What if you have the unenviable task of trying to buy gifts for the woman who wants nothing?

Short on ideas? Don’t worry; we’ll help you come up with the best gift ideas for the special woman in your life!

Are you with a woman that doesn’t care about material things? Someone who, when you ask her what gift she wants for a special occasion, insists that they want nothing?

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You push and push and probe and probe, but they continue to say that they don’t care, or you don’t need to get anything for them! But we know how difficult women can be sometimes.

Most of the time, when they say they want nothing, you feel the pressure amp up, because, in their own mysterious, indecipherable way, they’re possibly telling you that they don’t want something. As in, they don’t want a material gift.

And this might be true.

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They might not want anything of substance. But do you know what everyone loves? Good company and a good time. It’s time for you to share an unforgettable experience with your loved one, something that they will look back on fondly as time passes.

A study from the University of Toronto, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, offers hope and comfort to people like us, who struggle to pick the correct gift for Christmas. It turns out that giving your loved one an experience as a gift instead of a thing—which, let's be honest, will probably eventually end up in a box with a bunch of other forgotten jewelry or mementos—forges stronger bonds between people.

"The reason experiential gifts are more socially connecting is that they tend to be more emotionally evocative," says Cindy Chan, the primary/lead researcher in the study during a press release. She adds, "An experiential gift elicits a strong emotional response when a recipient consumes it—like the fear and awe of a safari adventure, the excitement of a rock concert or the calmness of a spa—and is more intensely emotional than a material possession."

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Of course, the research confirms that most of us do, in fact, buy material gifts during the holiday season. And we're spending a lot of money: about 2 percent of our annual income on expensive gifts! It makes sense that we should make the most out of what we buy for family and friends.

Chan follows her information up by offering some great tips for gift-giving this time of year if you can't buy an experience (like concert tickets or a cruise) because those things can get very expensive!

For example, a CD that reminds your loved one of an experience you shared, like a Broadway performance soundtrack, can have the same relationship-strengthening effect. Any sort of gift that evokes special memories from a shared experience, like a framed photo from a vacation, also fits within this theme.

Chan explains, "Consider someone's favourite hobby or something new they've always wanted to do. Marketers should also package experiential gifts in a way that makes it easier for recipients to consume them so they don't have to be tied to using the gifts by a particular day or time."

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Perhaps the bottom line is that we should put thought into what we give our loved ones, instead of just compulsively buying flowers or a box of chocolates. And please consider what we are showing our significant others when we shower them with mountains of gifts.

Yes, we are showing that we care about them, but when you get so many gifts, their value gets diluted. Are the gifts really that valuable or special? And how long will it take before the necklaces and earrings lose their value or their significance?

The greatest value that an object can hold is sentimental value. Do you know what holds lots of sentimental value? The things that we associate with experiences that we look back on and smile about – trinkets, mementos and souvenirs from unforgettable experiences.

Memories carry sentimental value through nostalgia. Heck, TV and Video Game companies are making a killing off of nostalgia with re-releases and remasters of shows and games that we watched or played as children and remember fondly.

So give your lovely lady the most valuable, most unique gift for your next special occasion – an experience gift.

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To help you figure out what experience gifts will be the best for your loved one, we’ve pulled together a list of different types of great gift ideas for the special lady in your life!

The Best Gifts for Women

Dance Classes

Perhaps you and your loved one – whether it’s your girlfriend, wife, sister, or mom – would enjoy taking dance classes! Many women once dreamed of being a ballerina. And you know what? Maybe that ship hasn’t sailed yet! Still, even if she doesn’t think they can have a late surge in the dancing world, I bet that she’d still love to take time dancing in a studio!

Dancing is a great very common form of working out or just expressing yourself. Everyone dances whether it's in a class, on stage, at an event, or just in a bedroom. People may be embarrassed of their moves or they may think they can't dance but let's face it, if you can walk you can dance.

