end of January! Even though it might be ice, snow and 30 below…it will be warm and toasty inside the Astor this January.

Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre Membership

Swimming, skating, aquafit, yoga, room rentals and more are yours when you sign up for an annual LCLC membership. The Lunenburg County Lifestyle Centre has swimming or skating only memberships as well as the annual all-inclusive membership which comes with some extra perks. Separate pricing exists for individuals, couples, seniors and youth as well as family memberships. From December 1-31 2106, you save the tax on all annual memberships! This is a gift that keeps giving and is also a gift of active living…what a great way to start the new year!

Ross Farm Season Pass

Sleigh and wagon rides, pumpkin planting and picking, feeding baby animals and taking nature walks are just some of the things to do at Ross Farm. At Ross Farm Museum they want their visitors to understand the importance of the land in Nova Scotia’s past. They want you to see why they take pride in our rural heritage, and help you discover what life was like on a Nova Scotia family farm during the 1800’s and early 1900’s. The cost for a family admission is $20.00 or you can buy a whole seasons pass for $40.00! Think of the fun weekends you can have visiting the Farm away from screens and technology. Sounds like a visit to the Farm is something we all could benefit from.

Nova Scotia Museum Annual Pass

Speaking of museums, did you know you can get an Annual Pass to the all the Museums in Nova Scotia? The Nova Scotia Museum Pass is your ticket to experience Nova Scotia’s culture and heritage like never before! The credit card-size Pass buys admission to any and all of the museum sites for one low price! Simply flash your pass to any Nova Scotia Museum site to gain immediate and hassle-free access to a great museum experience. There are 9 museums included on the South Shore alone, including Ross Farm, The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, Wile Carding Mill, and the Black Loyalist Heritage Centre. You could plan a monthly visit to a Nova Scotia museum for the whole year and still not see them all. This is a great gift for a family or individuals who like to travel our province!

Subscription to LighthouseNow

We are pretty fortunate here to still have a local paper with reporters focused on our issues and stories from the South Shore. Local sports, municipal meetings, editorials, the tv guide, classifieds and the court report all there for you to keep yourself informed and entertained week after week. A subscription to the LighthouseNow paper is a gift that gives for 52 weeks! They also have a fantastic buy one/get one free offer on right now…so you could get a gift for yourself at the same time. 🙂

Yoga Room of Essence

Yoga Room of Essence is an organization that takes pride in offering our community a variety of wellness options from Yoga and Meditation, to Reiki, Essential Oils and Massage. They are the first full service, flexible model Yoga studio South of Halifax! YROE’s vision is to provide people with flexible, unique, and affordable options for personal wellness, and to provide them with the inspiration and tools to live a fully aware, and authentic life.

Yoga Room of Essence has some great holiday specials on right now to make your gift giving easier. Who doesn’t want to start the new year focused on your personal wellness and committed to self-care? What a beautiful, thoughtful gift this would be…a true gift of experience.
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Lunenburg Makery Membership

The Lunenburg Makery is a place for learning, making and gathering around craft. They are a multi-purpose craft space including sewing facilities, a library and reading area, a retail space and studios. They offer workshops and courses as well as drop-in projects, sew-by-the-hour, evening craft circles, and studio space, AND they sell a membership! You get 10 hours per week of the sewing studio and equipment, including sewing machines, serger, cutting tables and mats, etc. Also included is access to borrowing books from their craft & sewing library, 10% off notion and fabric purchases, as well as 10% most workshops! What a great gift for someone who is interested in sewing or crafting but may not have access to the all the required equipment. I love this idea…and what a neat gift!

Mind’s Eye Creative- Online Visual Note Taking Course

Have you ever thought about how to be more effective with your note-taking and retain more information (so you don’t have to re-read or re-watch stuff over and over again!) Ashton from Mind’s Eye Creative here on the South Shore, is offering a 6 week online Visual Note Taking Course that would be great for educators, teachers, parents, homeschooling families, or students with learning disabilities. At the end of the course you will be able to feel confident in your newly learned drawing skills, know how to listen to information and capture the big picture with supporting details, and integrate everything together to take awesome effective notes! Ashton believes that creativity is a powerful tool that can be used to facilitate learning and cultivate good work. Think about how this could impact your life, schooling, work and more. What a neat experience gift this would be! Give the gift of creativity this Christmas!

‘DIY’ by the Sea with Front Porch Mercantile

Been admiring those nifty re-loving your furniture and decor projects on Pinterest and Facebook but haven’t known where to start? How about learning at a DIY Retreat at White Point Beach Resort in February? Wendy Batten of Front Porch Mercantile will host this fun-filled weekend. Using Canadian made, 100% All Natural Milk Paint, FAT Paint, Chalk Style Paints and Fusion Mineral Paints you’ll tackle and create 8 projects that will leave you more than ready to take on projects at home. By mid-February, a weekend DIY retreat at White Point Resort with meals, bonfire, live entertainment and working on painting on some cool projects you get to take home…sounds perfect!

There are many positives that come from giving experiences, including the happiness we get from just anticipating the event. I hope this list helps you with your “experience” gift giving this year. So much to do and enjoy right here on the South Shore!

*This post contains an affiliate link with Mind’s Eye Creative which means I receive a small percentage of the sales if you purchase using this link.