Giving an Experience by Stacy

 

The thought of purchasing Christmas gifts makes me both excited and a little sick to my stomach.  The people on my gift list are fairly enigmatic and never really make it clear what they’d like.  I usually wait and wait, then finally make rash, overpriced purchases on December 23.  In fact, when I asked the brothers and sisters if they wanted to go in together on a gift this year, one of them commented that it must already be Christmas Eve if I’m already making definite plans.  To overcome my gift buying confusion and stress, I’ve started concentrating on purchasing experiences and classes instead.  There are many super “experiences” available right here in Stillwater.

·             First and foremost, bringing your children to get a library card has to be one of the best experiences you can give them.  It is exciting, free and gives them a chance to enjoy thousands of free books for the rest of their lives.

·             Our partners over at Meridian Technology Center have a huge array of computer classes that would make great gifts for a parent or grandparent.  You can also get a discount code at the library for an even better deal!  Some classes that are particularly useful and the discounted prices include: Learning to Use Kindle ($35), iPhone Essentials ($36), Android Phone Essentials ($35), Getting Started with Computers ($25), iPad Essentials ($36), Learning to Type ($67) and Photo Editing with Adobe Elements 11 ($116).  Visit the MTC website at http://www.meridiantech.edu/computer or contact Susan at susans@meridiantech.edu or 405-377-3333 x272 for more information. 

·             Our friends at the Multi Arts Center have classes for all ages ranging from  kids’ crafts to teen activities to quilting, sewing, drawing, jewelry making and a ton more.  Classes are as low as $10 each and you can buy a gift certificate of any amount and let your recipient choose the class.  For more information, contact Bill Miller at bill.miller@multiartscenter.org  or 405-747-8084.

 

If there are other “experiences” you’d like to make into gifts, just call the business or organization.  Most of the time, they will be glad to make arrangements for you to purchase some type of gift certificate for the experience or class.  Good luck shopping!