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There are different styles of dance and so many ways to move the body that no one could ever get sick of it or be stuck doing the same thing. Here are some reasons why everyone should take a dance class:

1. Dancing Has No Age Limit

Anyone can start learning dance at age 2 or age 90 and that's what is so great about it. As long as your body is in good shape, dance is something you can do forever. It can be done at your leisure and your own pace. There aren't many activities and sports out there like that and that's what makes dance so unique and special.

This applies to the professional or competitive aspect of dance, as well. Some people start dancing at two years old and are professionals by age 20. Some don't start until adulthood or even after age 65. Age doesn't matter. Unlike many sports, you can start dance at any age and still be able to do it as a career or professionally.

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2. Dance Relieve Stress

Once you or your loved one is able to just get into a room and move and dance to the rhythm of your favorite song, it is a huge stress reliever. It really helps to take time out of the day to take a class and just have fun and be happy and free.

3. Dance Is A Terrific Form of Exercise

No matter what kind of dance you do, it is an excellent way to improve your health and get your body in shape. You become flexible, develop muscles and a strong core, and you are always moving. Professional athletes take ballet to gain strength because it's such a useful workout. Believe it or not, when dancing you can work out AND have fun!

4. There’s Something for Everyone

With dance, there’s something for everyone! There are so many different styles and kinds of dance to choose from that there is no ex cuse not to like it. If someone tries ballet and wants to dance to faster more upbeat songs, there are so many options and classes to take.

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It’s almost impossible to not like any form of dance whatsoever and if anything was stopping you from taking a class before, here are just a few reasons of why it's never too late to start.

5. Dancing Improves Your Mental Health, As Well

Did you know that dancing is the only physical activity proven to reduce our chances of getting dementia? This has been proven in a 2003 study by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and it has incredible implications for people who have a history of dementia in the family.

Whenever you’re dancing, you’re using many different parts of your brain simultaneously. As we age, our hippocampus (responsible for controlling memory) begins to lose volume. Dancing helps prevent this, keeping your mind sharp and reducing the onset of Alzheimer’s, dementia, and many other neurological disorders.

As you can tell, dance is extremely beneficial, and you’re loved one could really, truly enjoy it. And you know what? Group classes with your wife could help both of you to improve your overall health, quality of life, and give you memories to look back on and smile about.

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Doonya (Washington, D.C.): Doonya is a Bollywood-dance inspired fitness and media company, creating new media content around Bollywood music and building a student community around dance fitness. Classes are currently available in Washington D.C. (Dupont/U Street); Arlington (Clarendon); and Silver Spring.

Affiliate Doonya classes are also available in Vienna and Rockville/ Gaithersburg Doonya offers an easy-to-follow cardio, strength-building fitness program perfectly choreographed to the latest high energy, Bollywood-inspired music. Doonya is the first national brand to build a targeted fitness program around the phenomenon of high-energy Bollywood dance and music, targeting fitness lovers around the world.

Yoga Classes

Yoga is another form of exercise that can be completed in a group environment. And chances are that your wife, sister, mother, or girlfriend is interested in participating in yoga already! Yoga is currently a very popular form of both exercise and stress relief, and participating with your loved one can help you to bond and grow closer with each other, while also helping to diffuse any tension that you may have in your relationship or everyday life.

In fact, We’ve decided to compile a list of reasons why both you and your “I want nothing” lady would love taking yoga classes:

1. Yoga is a Natural Stress Reliever

When it comes to managing anxiety and stress, yoga really can be magical. When you are faced with anxiety, it can last for just a few moments when you experience a high level of stress, or it can be chronic and constant in your life. However, your anxiety manifests, it feels flat-out awful. You lose your focus, and in this day and age, it is so easy to feel anxious and stressed out. So shouldn’t there also be an easy way to combat it? Well, that’s where the magic of yoga comes in.

Gift Yoga Classes for Women

You see, it comes with many tools to manage your stress because yoga focuses on three aspects of you; your mind, body, and soul. So regardless of what anxiety is for you, whether a temporary thing or a constant feeling, yoga can help you manage it.

