Give the Gift of Experiences

If you know an animal lover, gift them an unforgettable experience from the Houston Zoo and buy the animal lover on your list a gift certificate to an Animal Encounter. From bathing a baby elephant, learning about the penguins, or how to care for sea lions. Want more ideas? Check out more experiences at the Houston Interactive Aquarium and Animal Preserve, where you can feed lemurs, kangaroos, or sloths! 

What better way to recoup after the holidays than a trip to the spa? Give the gift of relaxation with a gift card to Pure Spa Houston at the Marriott Marquis, where they can enjoy the rooftop views and the Texas-shaped lazy river. Treat someone to a day pass to The Houstonian’s Trellis Spa (photo above), where your special someone can access the spa’s soaking pools and garden, jacuzzi, and indoor reflection pool for a peaceful experience.

Enhance your favorite foodie’s experience with Dinner in the Dark at Weights & Measures, where you’ll enjoy with your partner a secret three-course meal completely blindfolded. The lovers of a great brew will appreciate the Houston Brew Pass as they sip their way through the city! Or check out the Secret Food Tours where they’ll discover downtown’s hidden gems and experience the exceptional culinary scene of our vibrant city.

The Houston Museum Pass is the perfect gift for your favorite art lover, with 1 Day, 3 Day, or 30 Day options. Or reintroduce them to the city we love with an Official Houston City Tour, where they’ll visit momentous Houston landmarks including the Historic District, Buffalo Bayou, Market Square, and more! Or purchase a gift card to come visit a space-themed holiday lights show that defies gravity at Galaxy Lights at Space Center Houston.

Give a Pleasure Pier All-Day Ride Pass (photo above) a try for a trip out to Galveston and discover the beauty of Galveston Bay. This pass is good for up to one year, and includes entrance to the Pier and unlimited rides all day long. Kemah Boardwalk also offers an All Day Ride Pass, with the boardwalk home to amusement rides, midway games, waterfront restaurants, shopping, live entertainment and special events throughout the year. For the nature lover, try a Galveston Harbour Dolphin Tour, or Admission to Gator Country, the largest alligator adventure park and sanctuary in Southeast Texas. The Gator Country Adventure Park is home to over 450 American alligators, crocodiles and many different reptiles.

Surprise your adventure-seeking someone with an action-packed day at Urban Warzone. Equipped with a field, various bunkers, and rental gear, this is the place to get an adrenaline rush. Or get creative and purchase a Houston Slingshot Rental and Guided Tour for something unique! A Speedsportz Race Package (photo above) includes top-of-the-line rental karts for anyone with a need for speed and fun (all Rental Kart Racers must be at least 14 years old and 60 inches tall to safely reach the gas and brake pedals). Check out more adventurous options here.

Give the gift of Houston in a unique way with a tour like the Historic Building Tour, where visitors explore authentically restored buildings from before statehood to the oil boom of the early 20th century. Or share the colorful landscape of our vibrant city with a Joyride Mural Tour, with sights through EaDo, Downtown, and Midtown.

Perfect for the whole family, gift an Air, Land, Sea, & Space Pass to access the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Space Center Houston, the Downtown Aquarium, and the Lone Star Flight Museum, all huge hits with every age. And, of course, the incredibly impressive and massively fun Children's Museum (photo above), which includes 90,000 square feet of innovative, interactive, bilingual exhibits for kids, from birth to 12 years.

Hopefully you've found something delightful and appealing from this list of gift experiences for a loved one in your life. Or purchase for yourself!

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Photos: Courtesy of attractions and companies mentioned in this post. Header photo: Houston Zoo, opening photo: Kemah Boardwalk.