Ten Des Moines Experiences to Give for the Holiday Season

Skip the stuff this year and let them unwrap a local experience! Hotel gift certificates, tasting nights, memberships and more from Greater Des Moines (DSM) businesses make priceless memories. Doing more in DSM starts this season! 

• Stop and smell the roses: Nurture a blossoming friendship with the gift of a floral design workshop at PepperHarrow Farm. This scenic Madison County destination is the perfect place to bring your bestie who loves botanicals. Seasonal workshops, like spring bulb container gardening and lavender essential oil distillation, vary in price. 

• Make a mess: Kids Create in Polk City is a children's art studio that encourages a love of learning, creativity, and kindness. Upcoming sessions for elementary-aged kids include a winter break ‘Swiftie Art Camp,’ and spring break ‘Alien Art Camp’. Snag a gift certificate or sign up through their customer portal.  
• Relax and renew: Wellness treatments and massage are great gifts to help ease into the new year. East Village Spa celebrates the ‘SPAliday Season’ by offering bonus bucks for every gift card purchased in the spa (not online). In Grinnell, She Shed Day Spa offers small-town serenity. Turn it into a getaway by including a gift card to Hotel Grinnell, a luxury boutique hotel situated in a former school. 
• Dine through time: Living History Farms Historic Dinners and Teas put you around a table set for the past. Cozy up with a farmhouse dinner and lantern barn tour or dress up for a high-style Victorian coursed dinner or tea.

• Try the trapeze: Cirque Wonderland in West Des Moines offers classes in ground acrobatics, static trapeze, aerial hoop, aerial fabric, cirque fitness, and aerial flexibility. Kids and adults can fly, flip and have fun.
• See a show: DSM has plenty of live entertainment events to pick from when purchasing tickets as a holiday gift. Go highbrow with tickets to the Des Moines Metro Opera’s 2025 Festival Season. Or tune into The Price is Right Live!, which is coming to Vibrant Music Hall in Waukee on Feb. 25. Check venues like Val Air Ballroom, where some of the best bands perform locally. 
• Sip and splurge: Browsing the floors of antiques at West End Architectural Salvage can give you gift ideas, but special events make it an occasion. Splurge: West End Salvage's Annual Wine, Cheese, Chocolate (& More) Event! features exactly what you think it will, plus live music. Tickets for Jan. 24 or 25 are on sale. 
• Become a member: Blank Park Zoo, the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, the Science Center of Iowa, and the Des Moines Children's Museum all offer membership options. These often come with reciprocity to other cool places to visit across the country, and exclusive access to events and discounts. 
• Strike a pose: Custom portraits become treasured heirlooms. Anj Portrait Studio in Ankeny provides a boutique experience through fine art photo sessions in her studio space.

• Book a staycation: Des Lux in downtown Des Moines features large suites with fireplaces and whirlpools. Not too far from fine dining spots like 801 Chophouse and blocks from the Des Moines Performing Arts venues, you'll feel like you're on vacation all while staying within the state.

Need more ideas? Search more locally owned stores in our Member Directory.