Zero Waste Enthusiastic
Give Dad a memorable experience for a lifetime.
Father’s Day is fast approaching, and most of us are still thinking about what we will give them. Don’t worry, we prepared a guide for you to make father’s day extra special to all Dads out there without adding waste to our environment. We are sure that most of us would prefer to give some gifts that would cause no harm to our environment and would want to give some gifts that are eco-friendly that your Dad would surely love!
Even better, we have curated a gift guide for gifts of experience. Experiences often bring more joy than physical gifts. Plus, they’re usually more sustainable.
The gifts of experience that we have prepared would surely fit some of your father’s hobbies and passions. So, what are you waiting for? Make your dad feel your love even from a distance – with an experience to remember forever!
Gifts of experience are better for men
Many of us can testify that it is always harder to find material gifts for men rather than for women when giving gifts. During their birthdays, we sometimes ask ourselves if what we will give them, what they like, or how we can make them happy.
This is because men are more likely to be quiet on things they like, and if they are passionate about getting those things, they would work for them and try if they can have them. They prefer to get what they want without telling or sharing it with their relatives or families. Another thing, men think that it is awkward to receive gifts. They have the mindset that they should be the provider, especially our fathers. So they seem to be uncomfortable when receiving gifts.
Fortunately, there are gifts that we can give without making them feel uncomfortable – the gift of experience. These gifts are something that any person would be forever grateful for. With this kind of gift, our dad can feel some break from his obligations, problems, and pressures related to work and related to being a father. Giving gifts of experience is different from giving them material things because it is something that they can cherish forever. A kind of gift that they can bring wherever they go.
Gifts of Experience for Father’s Day
From skill-building programs to DIY kits, we have different experiences that caters to a lot of male interests and passions.
Online cooking classes from Rouxbe
Rouxbe is the world’s leading online culinary school, offering courses developed by world-class chef educators and former culinary school executives. So whether your dad wants to gain confidence in his kitchen, transition to a healthier diet and lifestyle, or is a professional wanting to expand his skill set, Rouxbe has plenty of options.
Annual Memberships are just $99.99 (after a free 30-day trial membership) and allow anyone to learn at their own pace and select which topics interest them, from knife skills to making pasta to mastering the frying pan. Then, choose your gift card and select the recipient. You can also schedule a personalized e-card to arrive whenever you choose. Your loved one can then redeem your gift immediately online.
Other options include a Professional Cook Certification, which is a comprehensive 200-hour course that covers material and instructional content found in top professional culinary schools, with a focus on foundational technique, or a Plant-Based Professional Certification, which offers in-depth instruction in plant-based culinary arts with a focus on the application of core techniques.
Rouxbe also partnered with the James Beard Foundation on a professional course called Creating Full-Use Kitchen, which provides technical and creative approaches to food waste and examines the need to reduce food loss along the entire supply chain, if you’re interested in learning more about that.
With a Rouxbe membership, foodie fathers have the world’s leading online culinary school at their fingertips. Online cooking classes are a creative, thoughtful gift that, chances are, both the giver and receiver will benefit from!
Music Lesson
The gift of music lessons is an experience in and of itself and is certainly a gift that keeps on giving. Plus, who wouldn’t want dad to sound a little better singing or playing that song over and over? So consider it a gift for everyone.
Learning to play music is the perfect instrument of personal care. It boosts mindfulness, promotes happiness, and fosters creativity. Not only that, but music lessons have been shown to improve listening skills, intelligence, and even work performance. Who wouldn’t want that?
With Forbes Music, kids and spouses can give dad a gift that lasts a lifetime without being wasteful. We offer discounted lesson packages, customizable gift certificates, and a plethora of class options for any musician. In addition, our award-winning, talented instructors are dedicated to making a lesson plan catered to dad’s exact needs, which is why we offer both private and group lessons online.
Most presents are exciting for a day or two, but music is a gift that lasts a lifetime and keeps on giving. Every dad needs their creative outlet, and with Forbes Music Company, they can get it. Dad will thank you, and so will the planet.
Learning a new language with ABC Languages
Nothing more experiential and sustainable than online language classes! Help dad finds his inner language lover with one of ABC Languages online classes. It’s a great way to give him that little nudge to fulfill a life-long dream of studying a new language or brushing up on an old one. This year is even more special because the possibility of travel is upon us.
Make his next visit abroad the best when your dad (and maybe even you!) can communicate with the locals. At ABC, there are no grades, no tests – just language learning for enrichment and joy. A vibrant learning community is waiting!
