Ok I know it’s only September but an awful lot of people are already starting to think about Christmas. The Season of Good Will & Big Spending!

As a Mum I’ve never left all the spending till Christmas and have always picked things up through the year when I see them. My ‘present drawer’ (not a drawer incidentally, more of a shelf and two baskets) usually has something suitable for random gifts throughout the year, the odd birthday, Christmas, even a potential wedding present or two.

I have a shed-load of birthdays coming up soon, and a trend I’ve noticed recently within my family and from what I gather in many other people’s families, is the tendency to prioritise experiences over products. Our memories are with us, long after the various pointless gadgets and gizmos, we all get given, have been consigned to the bin. The tacky socks with a red-nosed Rudolf, the Easter Bunny mug, the Valentine’s cushions, 30th birthday engraved champagne glasses, Father’s Day t-shirts …. fun on the day but forgotten about pretty quickly….

More and more, of late, we’ve given ‘experiences’ to each other. I’m not going to forget in a hurry, the champagne afternoon tea Mr. C arranged for my last birthday …….or the trip to Rome for a ‘special’ birthday …… or the Overnight Spa Break…… or The London Short Break. Over the past few years, our children have had Segway, GoKarting and Zorbing Days. My mother-in-law even had a trip on the Orient Express and a Hot Air Balloon Ride. Personally I’m not into the Ultimate Adventure -type experiences and am more of a luxury spa and great food person . But hey whatever floats your boat!

I tend to use the same site whenever I want to choose ‘experience gifts’ for people.I don’t need to shop around as they’ve already done that for me!  BuyAGift is my go-to site simply because it’s easy to navigate and find the stuff you want and they have been 100% reliable for me too (always a plus). When the hotel I was due to stay at in London contacted me to say they were being refurbished, BuyAGift were more than happy to swap the gift for another.

Smartbox

In particular, I love the new Smartbox by BuyAGift as instead of being just a card in an envelope, they come in beautiful presentation boxes with loads of information about what’s included. A huge bonus is the fact that these ‘experience gifts’ are valid for 24 MONTHS which is more than enough time to choose the experience you want and book a suitable date. And get this, if you are given a Smartbox and don’t like the look of anything in it, then it’s free and easy to swap for something you do like. Win-Win!

There are literally hundreds of experiences to choose from in each Smartbox by BuyAGift, so it’s not like you’re taking a massive risk and buying a Helicopter Trip for someone who’d prefer a Back Massage. And with prices from £29.99 for a Pamper Treat , they’re not going to break the bank either

Take a look at the site and tell me you can’t find something for everyone there! It’s brilliant.