Stress is something that we experience naturally. It is attached to your fight or flight system. Adrenaline pours into the body when you stress about the smallest of things. This causes you to potentially make huge decisions based on a fleeting thought that invoked your stress sensors.

Knowing how to calm down the nervous system quickly is essential in living a life where you get the most out of it, and that’s where yoga comes in – it teaches you how to manage your stress and anxiety.

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2. It's An Excellent Source of Exercise

According to Yoga Journal,

“When it came to the fitness benefits, yoga can or can't provide, yoga teacher John Schumacher had heard it all. A student of B. K. S. Iyengar for 20 years and founder of the Unity Woods studios in the Washington, D.C. area, Schumacher was convinced yoga provides a complete fitness regime. But many people, even some of his own students, disagreed. Yoga might be good for flexibility or relaxation, they'd say, but to be truly fit, you had to combine it with an activity like running or weight lifting. Schumacher just didn't buy it.

He knew three decades of yoga practice—and only yoga practice—had kept him fit. He didn't need to power walk. He didn't need to lift weights. His fitness formula consisted of daily asanas (poses) and pranayama (breathwork). That's all he needed.

Four years ago at age 52, Schumacher decided to prove his point. He signed up for physiological testing at a lab in Gaithersburg, Maryland. As he expected, Schumacher tested near the top of his age group for a variety of fitness tests, including maximum heart and exercise recovery rates. His doctor told him that he was in excellent physical condition and estimated that Schumacher had less than a one percent chance of suffering a cardiac event. "I've always maintained that yoga provides more than adequate cardiovascular benefits," says Schumacher. "Now I have the evidence that regular yoga practice at a certain level of intensity will provide you with what you need."

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Evidence of yoga's ability to bolster fitness, however, goes well beyond Schumacher's personal experience. Yoga Journal's testing of three yogis also yielded impressive results. Even physiologists who don't do yoga now agree that the practice provides benefits well beyond flexibility and relaxation. Recent research—though preliminary—shows that yoga may also improve strength, aerobic capacity, and lung function.”

3. Yoga Can Boost Your Brain Function

There’s plenty of research that shows that the popular practice of yoga, which has been practiced and perfected as a form of art for hundreds of years, can help to both release and decrease tension in your body, improve the restfulness of your sleep and boost your mood, not to mention strengthen the body.

However, a shortage of information on the effects of yoga on brain function prompted researchers to measure the link between cognitive ability and yoga – leading to some optimistic conclusions about yoga’s effect on your brain.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign conducted a research study on the connection between  yoga and your brain. They had 30 female college students perform tests that measured concentration and short-term memory after a 20-minute yoga session. To use as a form of reference, the students did the same cognitive tasks following a bout of aerobic activity—a 20-minute walk or run on a treadmill. They took the tests a third time without doing any form of exercise.

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The results of the experiment were published in the Journal of Physical Activity & Health and demonstrated significant improvement after a yoga session in both memory and a greater ability to accurately process information as compared to the aerobic or baseline sessions. There was little difference in brain function between the aerobic and baseline sessions, according to the study, which contradicts earlier research on aerobic exercise's benefits on brain health.

I don’t know about you, but I definitely want to make sure that my brain is as sharp as possible as I age!

Yoga can provide relaxation, exercise, stress-relief, improves your brain, and taking classes with your loved one will give you a chance to bond together as you learn coordination, fluidity, and flexibility.

Yoga For All Beings (Chicago, IL): Yoga For All Beings aims to provide people from all walks of life space to breathe, move and be exactly as they are without hesitation, hang-ups or judgments.We strongly believe that yoga is not a one size fits all practice.Students at Yoga For All Beings are encouraged to listen to their bodies and modify poses were needed or desired.The studio has plenty of props on hand for modifying poses, making poses more comfortable and, in many cases, to make poses more challenging.There are ways to back off and ways to push deeper in the practice- the real yoga comes into play when we can focus our attention, practice with integrity and challenge ourselves physically while knowing and respecting our own limits.

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Spa Days: Pamper Your Loved One!