It is NYC’s #1 independent language school, and they are online. ABC has been offering instruction in 20+ languages for over two decades. They are language experts, and they love sharing their passion for language.
They are so renowned for their language teaching prowess that they are well-reviewed and administer the Columbia Business School Language Program.
Here’s a fun fact about ABC Languages School. They are regularly asked to coach language for film and TV and have worked with such high-profile clients as Robert De Niro, Vanessa Kirby, Uma Thurman, Keanu Reeves, and many more.
Here are some language programs you can get:
- $20 for one pop-up intro class
- $185 for six weeks of Total Beginner group class
- $450 for 6 hours of private lessons
- $570 for 6 hours of semi-private lessons (Learn with dad! A great way to stay connected with a shared goal)
Give Dancing Skills with Ailey Extension
This Father’s Day, gives the gift of dance by purchasing an Ailey Extension gift card for the father figures in your life. Digital gift cards for virtual classes make for an eco-friendly and waste-free present that does not expire before activated. An Ailey Extension gift card allows dads the chance to get moving during any of Ailey’s 30+ weekly virtual classes led by esteemed NYC instructors without having to leave the comfort of their home!
Ailey Extension’s virtual classes allow people of all ages and experience levels across the globe to join in the dance from wherever they are seven days a week. Dancers can enjoy various techniques, including hip-hop, West African, Zumba®, capoeira, ballet, yoga, Pilates, Restorative Stretches, Horton, and more styles taught by experts in their fields.
You can buy gift certificates online, personalized with a message, and emailed directly to the recipient at a date of your choosing. Options are available for a single class, five classes, ten classes, or customized for a specific amount. With special workshops and more than 30 classes offered each week, there’s a class for everyone.
Raptor Jawns
Want a gift of experience that works with animal conservation? Book Dad a Raptor Jawns program.
Raptor Jawns provides educational entertainment using live birds of prey to the greater Philadelphia area.
With Raptor Jawns, you can have live birds of prey come to your house for an entertaining, wild, educational experience. Raptor Jawns currently has two animal ambassadors, Medea, a red-tailed hawk, and Hecate, an eastern screech owl. You will get to see both birds up close and personal. You’ll learn about the natural history of each species, learn about the ancient sport of falconry, get to witness a hawk eating a dead rat (if you’re into that!), find out if an owl can turn its head all the way around, and take selfies with both hawk and owl.
Raptor Jawns’ message is one of environmentalism and conservation, easily inspired when you are face to face with a consummate natural predator. Both Medea and Hecate are non-releasable birds of prey that would not survive in the wild, now serving as educational ambassadors. Raptor Jawns’ programs can be tailored to small, intimate gatherings or large events and are appropriate for all ages.
- A program for up to 15 participants in the Philly area is $150
- A program for up to 30 participants in the Philly area is $300
Paint and Sip LIVE
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Paint and Sip LIVE is all about experience gifts. As a virtual painting class company, participants don’t have to travel, which cuts down carbon emissions because our clients don’t have to drive to their class.
Paint and Sip LIVE is hosting 3 Father’s Day parties perfect for creative dads. Dads don’t only fall into two groups, handymen or gamers, right? For artsy music lovers, Paint and Sip LIVE’s virtual painting parties hit the spot. We ship painting kits directly to dads, which makes them an easy gift to give and receive.
Dads are taught by a professional instructor who a live DJ accompanies. So yes, dads and the fam that joins them can bop to the beat while painting a beautiful portrait! What a unique way to connect with your kids on Father’s Day.
The Father’s Day classes are on Sunday, June 20, at 4, 6, and 8 pm EST. A class plus painting kit costs $40; a class alone, for those with their painting supplies, costs $20. The painting kit includes canvas, brushes, and paint.
Scratch-off Map by Maps International
Maps International has created a National Parks Scratch off Map to inspire travelers to explore all of the country’s natural crown jewels. The map showcases 62 national parks, ranked by popularity and size. Adventurers can scratch of location marker for each park once they’ve visited the site and also scratch off the park’s “badge” located at the top of the map. Pair the map with a parking pass and you’ve got a great way to encourage Dad to get out and see the country.
Order the map framed and pinboard mounted, and you’ll be giving a gift that is sure to become a treasured keepsake, offering a unique record of Dad’s travels that will last generations. The maps are 22 by 17 inches and are available for $22.95.
