How to gift a sentimental tour

March not only brings idyllic weather, fresh energy for new adventures, and a symphony of blooms—it also marks my mom’s birthday. One year, our family wanted to do something really unexpected and special for her. So we came up with one of our best ideas yet: the sentimental tour.

We loaded up the van with a buffet of delicious treats, a variety of drinks in portable ice chests, and a playlist of her favorite songs. Inside the van, we hung streamers and balloons. What came next was a total surprise for her: we drove around New Orleans on a tour of all the significant places from her life. We plotted a route that incorporated our ancestral family home, the house where she grew up, the high school she attended, the City Park stables where she and dad had their first date, the church where they married, and other sentimental and significant sites. 

At each stop, we all climbed out, drank a special toast, and shared family stories. At the end, we celebrated with her favorite meal and cake. The experience was a successful gift for the most wonderful mom, but it actually became a glorious gift for everyone.

You can do a similar tour for a special birthday, anniversary, or other milestone. After all, experience gifts often become the most memorable and cherished: not only do you get the actual experience itself, but you also get the fun of anticipating it and then the lifelong joy of new memories and stories. Experience gifts are also a gentle resistance to disposable consumerism and the clutter of endlessly more stuff. 

Keep in mind these tips for gifting a similar sentimental tour:

1. Choose a concrete (not hypothetical) time and date.

No homemade “coupons" for future experiences, y'all. Nobody ever, ever, ever follows through on those. Choose a specific time and date. Even more fun: surprise them if possible.

2. Make sure they have everything they need to enjoy the tour.

You want to make sure that your sentimental your can be enjoyed. Will they need a sweater? Comfortable shoes? A bathroom break? Think it through and address the needs.

3. Make sure the tour doesn’t cause inadvertent work or stress.

A major key to enjoying the experience is handling as many related tasks as you can. Try to prearrange all the practical logistics that your tour will require.

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