Do you know what builds up stress? Worrying about picking the perfect gift, whether or not she’ll like it, and her worrying about how much her Christmas gifts cost. Do you know what eases stress? A trip to the spa! Don’t overthink it; just about everybody loves to be pampered.

A day at the spa can be a great gift and an excellent bonding experience for friends, family and couples. Are your wife and mother not getting along? Take them both for a spa treatment! And you don’t just have to get your wife a voucher for the spa and send her on her way. You can join her! You and your wife will love a couples’ massage experience. Do you need a baby shower idea? Spa day! Honestly, a spa day is usually the answer to any question, no matter the occasion.

Pretty much everything about a spa, from the lighting to the treatments are designed to make you calm, chilled out and relaxed. After a spa treatment you’ll be walking on clouds. So if work, relationships, or just life in general are stressing you out, a spa day is exactly what you or your wife needs.

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You get plenty of time for quiet reflection with your loved one when you’re in the spa. Sometimes we get overwhelmed by how “connected” we are in this day in age. A spa is usually a no phone, no laptop, no Wi-Fi zone so you can truly get away from the world. Which, nowadays, is a rare luxury.

Sauna/Steam Room

The sauna and/or steam room is great for respiratory conditions. It helps to open your airways which can help to soothe asthma, coughs and colds. So really, you need a spa day, for your health. It’s just science! The steam in the sauna/steam rooms helps you to sweat out toxins and a massage helps your lymphatic system to flush toxins from your body.

The dry heat of the sauna has big effects on the body. Your body begins to sweat almost immediately, releasing toxins from your body. The average person will lose a pint of sweat during a brief sauna.

However, it evaporates so quickly in the dry air that a person may not realize how much he is perspiring, making it much more pleasant than you would think. Skin temperature soars to about 104° within minutes, but internal body temperature rises more slowly. It usually stays below 100°. With the increased temperature, your heart rate increases, too, improving the circulation in your body. And don’t worry! Studies have shown that the increased heart rate bears little to no risk of heart disease or cardiac emergency.

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A spa day is essential for when you’ve done a little too much indulging! Just after Christmas, post birthday, post weekend, whenever! Your wife will be extremely grateful for the timely relaxation that comes with a spa trip after the stress of whatever special occasion that you’re planning for! Get in there and detox yourself. Just make sure you drink plenty of water afterwards.

Massage

A good massage can take away aches and pains and help with joint pain conditions like arthritis. Just make sure you let your therapist know of any pre-existing conditions before the massage. I reckon you need to take a spa day at least once a month (easier done if you’re somewhere cheap like Indonesia), for your muscles’ sake.

Massage also stimulates blood flow, thus boosting circulation. It can help to lower blood pressure. So, if you have circulation problems then you need to get some hands on you, manipulating your tissues and muscles.

Massage can also help increase the amount of white blood cells in your system, boosting your immune system and helping to defend against infections. With this in mind, the spa is absolutely perfect for battling those colds in the winter months!

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Massage releases serotonin (the happy hormone) so it’s great for your mental health, state of mind and mood. Chemically, you’ll just feel better after a massage. This is by far my favorite benefit of a spa day.

So go book your girlfriend, wife, mother, sister or BFF a spa day with some of her best friends, by herself, or with just the two of you!

Eden Spa (Denver, CO): Eden is a beautiful indoor garden day spa located just outside of downtown Denver in the Golden Triangle neighborhood. We take a holistic approach to health, offering a full spectrum of spa and wellness services.

Find the perfect Gift for any Women

As you can see, there are a number of incredible experiences that you can share with the special woman in your life.

And, it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t want you to get something, because you’re not getting her something.

Instead, you’re setting up the perfect situation for you to bond and strengthen your relationship, forging memories that one day you’ll look back on and smile about.

And good memories are the perfect gift for anyone.

Focus topic: gifts for the woman who wants nothing

Tags: perfect gift, christmas gift, unusual gift

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Focus Topics: cool gifts for woman, gift experiences for woman

Tags: birthday gifts, christmas gifts, great gift, gift guide