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Jeremy Rasnic
Gift These 13 Tennessee Experiences This Holiday Season
Skip the holiday mall rush and purchase the gift of experiences instead for everyone on your list. Browse these gift ideas from Memphis and the surrounding areas.
November 4, 2022
Music festival passes or theater tickets?
Skip the holiday mall rush and purchase the gift of experiences instead for everyone on your list. Whatever your loved ones are into - music festivals, history tours, luxury stays or culinary excursions - Tennessee has the experience for them. Browse the gift ideas below that celebrate some of the best spots in West Tennessee.
Music festival passes or theater tickets?
Beale Street Music Festival - Memphis
Give the gift of music by purchasing early bird tickets to the Beale Street Music Festival, taking place May 5-7, 2023 at Tom Lee Park. Three days of incredible music are part of the larger Memphis in May International Festival. The lineup and ticket information will be announced soon, but past artists include Megan Thee Stallion, Three 6 Mafia, The Smashing Pumpkins, Grace Potter, Counting Crows and more.
Orpheum Theater – Memphis
The historic Orpheum Theater hosts everything from Broadway and theatre performances to comedy, concerts, dance performances and movies. Gift tickets to a performance and let your loved ones experience talented performers in the historic theater. Blue Man Group, “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Chicago” and “Frozen” are just some of the shows on tap for 2023.
Upscale or laid back restaurant gift certificate?
Acre – Memphis
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Journal Communications Inc. / Jeff Adkins
Save a seat for your loved ones at an upscale restaurant like Acre. The inventive food and warm, sophisticated interiors make Acre a destination for locals and visitors. Give a restaurant gift card and let those on your holiday list experience entrees like roasted Coho salmon, braised beef short rib with potato puree and broccolini, and lamb tenderloin along with craft cocktails and must-have desserts.
Central BBQ – Memphis
Give the gift of barbecue with a gift card to Central BBQ, which specializes in slow smoked hickory and pecan barbecue with a combination of dry-rub spices. The holidays will be merry when your loved ones can start planning their trip to Memphis for pulled pork, beef brisket, smoked sausage and smoked turkey.
Winery or distillery tour?
Old Dominick Distillery - Memphis
Located on the Tennessee Whiskey Trail, Old Dominick Distillery carries on a family passion for stories and spirits in downtown Memphis. Give your loved ones a behind-the-scenes look at this local distillery that produces a line of whiskeys, vodkas and a revival of Domenico’s pre-Prohibition southern infused whiskey. Tastings are included.
White Squirrel Winery - Kenton
Gift a romantic stay at White Squirrel Winery (they have an AirBnB onsite) this holiday season. Your special someone will love touring the 90-acre property and sampling the varieties of wine in the tasting room. Try the robust dry red wines, fruity white wines and sweeter wines like Moscato. Buy a bottle of your favorite and enjoy it on the patio or among the vines.
Luxury stay or B&B stay?
Peabody Hotel – Memphis
Share the “South’s Grand Hotel” with a gift certificate for a hotel stay, in-room dining, a meal at Capriccio Grill or Chez Philippe, Peabody Deli & Desserts, the Lobby Bar, Corner Bar and Feathers Spa. Peabody Hotel stays can include the Ducky Day package which will make your special someone an Honorary Duckmaster who assists the Duckmaster march the Peabody ducks to or from the lobby fountain at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Big Cypress Lodge - Memphis
Big Cypress Lodge is located inside the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid and offers a mix of elegance inspired by the great outdoors. Gift a stay to a loved one so they can experience one of the more than 100 unique rooms, world-class dining and recreation. Special packages include family fun packages, concert packages and Memphis Grizzlies game experiences. You can also add on gifts like a Big Cypress sherpa blanket, Big Cypress Lodge puzzle or chocolate caramels.
Magnolia Manor & Chapel - Humboldt
Purchase a Magnolia Manor & Chapel gift certificate to enhance someone’s holiday season. All gift certificates are treated as cash, so your loved one can customize the trip to their liking. Packages include romantic getaways, babymoons, a bottle of wine and chocolate covered strawberries upon arrival, or the Lover’s Picnic Adventure that includes seasonal flowers upon arrival, a bottle of wine or non-alcoholic sparkling cider, two keepsake wine glasses, tickets to Tennessee Safari Park, Crown Winery Tour or Discovery Park of America, and a picnic basket stuffed with cheeses, preserves, cured meats, crackers, baguette, grilled artichoke, nuts, fruit and sweet treats and pickles and olives.
Annual attraction passes or VIP tour?
Discovery Park of America – Union City
A gift membership to Discovery Park of America includes unlimited admission to the museum and park, access to members-only programs and events throughout the year, access to the Trapper’s Cabin, presale opportunities to events and programs, unlimited access to the Tower, 10% off in the Gift Shop and 10% off in Sabin’s Café. Your membership also offers you free access to thousands of museums across the country that are part of the ASTC Passport Program.
Elvis Presley’s Graceland - Memphis
Gift the Ultimate VIP Tour this holiday season, the best way to see one of Tennessee’s iconic attractions - Elvis Presley's Graceland. The VIP Tour includes an expert guide, seeing Elvis’ planes, meal voucher at one of the restaurants at Elvis Presley’s Memphis and a private lounge. Your loved ones will tour Graceland in a small group of up to 10 guests, a self-guided tour of the custom jets, full access to Presley Motors Automobile Museum, Elvis: The Entertainer Career Museum and self-guided tours of the Elvis Discovery Exhibits, an exclusive photo opportunity, a keepsake backstage pass and Personal Graceland Archives Show and Tell session.
Nature experience or history tour?
Eagle Tours at Reelfoot Lake State Park - Tiptonville
If you have a birder or nature enthusiast on your list, book an eagle tour for them in January or February at Reelfoot Lake State Park in Tiptonville. They’ll join experienced park naturalists on bald eagle and waterfowl tours. During the two-hour tour, eagles can be seen perching, flying and snatching a fish from Reelfoot Lake. In March and April, the park hosts deep swamp canoe tours where you can usually see nesting eagles; and May through the end of September, scenic pontoon boat tours are hosted where you can see blue herons, ducks and eagles.
A Tour of Possibilities: Essence of Memphis Tour – Memphis
Have a history buff on your Christmas shopping list? Gift them a history tour with A Tour of Possibilities. The Essence of Memphis Tour is an eye-opening and entertaining tour that takes guests through the city to iconic stops like National Civil Rights Museum, The Pyramid, Historic Beale Street, Stax Museum of American Soul Music and many more.
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East Tennessee is packed with incredible experiences you and your family aren’t soon to forget – the only thing you have to do is choose what speaks to you.
