11-07-2024 HGG - Flipbook - Page 6
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Thursday, November 7, 2024
Experiences vs. Things
Gifts for those who have everything
By E. Rose Scarff, Contributing Writer
There are always people on your gift
list who are hard to buy for because they
already have everything they could want or
need. So instead of another “thing” that will
probably be put in the back of a closet, give
them the gift of an experience. It could be
something they already love doing or something they have always wanted to do but just
haven’t gotten around to yet.
By taking this route in your gift giving
you will be doing what recent studies have
proven to be beneficial for us. Experiences
are more memorable than most “things”
because they are usually shared with others.
They become a part of a person’s identity
and can help us learn about ourselves and
others, which makes us more social, giving
and generous. Experiences can improve a
person’s physical and mental health and
their relationships. By being “present” during an activity, they tend to be more mindful
and spend less time comparing themselves
to others.
So, think about their interests. Here are a
few ideas to get your started:
For music lovers in Baltimore, there are
many choices of venues for tickets including
the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (bsomusic.org), the Peabody Institute of Johns
Hopkins University (peabody.jhu.edu) for
classical music and the Young Victorian
Theatre Company (yvtc.org) for Gilbert and
Sullivan. If you know their favorites in contemporary music, it is easy to do a search
to see if there will be an upcoming performance in the area.
If they would like to do more than just listen to music, how about a gift for lessons to
learn how to play a favorite instrument or for
voice lessons? For the seniors on your list,
lessons will help keep their mind sharp and
add to their social circle. For children, music
lessons can build confidence and bring joy.
Besides the beginner offerings at
Peabody Institute, most community colleges
also offer music lessons. There are many
private schools as well, including Baltimore
School of Music (baltimoreschoolofmusic.
org), the Music Workshop (musicworkshopschool.com, photo above) or Paterson Park
Academy of Music (pattersonparkmusic.
com).
Maybe they love music but have no
desire to play an instrument or to sing, but
they love to dance. Treat them to a beginning series of lessons. Beginning Ballroom
(beginningballroom.com/), Atlantic Ballroom
(atlanticballroom.com) or Arthur Murray (bal-
timoredanceclasses.com) are a few of the
places in the area that give dancing lessons for all age groups in ballroom dance
or swing.
The artists among us would probably
love art lessons in their favorite format or the
chance to try another medium. Social Studio
Baltimore (socialstudioart.com) and Creative
Alliance (creativealliance.org) are just two
places to start. Community colleges and
other local schools also offer lessons.
For art appreciation, a trip to The Walters
Art Gallery, The Baltimore Museum of Art
or the Visionary Art Museum would be
a welcome gift. Or offer to take them to
Washington, D.C., Philadelphia or New York
to visit other museums if they are already
familiar with those in Baltimore.
Do they love sports? Then tickets to a
game of their favorite team would be a hit.
For golfers, a tee time gift card at their favorite golf course would be appreciated. Or
for horse crazy kids of any age, how about
riding lessons or summer horse camp? Full
Moon Farm (fullmoonfarm.com) or Graham
Equestrian Center (grahameq.org) are just
two of the many lesson barns in Maryland
where horse lovers can start or continue
gaining expertise.
How about water lovers? Try swimming
lessons at The Y in Central Maryland (ymaryland.org) or the Jewish Community Center
of Great Baltimore (jcc.org) or other local
venues. Sailing lessons at Downtown Sailing
Center (downtownsailing.org) would be a
good place to start for that sport. Kayak
lessons might fit the bill at either the Canton
Kayak Club (cantonkayakclub.com, photo
above) or Eastern Water Sports (easternwatersports.com).
If these activities are too active, how
about a sailboat cruise on the bay?
Chesapeake Bay Charters (cbcsailing.com) or Virgin Experience Gifts
(virginexperiencegifts.com) are places to
start looking for a sailing cruise on the
Chesapeake Bay. The trips range in various
lengths of time and are offered during the
day or in the evening.
For the person who loves to cook or for
someone who has an interest in learning,
classes in cooking abound in the Baltimore
area. Two examples are Baltimore Chef
Shop (baltimorechefshop.com, photo bottom left) and Cozy Meal (cozymeal.com).
Whether you choose a one-time class or
Experiences continued on page 18