Clearloop’s solar farm
Do you know a dad who likes to tinker around with gadgets, is always looking for a project to work on, or is concerned about the climate crisis? This Father’s Day (and until June 22), you can put your dad’s name on his very own solar panel and help us clean up the grid at our first solar farm.
While this isn’t an experience, we still think our solar panel would be a perfect fit for your Father’s Day Gift Guide! For just $153, you can buy a solar panel in the name of your dad, grandfather, or anyone you want to celebrate that will be installed at Clearloop’s solar farm in West Tennessee. He can then use the latest in emissions research to track the impact of his solar panel as it helps provide clean energy to 200 local homes and clean up the grid.
Folks who are interested in reclaiming their carbon footprint or that of a loved one can buy their solar panel using this link or choose whatever number of watts of solar power they’re willing to buy to help us reach 1 million watts at our solar farm. In addition, the first 50 people to reclaim their carbon footprint will receive a Clearloop time capsule as a thank you for helping us make carbon a relic of the past.
Wood Smoked BBQ Kit
Cooking Gift Set Co.’s Wood Smoked BBQ Kit is a great experience gift for the dad who loves to grill.
This easy-to-follow kit includes all the tools and detailed instructions to infuse his favorite food with hickory, cherry, and applewood smoke. Even better, you can use all the tools again and again, and the kraft packaging can be recycled (in fact, we ask that it does on our box!)
Personalized Video with VidDay
Fathers are notoriously difficult to buy for, but how can they resist videos and pictures of their beloved children? So give them a personalized video of memories with VidDay. It’s an everlasting gift they can watch over and over again whenever they miss their children.
VidDay has also just reached their 100k trees planted mark (thanks to a partnership with One Tree Planted).
Atlas Coffee Club
Treat dad to a global exploration of rich and varied coffee offerings while being safe at home with a subscription to Atlas Coffee Club. They’ll send out unique and exotic beans that are sourced directly from responsible and sustainable farms. I guarantee you won’t find these beans anywhere on the shelf or online.
They also include the best tips on how to brew, info about the flavor notes, and package each bag of coffee with exceptional details from the country they originated from. Their flexible preferences also allow you to pick the roast, grind, and receive them every 2 or 4 weeks.
Magic Book
How about the experience of magic? Of amazement? Of connection and joy? You’ll find it all in Grandpa Magic – 116 Easy Tricks, Amazing Brainteasers, and Simple Stunts to Wow the Grandkids! This is a terrific gift for any dad who is also a granddad.
Why will grandpa love this charming book? Because, in no time at all, he’ll be able to pry the grandkids off their devices and get them engaged in real, human interaction. Plus, he’ll learn a whole new set of fun and intriguing skills. With restrictions lifting, grandparents are longing to bond with their grandkids, which is a perfect way to do it.
Special Custom Cookbook from The Family Cookbook
Although family food traditions are typically associated with moms and grandmas, I have put together many photo sessions for dads passionate about food. Whether they have a deep cultural connection to their heritage cuisine or are just avid foodies, spending time cooking together is one of the best ways to highlight their passion.
The cookbooks themselves are handcrafted with archival paper originating from producers certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, which is dedicated to environmental policy and promotes responsible forest management. They are designed to be family heirlooms to be passed down for generations, not one-off printed books that will get thrown away after a few years.
Every cookbook experience is customized to each family, but here is how the process works:
- Families upload their recipes to our online system.
- We schedule a photo session date where a professional photographer or I capture them connecting over their favorite dishes.
- Those images and their recipes are designed into a custom heirloom cookbook
- Packages start at $2500.
Giving experiences are more sustainable
The experience provides memories for the whole family and, most importantly, time and connection with loved ones who may have been separated during the past year. When giving gifts to our loved ones, many of us prefer to buy the material thing. However, those gifts of experience are very different from giving material things. Experiences would last for centuries and stay in the heart of our loved ones, but material things can break. In short, gifts of experience are irreplaceable, which money cannot buy.
Another thing is uniqueness. Any experience is unique from other experiences. Every adventure will always be different from our other adventures. So, while many people are busy giving material gifts, why not try some other things that would seem new to our loved ones. Sometimes, we have to be wise when choosing the best gifts.
According to science, those material things would only bring happiness for a short period. While happiness when receiving gifts of experience brings you happiness forever. As you keep on sharing with other people the memories you have, you refresh the excitement and joy, so these experiences are becoming part of you. Plus, these gifts of experience would not harm our mother nature. This is because we are not adding up plastics and garbage when choosing gifts of experience.
