Give the Gift of an Experience this Holiday Season
Looking for that perfect Christmas gift for the person who has it all? No idea what to buy your in-laws? Need to amp up your gift-giving game this holiday season? Check out this list of experiences offered in Auburn-Opelika so you can give a memorable gift to those who love AO this holiday season.
Cerulean Wine Bar is a tasting room, wine shop, and event space located in Midtown. Seating is first come-first served in this 50-seat wine bar + covered patio, but reservations are accepted for parties of seven or more. Enjoy wine by the glass, bottle, or flight. They also offer a daily charcuterie board and are located next to Sword & Skillet food truck.
If you can't decide, try the "I can't decide" flight and let the experienced bartenders choose for you!
Enjoy access to The Laurel Hotel & Spa Rooftop Lounge and discover one of the most elevated experiences in Auburn, AL. Featuring a lounge area and lush urban garden, the rooftop terrace offers a stunning setting with unparalleled views of Auburn University's iconic Samford Hall and the campus at large. Your booking includes access to the rooftop where open seating is available. The rooftop lounge is a stylish and fun area for guests and residents of the area to enjoy, featuring a menu of refreshing drinks and appetizers to enjoy on any occasion.
Enjoy free access to The Rooftop all day on Sundays and Mondays and from 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. After 5 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday, there is a $10 cover to access The Rooftop. On Fridays and Saturdays of non-home Auburn University Football Games, the cover is $15 from 5 p.m. until close. Reserve your spot here!
Conveniently located in the Hotel at Auburn University, Piccolo is Auburn and Opelika’s only true jazz lounge. This tucked-away retreat offers cocktails, small bites, and Auburn’s best wine list. The lounge is adorned with roaring fireplaces, creating a cozy, romantic winter oasis.
Get away from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and give the gift of a relaxing evening full of jazz and drinks.
John Emerald Distillery
John Emerald Distilling is a small batch craft distillery located in historic downtown Opelika. The distillery produced the first legal whiskey distilled in Alabama since Prohibition, John’s Alabama Single Malt Whisky. They are located in an 8,000-square-foot facility with a tasting room where you can taste their spirits in a craft cocktail or neat in a tasting flight. The production facility sports a 350-gallon hybrid pot still along with all the equipment needed to make the magic happen.
Tours of the Distillery are offered to experience the behind-the-scenes production of their liquor made in-house. Following the tour, get a taste of the liquors seen during the spirit-tasting portion. Take your special someone on a tour of the beautiful distillery, or bring the whole crew! Or pick up a bottle and check out their website for some tasty cocktail recipes to make for the holiday party!
Founded as an amateur painting club called the Opelika Arts Association in 1965, it has evolved throughout the years into a professional presenting and arts education organization. It was renamed the Arts Association of East Alabama in 2007 to reflect this larger service area. Today, its mission is to “provide rewarding and exciting experiences for the citizens of this area by developing innovative programming that will stimulate interest in the arts, eagerness to learn through the arts, and broader participation in and support of the arts.”
In keeping with its mission, East Alabama Arts offers a variety of performances. The 2022-2023 lineup includes Ranky Tanky, Orpheus, LVIV National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine, and many more! No matter who you’re trying to buy a gift for, East Alabama Arts offers something for everyone.
The Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University is East Alabama's premier performing arts venue, presenting touring Broadway productions, opera, dance, chamber arts, popular musical performances, and student and faculty music and theater performances.
Its mission is to “elevate and transform the creative landscape of Auburn University, the state of Alabama, the region and far beyond with thoughtfully curated experiences that inspire, engage and enlighten.”
The Gogue Center will present six genre-specific series during the 2022–23 season: Amphitheatre, Broadway, Celebrity, Concert, Dance & Movement, and Orchestra & Chamber Music. Single tickets for each of these performances are also offered.
Blending modern techniques with the natural elements of Alabama, the Spa at Grand National is "a serene oasis tucked beneath lush fauna of Opelika." The spa's services include body scrubs, facials, manicures and pedicures, individual massages, waxing and so much more!
