Put A Bow On It: Boston’s Best Experience Gift Guide

Best Boston Experiences To Gift This Holiday Season

Tis’ the season…yes, THE season! Go ahead, you have the green light to binge all that music you’ve waited all year to rock out to. Break out the stockings, and the tinsel, and the eggnog. Oh, and the shopping lists! If you’re overwhelmed by the thought of holiday shopping, don’t be! We’re here to help. We are all about gifting experiences – they make amazing gifts and are super easy to get and give. We’ve come up with a long list of awesome Boston-based experiences that you can gift to anyone this holiday season. We’ve got stuff for the eaters and drinkers, the crafters, the learners, the adventurers, the stressed, and more. All you have to do is put a bow on it!

Classic Bites of Boston Food Tour with Bites of Boston Food Tours

Give someone a true Boston experience through the lens of the city’s most iconic foods – baked beans and brown bread, clam chowder, lobster rolls and Boston cream pie. The Bites of Boston Classic Tour is a must for both locals and visitors looking to dive deeper into the Boston food scene and learn how these foods rose to local fame. With a fun and knowledgeable guide at the helm you’ll spend an afternoon tasting, learning and laughing!

Cake Decorating Class with Oakleaf Cakes Bake Shop

Photo Credit: Oakleaf Cakes Bake Shop

If there’s someone you know who’s got the baking part down but needs to sharpen their decorating skills, Oakleaf Cakes Bake Shop offers an array of classes that you could sign them up for. From simple cake decorating and buttercream basics to advanced fondant work, air brushing, and sculpting. This is a super fun gift for someone who really wants to get their hands dirty – with frosting that is.

Paint & Sip with Laurel Greenfield Art

Photo Credit: Laurel Greenfield Art

Another really fun gift idea for a food and art lover in your life is to book a Paint & Sip Workshop with one of Boston’s best food artists, Laurel Botwick, owner of Laurel Greenfield Art. These events take place at the Boston Public Market and the ticket price includes all materials and the first beverage. Laurel will choose an image such as an ice cream cone or an oyster and everyone will paint their own version based on her model. Look out for her next event!

PGA Golf Lessons at CityGolf Boston

Photo Credit CityGolf

If you’ve noticed someone’s swing looking rough (no need to name names) or know someone who wants to tweak their skills on the course, then give them the gift of a PGA golf lesson with CityGolf Boston. You can book individual or group lessons for different lengths of time and skill levels. Fore!

Spa Day at étant

Photo Credit: étant

One of the best experiences to gift someone is that of RELAXATION. Give your loved one a gift certificate for a massage at étant in the South End and they will be so thankful. étant has created a space for well-being and is one of Boston’s best spas. They have a ton of massage options to choose from so the person receiving the gift can soak up their me time with exactly the kind of massage their body needs.

Cheese Class with Formaggio Kitchen

Photo Credit: Formaggio Kitchen

Giving the gift of cheese in any capacity is a win, but take it a step further and give the gift of taking a cheese class at Formaggio Kitchen where some of Boston’s cheese experts will educate (and feed) them on their enormous selection of cheeses. There are tons of options to choose from but two of the most popular are; Cheese 101 and Brave the Caves: An Underground Cheese Lesson. They are a beloved tour partner of Bites of Boston and are featured on our Sweet & Savory South End Tour so we can guarantee this is a great present to give and receive!

Photo Class: Boston Photography Workshops

Photo Credit: Boston Photography Workshops

For someone who has a passion for photography or that family member that is always documenting every get together, then look into getting them a class at Boston Photography Workshops. They are a creative studio teaching regular people how to start making better photos. With simple, fun, and effective instruction they make their digital photography classes the first step on your creative journey. Say cheeeeeeeese. No, not that kind.

Crafty Classes with Boston Fiber Company

Photo Credit: Boston Fiber Company

For that crafty person in your group constantly turning Pinterest into reality, or the person who wishes to be, send them to Boston Fiber Company for a class in knitting or weaving. They will learn with fellow crafters how to make beautiful handmade products that they can show off and either give as gifts or enjoy for themselves such as sweaters, hats, scarves and more. We’ll take a scarf please!

Pasta Making Class with Dave’s Fresh Pasta

Photo Credit: Dave’s Fresh Pasta

Everyone loves pasta, but not many know how to make it fresh. It’s actually pretty simple! Give the gift of a homemade pasta making class at the popular Dave’s Fresh Pasta in Somerville. There’s something so satisfying and heart warming about making food from scratch and it’s definitely a unique gift to give to someone this holiday season.

