Experiences make great holiday gifts

Want to give unique gifts this holiday season? Consider gift experiences. Thanks to the freelance economy, there have never been more options.

Of course, freelancers who want to make a few bucks can jump in and provide these experiences on any of these sites. Here’s what’s out there and where to look to buy — or provide — those services.

Unique dining

A site called EatWith allows you to book dinner at a chef ’s home table. Chefs around the world use this site to host dinners in their homes. You can book a meal near where you live or reserve a meal in Paris or London. The meals are generally not cheap, ranging from $50 to more than $100. But with the opportunity to talk cuisine with the chef, they can be extraordinary experiences that a foodie would treasure.

Cooking classes

The love of your life loves to cook and learn? You can buy them an in-person or online cooking class through Tastemade, a company for people interested in buying — or getting paid to provide — streaming cooking shows, classes and in-person and online experiences. The site enlists both amateur and celebrity chefs. Classes cost $15 to $100.

Fun classes for kids

Outschool has all of the predictable classes in English, math and history that you’d expect. But it also offers fun and imaginative sessions like “Snackable Science” — a class where you eat your experiments — and “virtual escape rooms” aimed at improving critical thinking. And if you have expertise, this is a site where you can make money sharing it with others.

Custom tours

Viator, a site affiliated with TripAdvisor, books just about any type of day trip imaginable — “secret hikes,” bus tours and more — all over the world.

But the unique experiences on Viator are offered by freelance tour guides, who will tour you around in a classic convertible, provide sunset bike tours or help you discover littleknown hiking trails. Tours range from $15 to more than $1,000. Some require a group.

Your own song

Want a really romantic gift? Consider a custom song. A site called Songfinch offers to help turn your devotion into lyrics. You choose the artist and musical genre and give the songwriter the details you’d like to include in the lyrics. For $200, the site then takes your information and delivers a custom song, which you get the right to play (for personal use) forever.

A day off

Think Mom or Dad is overworked and would love to have someone else clean the house? Give them the day off by hiring through TaskRabbit, where you’ll find freelancers who can assemble furniture, deepclean your house, organize your office or run your errands.

Go f ishing

Got an avid fisherman, waterskier or sailing enthusiast on your list? Consider giving him or her a day on the water. A site called LakeHop enlists boat owners to offer experiences on lakes around the country. You pick the boat, which comes with the owner/captain, and the adventure.

If you’re closer to an ocean than a lake, you can do much the same with Boatsetter or GetMyBoat. However, these sites book boats and captains separately, which can make them a bit more expensive.

Outdoor adventure

If your best holiday would be spent driving to Yosemite — or Grandma’s house — in an RV, you can rent one through Outdoorsy, RVnGo or RVShare. Each site allows RV owners to set prices and determine what extras are included. Customers choose the RV and arrange the pickup and return with the owner.

Kristof is the editor of SideHusl.com, an independent website that reviews moneymaking opportunities in the gig economy.