With the holidays coming up, it’s time to begin looking at holiday budgets. There are a variety of ways to show your team appreciation, from holiday bonuses to company wide gifts. But have you considered gifting your team an experience? Research shows experiences are proven to give people more joy than receiving material things. Show your employees you care with the ultimate stay-at-home experience perfect for anyone on your team. Need inspiration for your upcoming holiday gift? Discover below 10 reasons experience gifts are more meaningful for employees.
Experience gifts create memories that last
According to research, humans attach much stronger memories to experiences and adventures, rather than material objects. While a new watch might bring fleeting short term joy, an experience will give them several hours of fun and a lifetime of memories. Gift your team not just a fleeting sensation, but an experience that will create memories that last. They’ll look back on their experience with fondness, and think positively of you as well!
Experience gifts develop a new skill set
Cooking is an essential life skill. Gifting your employees not only an experience, but a new skill set is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Your employees will learn how to make their favorite meals, saving them money in the future and (bonus) making the next office potluck incredible! Our chefs are at the top of their field around the world. Not only have they been featured on TV and in magazines, some even have Michelin Stars! Whether your employee is a novice or a pro at-home chef, they’re guaranteed to learn something new (and have an oh-so delicious meal!).
Experiences are Appreciated by all generations
No matter what age your employees are, experiences are appreciated by everyone. While the latest Beats Headphones might be great for your millennial and Gen-Z employees, odds are the rest of the company won’t know what to do with them. Experiences though are enjoyed by people of all ages as they can relate the experience to their stage in life.
Transport your employees to Thailand and more destinations with over 125 virtual cooking classes to choose from. Shop Gift Cards >
Experiences help foster a better work/life balance
Enhance your Corporate Health and Wellness benefits with a gift that offers not just an experience, but a better work/life balance as well. Gifting a cooking class means you're not just giving your employee a gift, but their whole family as well. A cooking class with The Chef & The Dish automatically includes two people. So your employee can enjoy their next date night or mother-daughter bonding moment courtesy of you. They can also add additional people or kitchen locations for a fee, creating an experience truly the whole family can enjoy. They’ll have fun with their families, create beautiful memories, and thank you for it!
An experience gives you something to look forward to
It’s safe to say that half of the fun of an experience is the feelings of excitement leading up to it. When you order a material object online, the wait for it to arrive is often met with irritation and impatience. The wait for an experience however, is arguably a part of the experience itself. It’s always good to have something to look forward to, and it makes the eventual pay off oh so sweet (literally!).
Experience gifts are considered more meaningful
It’s no secret that experience gifts are considered more meaningful than a physical object or cash. While material things could be considered a safe bet, an experience means you took time and effort to pick something that the recipient cares about. According to research gift givers inaccurately assume material objects will be better received, when in fact experiential gifts lead to longer lasting feelings of joy and are considered more meaningful.
The Chef & The Dish cooking classes have hundreds of 5 star reviews from clients around the world. Shop all Gift Cards >
Cooking Experiences Help you Learn About the World Through Virtual Travel
At The Chef & The Dish we truly do believe that food is the ultimate human connector. Through a country's cuisine, you learn about their culture, their traditions, and their people. Classes at The Chef & The Dish allow you to expose your employees to new cultures, helping develop a deeper appreciation for different ways of doing things. The world needs more empathy, and what a better (and more delicious) way to develop that than through the gift of food.
Experiences Lead to Longer Lasting Joy
According to scientists, gifting experiences not only makes people happier, but they experience these feelings of joy for longer. One reason for this is the concept of “adaptation”. A gift feels exciting because it’s something new. But those giddy feelings will likely only last for a few seconds or a few days max. Experiences however, take longer to adapt to, and result in more feelings of fulfillment and joy.
Experiences Give the Gift of Trying New Things
Trying new things has repeatedly been linked to a healthier state of mind. Receiving a new handbag or the latest Apple Watch is certainly a nice gesture, but it hardly allows someone to push outside of their comfort zone and try something new. Even if someone has tried the experience before, it will be different each time. This also gives experiential gifts the added bonus of being hard to compare. If you receive a material object, one often compares different colors and models, wondering if they got the right thing. An experience however is guaranteed to be unique, leading to a more fulfilling and joyful gift.
Pasta making classes, Pad Thai classes, and Taco classes, oh my! Virtual cooking classes are a fabulous gift for employees. Shop all gift cards >
Experience Gifts and Cooking Classes Help Initiate Human Connection
Part of what makes experiential gifts so special, is that they lead to genuine human connection. We are social beings, and the social interactions we have greatly impact our well-being. Whether you experience it with your mom, your partner, your child, or your new friend on the other side of the world - experiences lead to genuine and meaningful social interactions. Create beautiful memories with others and find fulfillment through the universal love of food.
ABOUT THE CHEF & THE DISH
The Chef & The Dish has chefs around the world that you video conference into your kitchen for a private 1:1 virtual cooking class. Learn how to make pasta with a chef video calling you live from Italy, Pad Thai with a chef virtually in your kitchen live from Thailand. Together you cook, share stories, laugh and make a multi course meal together. Rated 'Best Date Night,' 'Best Gifts,' and "Best Cooking Classes" by WSJ, Forbes, Vanity Fair, Martha Stewart, Rolling Stone and tens more. Transport your kitchen for the day.™