The Spa at Grand National also offers massages perfect for you and that special someone or share the day with a friend to unwind and catch up. These massages can be booked for either 50 or 80 minutes. The Secret Garden Signature Poultice was created especially for Grand National guests and promotes relaxation by using a warm, herbal poultice to "help ease muscle aches and pains, stimulate circulation and detoxify stagnant energy in the body."
With a core service menu that goes above and beyond, The Laurel Spa offers elevated ways to unwind. From natural skincare and opulent massage treatments to fitness and meditation, choose an all-encompassing selection of elevated spa offerings with the highest hospitality standards. Step into a holistic spa experience with treatment rooms and spaces designed for your well-being, including a salt room, massage rooms, and a wellness shop where you can bring specialty spa products home with you.
Featuring bodywork massages, signature facials, replenishing scrubs, and express therapies, our spa’s service menu is high-impact and results-oriented. With a personalized guest journey that focuses on delivering excellence, you’ll discover exceptional wellness and relaxation with the market’s most engaged providers.
They have perfectly curated package deals as well as customizable experiences. The massages, treatments, and gentlemen’s services can be reserved for either 50 or 80 minutes. They also offer express services such as the express signature facial, stretching, targeted jet peel, and percussion therapy.
Located just off Shell Toomer Parkway, Chewacla State Park houses over 600 scenic acres in which visitors can hike, run, bike or relax to their hearts’ desire. The facilities include a 26-acre lake, swimming area, playground, a modern campground, picnic areas with tables, grills, and shelters, cabins for overnight camping, and plenty of trails.
Chewacla is the perfect place for someone looking to spend some quality time in nature—and the good news is, you can buy gift cards to cover the cost of admission to the park! Spend the day biking around the trails, hiking to the beautiful waterfall, relaxing by the water, or camping out. No matter what you're idea of the perfect day in nature is, you can do it at Chewacla.
Call 334.887.5621 to learn how to purchase a gift card and give the nature enthusiast in your life the perfect gift!
Crooked Oaks, located right outside of Auburn, continues to be developed as a place where folks can go to relax and enjoy the outdoors. Their hunting operation includes professional guides, quail hunts, and a rustic hunting lodge that is open and ready to accommodate.
Their main mission is to set you up in the field for a day you will not forget. You will be placed among the longleaf pines and sage grass that create a healthy and natural habitat for the perfect hunt.
Harvest the adrenaline that comes with working alongside focused bird dogs and skilled guides. Certified field-to-table prep comes with every successful hunt, so enjoy bringing home the fruits of your labor to throw on the grill and a story that speaks to the tradition alone. There are half-day, full-day, and overnight two-day options for hunts. Find your wild with Crooked Oaks.
Auburn Oaks has been a place for friends, family, and guests to come together to make memories and enjoy the outdoors since 1985. The 12-station shooting course is designed throughout loblolly pines & hardwoods. You will be able to enjoy the clay course on their Polaris Rangers to get the full outdoor experience.
Everyone is welcome, so a membership is not required for clay-shooting fun. The waterfowl five-stand has seven different throwers, with one wobble and one rabbit target skipping over the water. The clay course has twelve stations, and all have two throwers each. The course is changed every three months to allow different angles of targets.
Grand National, a Robert Trent Jones course is built on 600-acre Lake Saugahatchee with 32 of the 54 holes along its shores. The Links and Lake courses were in the top 10 of Golf Digests' list of “America’s Top 50 Affordable Courses,” “Best Golf Courses in Alabama,” and all three courses are listed on Golf Digests' “Places to Play” among the nation’s 40 Super Value courses.
There are three courses are available at Grand National; The Lake Course, Links Course, and Short Course, all of which are 18-holes. Suitable for all levels of golfers, this course and its amenities offer a great day of golf for anyone. The venue includes a practice range, putting greens, a fully stocked golf shop, locker rooms, a restaurant/lounge & on-site lodge. They are open seven days a week, from sunrise to sunset.
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