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Are you looking for unique gifts for her to inspire your favourite person? Creative workshops are an amazing gift option that will truly make her day. Instead of going for traditional gifts, why not surprise her with an experience she's never tried before? Forget about the usual floristry courses and watercolour painting classes. Instead, think outside the box and consider glassblowing classes or metalsmithing workshops. These unconventional experiences are guaranteed to ignite her adventurous spirit and break the mould. Give her the gift of creativity and let her explore her passions in a whole new way this Christmas.
These unique presents for her across Australia will meet her preference for less conventional presents. From sausage making in Perth to BBQ cooking in Brisbane, no matter what you choose, your gift recipient will be working with her hands, learning new skills, meeting like-minded creatives, and forging new memories.
Our non-traditional presents for her are available across Australia and we also have a host of virtual classes if she’d prefer to take part from home. No matter where your loved one is based, we have gifts galore from crafty Sydney activities to fun things to do in Melbourne.
Get grilling with American barbeque in Brisbane
For serious carnivores, you’d be hard-pressed to find more appropriate presents for her than an American smoking BBQ cooking class. Brisbane-based BBQ School delivers a hands-on course where participants will learn to cook BBQ recipes using the best American BBQ techniques from Texas, Kansas, Memphis, and more.
A complimentary beer will be given to everyone before the class kicks off, at which point your expert chef from the cooking school will take students through the menu and the session plan. Participants will learn more about how to BBQ via the Texas crunch method, as well as the different equipment and techniques that are used in the smoking process. Everyone will also get top tips on rubs, timing, temperatures and the perfect accompaniments, trying the pre-smoked meat.
The menu will include American BBQ items such as Memphis-style pulled pork, smoked baby-rack BBQ ribs with apple bourbon sauce, and Texas-style low and slow bass strait brisket. Get this on your list of gift experiences for women who love a good barbecue and want to learn more about this al fresco style of cooking.
Heat things up with glassblowing in Sydney
Glassblowing requires serious skill – and a good deal of safety. It’s also fascinating and highly satisfying, ranking amongst our best unique presents for her. At this glassblowing class for beginners, glass master Mark Eliott will guide participants through the art of glassblowing over the course of two hours in his Marrickville studio. Students will learn the basics of glass blowing using an ‘oxygen-propane’ torch, discovering how to use both clear and coloured ‘borosilicate’ glass rods and tubes to hone techniques like sculpting, joining, stretching, blowing, and colour mixing. They may also be surprised to find themselves feeling rather blissful during the class, according to Mark Eliott, who finds that glassblowing lets you "go into a timeless space where time just vanishes and you're just in the moment." Like most students, your giftee may find it therapeutic "I find quite a lot of students come along and they report that experience of just time relaxing and just going into a zone in the moment".
There will also, of course, be a thorough safety demonstration and instructions so that all participants feel confident in their new-found glass art skills. Everyone will leave with at least one hand-blown glass ornament – earning them serious bragging rights – which can include a small glass animal, pendant, or abstract creation. If you're shopping for gifts for aunties who value quality time, this glassblowing experience will tick all of the boxes.
Classes are kept small so that Mark can guide everyone through the process step-by-step and give them the attention they need. Just remember to advise the lucky recipient of this gift experience to wear long sleeves and long pants made from a non-flammable material, as well as covered shoes and tied-back hair.
Get behind the espresso machine in Melbourne
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If you know a Melbourne-based woman who’s seriously into her coffee, you won’t find a more unique present for her than this barista coffee making course. This coffee course will give all participants the chance to establish and develop their barista skills, preparing a variety of espresso coffee beverages under the expert guidance of a teacher.
As well as learning how to make coffee, everyone will undergo barista training in the use of a coffee workstation, the selection and grinding of beans, and how to best extract and monitor different qualities of espresso and milk. This barista course is for serious coffee-lovers, as everyone will leave with a certificate to prove their attendance and newfound barista experience. If a lady in your life is keen to break into the world of coffee and undergo thorough barista training, add this to your list of presents for her.
Hand forge a chef’s knife in Sydney
If you know a Sydney-based lady who’s always on the lookout for quirky Sydney activities with which to fill her days, consider booking her onto this knife making workshop in Brookvale These craft classes are led by blacksmithing experts Nordic Edge, who will show everyone how to make a knife with hammer and fire. Using high carbon steel and beautiful, pre-made handles, students will learn basic techniques like heat treatment and finishing to develop their metalwork skills.
Typically, these craft workshops last for around eight hours (with lunch included), at the end of which everyone will have their own piece to take home and proudly use in their kitchen.
Learn how to make sausages in Perth
Let The Cooking Professor guide your meat-loving friend or relative through the process of making delicious homemade sausages at their sausage making workshop. All participants of this cooking class will learn the art of mincing, stuffing and twisting sausages, practising and perfecting techniques to take home and develop their newfound skill.
If you know a mother and daughter combo who would love to get involved in a hands-on cooking class, consider adding this to your list of gift experiences, as participants will be divided into pairs in order to follow the recipes and create delicious sausage recipes. Typically, a menu will include the likes of Spanish chorizo, Boerewors sausages, and English bangers or chipolata sausages.
What’s more, everyone will have the chance to enjoy their creations with a glass of something at the end of the cooking school course, providing a perfect experience to reconnect over a delicious meal. It’s BYOB, so remind your giftee to bring along a bottle of their favourite tipple!
