Skip the Clutter: How Experience Gifts (and a Little AI Help) Made the Perfect Present

Ah, the holidays.

As a music teacher and parent, it’s one of the busiest times of the year in our household. Because there’s so much going on, I often start thinking about the gifts I want to give people well in advance and fine-tune them as the holiday season grows closer.

Sometimes, though, the “perfect” gift idea never comes to me. Or I have a general idea, but nothing specific.

This year, I had Lo.

I always like to get one of my friends and her family an experience-based gift: something that creates memories without the clutter. For this year’s gift, Lo and I put our heads together and unlocked the perfect combination: an escape room at home + take-and-bake pizza egift card.

It wasn’t a generic gift at all; I told Lo about all of the things that made my friend special, previous experience gifts I’d gotten for them, and what I was looking to make happen with this year’s gift.

He tossed out a few ideas, like a family stargazing kit (with gourmet s’mores ingredients included), a 3D printing project subscription box (with a gift card for filament), museum or tech center tickets (with a gas gift card to cover transportation), a streaming app subscription (with snacks for movie night), or an escape room at home kit (with a pizza gift card to create a family night).

The escape room kit plus pizza was perfect.

Lo helped search for the perfect pre-made escape-room-in-a-box and also told me about printable ones so I could include a few extra options in their gift. It’s exactly the type of thoughtful gift I would have gotten for them, just without the extra mental load.

Looking for the perfect gift for your own friends or family? Try collaborating with an AI. It might surprise you.

Alisha