By Bryanna Santos
In this story:
Every year we unwrap a mountain of presents and throw out a mountain of packaging. This 2026 holiday season, try giving something that leaves the trash can empty and the memories full! Our Christmas gift experiences make it easy to give sustainable Christmas gifts that people will enjoy and remember long after December. You’ll find hundreds of ways your friends and family can learn how to bake with a pastry chef, paint a cute pet portrait, or make a sweet succulent terrarium to brighten their living space.
The hidden cost of the holidays
The holidays are generous, but they can also be wasteful. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that household waste increases by 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Wrapping is a big part of that. Public Interest Research Group and Environment America report that the US throws away an estimated 2.6 billion pounds of wrapping paper every year.
The good news is that a gift doesn’t have to end up in the bin. These experiences come with custom keepsakes you’ll love and use, which makes them wonderful clutter-free Christmas gifts. Outside of the eco-friendly benefits, a shared memory is much more valuable than another T-shirt. Studies found that people reported higher happiness while enjoying experiences like food, entertainment, and outdoor recreation than while using material goods like electronics or clothing. A shared class gives you the memories without the mess.
Instead of slogging through a shopping list at a mall or department store, try sustainable Christmas gifts that save money and help boost local businesses. Here are our picks for cool experiences to give and share, and why they'll make for an extra-green Christmas.
Ask your burning questions about natural wax candles
There’s a reason why scented candles are so popular and feel luxurious. We spend a lot of time at home, so it’s important to make our personal space feel cozy. If you have a friend who loves fancy candles, gift them their own soy or coconut wax candle-making experience. It’s easy and fun to learn in just one afternoon!
Why choose handmade over store-bought? Natural waxes burn cleaner and are better for the environment than petroleum-based candles. With one of our candle-making classes, everyone will learn how to choose and blend scents so you can walk away with personalized products you’ll enjoy using.
Top candle class pick:
Pour your own candle at Blooming Candle Studio’s beginner candle-making class in Seattle! This Beacon Hill workshop is a cozy, beginner-friendly class where you’ll pick your scents, blend them, and make a candle that’s ready to light or gift.
Take a beauty break by making custom fragrances
Do you have a friend or family member who is always browsing the body care aisle, buying various body sprays? Then a perfume-making class would be an amazing gift experience! It’s also one of the most thoughtful gifts on a budget, since a class feels like a luxury treat without the luxury price tag. They’ll learn how to create their own deliciously intoxicating fragrances using naturally derived scent oils.
Learn about fragrance notes from sweet to floral to earthy. Use reusable glass containers to bottle up your DIY perfume and get expert advice from a professional perfumer who helps guide you through each step, answering all your questions. Instead of buying various fragrances until you find one that suits your style, you can make a long-lasting perfume yourself and give it the exact scent you’re looking for. There’ll be less waste when you have a scent that checks every box, narrowing down a wasteful collection to a couple of signature scents.
Top perfume class pick:
Brooklyn’s Bios Apothecary is home to one of Greenpoint’s most charming perfume making experiences, In their DIY perfume making class, you’ll sniff, layer, and blend your way to a scent that’s all your own, then bottle it up to take home.
Make charming custom pottery
If the person you’re shopping for loves to create, a pottery class is the perfect gift. They’ll learn the basics of shaping clay, whether on the wheel or by hand, and leave with a dish they made themselves. It’s a screen-free, relaxing way to unwind, and the finished piece is something they’ll use every day, not something that gets tucked into a closet.
Pottery is also an eco-friendly choice. Clay is a natural material, and a handmade mug or bowl is built to last for years, so it replaces disposable cups and cheap décor that end up in the trash.
Top pottery class pick:
Spin your first piece at Classpop’s pottery wheel throwing class in Downtown LA, a beginner-friendly class where you’ll shape your own pottery with an expert teacher. Looking to shape by hand without the wheel? Build and take home an air-dried keepsake with this San Jose air dry clay workshop.
Start cooking at home and stop ordering takeout
We get it. It's sometimes so much easier to order dinner with an app than face meal prep or eat leftovers. If you're determined to live more sustainably, not to mention save money, you might want to try cooking classes. If you give a class as a gift experience to friends, you can all have fun learning together! It’s one of the most budget-friendly Christmas activities for a group, since you end the night with a meal you made together.
Start by choosing what you want to make. Are you all crazy about pizza? Have you always wanted to learn how to make dumplings? Maybe you want to transport yourselves to Barcelona with a Spanish cooking class? Our classes are perfect for cooking novices, and everyone will feel at ease as soon as they put on an apron. Your teacher will lead the way, showing you how to find ingredients and prep your meal.
You'll get plenty of support and individual attention while you open yourself up to an amazing new culinary experience. If everyone lives far away from each other, try a virtual cooking class so you can include everyone in your friend group. With no flights, no shipping, and no wrapping paper, a virtual class comes as close to carbon-neutral gift experiences as it gets. When your instruction time is over, you’ll sit down to a memorable meal you’ve prepared with friends!
Top cooking class pick:
Make dumplings in San Francisco, roll sushi in Chicago, or bake focaccia with your laptop in your own kitchen. Either way, you have experienced chefs ready to share their passion for cooking as you make a delicious meal you can enjoy at the end!
Ready to try gifts that go beyond the usual wrapped gift? Christmas gift experiences are perfect for anyone, from an adventurous crafter, a cozy hobbyist, or someone who just wants to try something new. This season, give sustainable Christmas gifts that are kinder to the planet.
