Give an Experience This Year

Although these gifts won't take up much space under the tree, they will be sure to fill your friends' and loved ones' lives with excitement and novelty. Here are eight ideas for experience gifts to be found right here in our neighborhood.

1) A 10-class card for $200 from CKO Carroll Gardens will keep those you care about sweating, in shape and stress-free. With its supportive and helpful staff, this kickboxing gym on the corner of Court and Garnet streets is great for the first time kick-boxer. While energizing music pumps down the two rows of large black cylindrical bags you get an intense and invigorating workout. For the avid boxer get a 3-month unlimited access membership to CKO Carroll Gardens for $429.

2) For the more artistically inclined give the gift of dance. Brooklyn Ballet offers dance classes for adults including Hip Hop, Afro-Modern, Latin Jazz Workout and Beginner Ballet (taught by Carroll Gardens Patch's very own ). The classes are taught in the schools new location at 160 Schermerhorn St. An 8 pack of classes is just $100.

3) Give your friends inner peace this holiday with a gift certificate to . This spacious studio on the corner of Court and Carroll streets is a great place for beginning and experienced yoga do-ers. The sunlight streaming in through the high windows and the warm welcoming atmosphere make it a safe and wonderful place to stretch, learn and meditate. As a special December only deal, Prema is offering an unlimited one month class card for just $124.

4) Keep your loved ones from drying out this winter and give them the Weleda Sea Buckthorn Whole-Body Regeneration treatment at for $190 (with massage) or $195 (with a facial). This whole-body wrap provides your skin with essential nutrients and leaves you feeling fresh. If the Weleda Sea Buckthorn Whole-Body Regeneration seems a little too intense go for an OPC/Antioxidant Body Polish that exfoliates and hydrates for just $65.

5) Tired of hearing your friends call their wine "grapey?" Isn't it time they learn how to properly assess a wine's bouquet? Give them a membership to to further their knowledge of wine and spirits. A variety of classes are offered including The Basics of Wine Tasting. For the more alcohol-savvy friend, give a class on sake, red wines for the winter or whiskey and cheese pairings (all offered this January). Three-month memberships are $60 and include a 5% discount off all wine in the store!

6) Speaking of cheese… Give someone an experience they can have right in their own home with a membership to one of 's Cheese of the Month Clubs. There are a variety of different themes: choose from the US of A "Farmstead Edition," Italy, Spain, The World of Cheese and Cheese Mongers Choice. Once a month the recipient of your gift will get to chow down on three different cheeses while reading the included information sheets. For a little extra (only $10) they can also be sent edible pairings for their cheese. Make their year a Stinky one.

7) Guarantee yourself some great homemade gifts by giving your loved ones pottery lessons this year. At a 10-week pottery wheel class is offered for $340. The classes teach the basics of throwing pots on a wheel and are taught by an array of potters hailing from all over the country. The winter semester beginning January 3 boasts nine different time slots throughout the week (morning and evening). Also offered on Saturday afternoons is a wheel class for children and families.

8) In a similar vein… Brooklyn Bead Box is offering ten different jewelry classes that will make perfect gifts for your friends' inner jewelers. Classes range in difficulty and cover an array of techniques. Why not start out by giving a class on crimping (no, not krumping- for krumping go to Brooklyn Ballet) for $35? The class teaches you how to make basic bracelets and necklaces using crimping, and more importantly how to attach a clasp to any of the jewelry you make. The Bead Box also offers private lessons where you can fix and remix your old jewelry and learn how to make new pieces.