Are you a bigger fan of giving or receiving?
I’ll never forget when my parents threw me a surprise party when I was turning 9 years old. I walked into the skating rink with my best friend, prepared for a leisurely day filled with giggles, secret-sharing, and skating, Upon entering, however, a crowd of friends from school looked up from securing their skates and jumped up with a rousing ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY!’ Oh my gosh, I looked over at my mom, grinning from ear to ear in the corner, and burst into a million tears. HOW COULD SHE DO THIS TO ME!? I get so uncomfortable when the attention is all on me. Opening presents is the worst. I prefer that gift givers come by, drop gifts off, and let me open them later when no one’s around. Weird, right?
Well, gift giving is a whole different story. There is nothing I love more than searching far and wide for the perfect gift for the perfect person, wrap and re-wrap until it’s perfect, find the perfect card, the perfect moment to give, and then wait for the smile with delight! I just love it!
My love for gift giving, however, makes the whole experience relatively stressful for me. I’m never satisfied until I find a gift that’s just right. Sooo, you can imagine my excitement when I learned about Cloud 9 Living. Instead of hopping from store to store and risking getting a gift that spends the duration of its life in the back of someone’s closet, Cloud 9 offers experience gifts that leave behind memories that last a lifetime.
Cloud 9 Living offers over 1,700 unique experiential gifts for men, women, and couples in 43 regions. Examples include:
· Race a Lamborghini 
· Learn to fly a plane/helicopter
· Ride in a fighter pilot for a day
· Sunset sailing cruise
· Couples’ massages
· Food and wine gifts
· Golf lessons with a PGA pro
· and many more…
Experiential gifts offer something that material gifts are often missing. People aren’t looking for ‘stuff’ these days as much as they are looking for cool experiences. Research studies have even found that:
“Spending money on life experiences makes people happier than spending money on material items.”
“People want to buy their friends experiences because the newness from a new thing wears off in about 9-to-14 months whereas a good memory will gain luster over time.”
While this may not be nearly as thrilling as speed racing in a Lamborghini or learning to fly in an airplane, I chose to be pampered at a local spa for 3 hours!!! Cloud 9 Living sent me to A New Spirit Wellness Center and Spa for a Massage and Float. It was a fantastic experience all around! Cloud 9 Living made it all so easy.
Here’s how it works for the purchaser:
· To buy a gift, just go online to www.cloud9living.com. You can search by Region, Experience Type, Recipient, Occasion, or Most Popular.
· Gift certificates can be sent to the recipient in a free personalized gift pack (see picture), via email, or in a format that you can print and give.
Here’s how it works for the receiver:
· To redeem a gift certificate, go online, pick three time/date options that work for you and a representative from Cloud 9 Living will get back to you within three business days.
· The Cloud 9 Living representative will handle all appointment scheduling for you.
· You will receive a one week reminder email.
· Show up to the appointment and ENJOY!!!
Great benefits:
· Buy Now, Book Later – gift certificates have no expiration date and do not require booking at the time of purchase.
· Free returns within 30 days
· Free exchanges – if the recipient would have preferred a sailboat cruise over the surfing experience they received, he/she has the option to exchange any experience for another (required to pay price difference).
· You can purchase a specific experience or an open ended gift certificate.
· Gift certificates can be re-sent and re-printed (so no more worrying about losing it!).
You can win your own Cloud 9 Living experience by entering their “9 Days of Christmas” contest, which is kicking off November 1st! Entrants around the country can win an experience package during each of the nine days leading up to Christmas by simply entering their email address HERE.
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