8 Subscription Gift Ideas I’ve Tried Myself & Recommend!

Finding a great Christmas gift for someone gets harder as they get older doesn’t it? It feels like you’ve already bought them everything over the years. I know I find it especially hard to buy for my 58 year old husband and our kids find it hard to come up with the perfect something for both of us! So subscription gift ideas are very welcome as something different and interesting. Here are some gift subscriptions I’ve actually tried out myself and highly recommend as christmas gifts.

Headspace: Meditate, Focus & Sleep Soundly

This fantastic meditation app is one of my favourite subscription services. I added this app to my phone in early 2020 as I was having trouble sleeping. I’d heard about it from their programme on Netflix where they talk about how to relax, meditate and sleep more deeply. I used the sleepcasts on the app to help me nod off. These are 45 minute audio tracks that talk you through visualising calming experiences. And they really did work for me, I was usually asleep within 20 minutes of listening! But Headspace has so much more to offer as a perfect gift.  There are meditation scenarios for all times of the day, workout videos, sections on being more focused and letting go of stress. You can buy an annual subscription to Headspace for £49.99 and it can be used online, via your smartphone or even through Amazon Alexa.

Ancestry: Discover Your Family Tree

If you know someone who has been talking about researching their family tree (or you think they’d love to do that) then this is the subscription gift for you. Ancestry helps you uncover the branches of your family tree and lets you find others who are also researching the same family members. Start with a few family members you already know and Ancestry will search their records to find them. They give you hints to suggest you may have found something intriguing or new names to search on. The site can be quite addictive and you can spend many interesting hours sifting through all the research results they unearth. Subscription gifts for Ancestry start from £69.99 for a 6 month package an an annual membership from £119.99.

The Joy Club: Online Activity Club

I highly recommend this brilliant online activity club as a fun subscription box for semi-retired or retired people. The Joy Club has a lot of excellent courses, events and online classes you can take in the comfort of your own home and is just that little bit different to other monthly subscription boxes . The best part being they are all live and interactive, making them ideal for those wanting to have a little more social interaction. Read my review of The Joy Club for a lot more information.

Coffee Gift Subscription

For that coffee lover in your life how about a coffee subscription giving them a delivery of freshly roasted coffee.  You can choose anything from three deliveries of coffee to 12 deliveries of coffee.  Select single origin coffees from small farms worldwide, crafted artisan blends or even decaffeinated house blends from The Coffee Factory, a great option with something to suit all tastes.

Readly: Magazines

Avid magazine readers will love this subscription gift idea and it’s very good value for money. Readly is an online subscription service that gives you unlimited access to thousands of magazines on one app. The app can be used on your phone, tablet or a computer. There are literally magazines for every interest on Readly from the daily newspapers to women’s magazines, travel, sport and fashion. You’ll find over 7,000 UK and International magazines, including 166,928 back issues on the app for a monthly subscription of just £9.99 … a real bargain if you’re used to buying more than two magazines per month! You can choose a digital gift card from as little as around £28.00 for 3, 6 or 12 months. This would be a really thoughtful gift for that family member who is a magazine lover.

BBC Maestro Online Courses

Why not give the gift of knowledge with a gift subscription to BBC Maestro.  Gift a single course or buy a gift card that will allow the recipient to access all courses with a 12-month subscription.   Online courses include everyting from writing bestselling fiction with Ken Follett to dog training with Steve Mann or delicious food cooked simply with Marco Pierre White.  There is an amazing range of courses for the lucky recipient to choose from.  You can find more detailed information on each of the courses on the BBC Maestro website.

Audible: Books & Podcasts

While it’s always good to have a book in your hands to read, sometimes it’s handy to be able to listen to someone else reading a book to you. With the audible app you can do this wherever you may be (very handy in the car on long journeys). The idea is very simple, with your monthly membership you get one credit which allows you to download one title that you get to keep forever. Once you’ve downloaded a good book you can just click play and start listening. Of course you can also buy more credits to download more titles. There are thousands of Audible original titles, podcasts and audiobooks to choose from for the avid reader in your life. We found it very useful recently on a trip to Tenby where we managed to listen to the whole of Tom Allen’s ‘No Shame’ memoir via our portable speaker but you can also listen through your phone or tablet. An Audible Gift Membership has a starting price of £7.99 and is available for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months.

Hello Fresh Meal Subscription

This meal delivery company will deliver fresh ingredients plus recipe cards to your door so all you need to do is cook them. Gift cards for Hello Fresh food subscription boxes are available from £29.99 (feeds 2 people with 3 meals per week). They do a good variety of recipes for meat eaters, vegetarians, pescatarians, family, quick cook or calorie smart. You can read my review of Hello Fresh here. It certainly takes the stress out of thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner!  What better gift than these meal kits for someone you know who leads a busy life.  You can buy gift cards from £29.99 which could get them their first box to try.

I hope you enjoyed my list of subscription gift ideas.  Let me know if you’ve tried any of them and what you thought.