Get Fun Nails at Tinailery

Photo Credit: Tinailery

For a pampering gift, give someone a gift certificate for a special manicure at Tinailery. They are well-versed in nail art of all kinds, it’s truly incredible what they can do. The person receiving this gift can tell them what they want and surely the highly-skilled manicurists can make it appear on their nails. This is a gift that people will go wild for!

Omakase at Shore Leave

Photo Credit: Shore Leave

If you’re not familiar with what Omakase is it’s a Japanese term that literally means ‘I leave it up to you.’ The ‘you’ is the chef and what you are leaving up to them is your meal. Omakase is a fun and fast take on a tasting menu created especially for you by a sushi chef. Shore Leave in Boston offers a 12-course Omakase experience that includes a variety of bites including nigiri, sashimi, and tempura. The whole meal is paced so that you can enjoy the nigiri the moment it is made—as soon as you finish one piece, you’re handed the next by our sushi chef, who is right in front of you at the counter.

Pickle Ball at PKL

Photo Credit: PKL

At this point everyone knows someone who’s gotten really into pickle ball and Boston has caught on to this phenomenon with their very own Pickle Ball Parlor – PKL. This new social space is a playground for all with food and drink offerings as well as a variety of games in addition to pickle ball. This is a great out-of-the-box (or should we say jar) gift to give someone!

The Art of Spice Blending Class with Curio Spice Co.

Photo Credit: Curio Spice Co.

Curio Spice Co. is one of our favorite small businesses in the Boston area, and not only do they offer the freshest and most fragrant spice blends in town, they also offer classes on the art of spice blending with their founder and blender-in-chief, Claire Cheney. You’ll do some serious spice exploration in this two and a half hour workshop, delving into the enchanting world of spice blending in the Lab, which is their multi-purpose community space, nestled next door to their beloved spice shop.

Learn to Throw Pottery at the Clayroom

Photo Credit: Clayroom

Let someone make their own gift this year by getting them a pottery-making lesson at the Clayroom. And hey, maybe they’ll make you something too! The Clayroom offers paint-your-own pottery as well for those that prefer to not get their hands quite as dirty. This is the perfect gift for someone who loves to get creative!

Local CSA Subscription to Red Fire Farm

Photo Credit: Red Fire Farm

A great food experience gift that supports local farmers is a subscription to a CSA share. CSA stands for community-supported agriculture and lots of local farms offer them. How they work is depending on which level you sign up for you will get a selection of in-season fruit and veg each week. You can also choose to do a flower share for someone to brighten up their home! We love Red Fire Farm out of Granby, MA (they drop off in Boston) but feel free to explore the many other local farms!

Boston Harbor Sunset Cruise on a Tall Ship with Liberty Fleet

Photo Credit: Liberty Fleet

Give the gift of the sea this holiday season with Liberty Fleet. They offer sunset cruises on Boston Harbor on their tall ships. If Boston is best seen from the water, then by far the best time to see it is during a sunset cruise on a classic Boston tall ship! With a breeze guiding you through the harbor, you have a great vantage point to watch the sun go down behind the city and bathe it in incredible colors as the lights of Boston’s skyline begin to sparkle in the twilight. This is a tall ship sunset cruise to remember and thus a gift to remember.

Distillery Tour & Tasting at Bully Boy

Photo Credit: Bully Boy

Help someone get in the holiday SPIRIT with this gift to visit Bully Boy Distillery! Started by the Willis brothers, Bully Boy Distillers is Boston’s local distillery with a tasting room and cocktail bar open to the public. Give someone the gift of a distillery tour and tasting so they can start shaking things up in 2024!

Bonsai Bar Event at a Boston Brewery

Photo Credit: Bonsai Bar

Everything’s better with a beer in hand and that’s why Bonsai Bar does all their events at local breweries! Send your gardening friend who loves to dig in the dirt to a Bonsai Bar event where they’ll go home with their very own Bonsai tree. They’ll also get to enjoy some time at a local brewery so really it’s a two-for.

Cooking Class with Mei Mei

Photo Credit: Mei Mei

Mei Mei is a local dumpling favorite and they actually offer classes on dumpling making and other skills. Their highly skilled and fun instructors will ensure you have a great time getting your hands in some dough. This gift is perfect for a food-lover who wants to learn to make something they may have never tired before. This one will definitely be the highlight gift of the season.

Sweet & Savory South End Food Tour with Bites of Boston

For your Boston food-lover who likes a wide array of cuisines and cultures gift them the Sweet & Savory South End Food Tour experience with Bites of Boston! You’ll spend an afternoon in one of Boston’s hidden gems – the South End – eating, drinking and learning about the culture and history-rich neighborhood. This is the ultimate Boston experience all wrapped into one and a unique gift for any Boston food-lover.