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Not every Christmas gift needs a big spend to land well. There are plenty of options under $100 that will guarantee to put smiles on faces: a coffee walking tour through Melbourne's laneways, a wine tasting in the Blue Mountains, a haunted pub crawl through the city, or even a paint and sip night with a glass in hand.
Christmas gifts under $100 can take many forms: a class, a tour, a tasting, a short cruise. Just because the budget is smaller, it doesn't mean the enjoyment factor is any less. RedBalloon experiences cover every interest, from foodies to creatives. Gift a story you can't wait to hear.
At Bakery Hill Distillery, five minutes from Melbourne CBD, a 90-minute tour ends with six single malt whisky samples poured by the people who make them. The Bakery Hill Whisky Distillery Tour & Tasting is a proper behind-the-scenes visit. Out in the Blue Mountains' Megalong Valley, the wine tasting at Dryridge Estate runs for 60 minutes and covers six current vintages, a local cheese platter and a bottle to take home.
The ceramics paint and sip class in Melbourne runs for two and a half hours and comes with a wineglass, Turkish tea and a finished piece to keep. For the animal lovers, the paint your pet and sip class turns a photo of someone's dog or cat into a 30x40 canvas over 3 hours; wine optional but encouraged.
If your budget stretches a few dollars more, the Melbourne coffee walking tour visits four handpicked cafes tucked into the city's laneways, small-group and led by a local guide. After dark, the haunted pub tour covers three CBD venues with a drink at each stop and the ghost stories that go with them, starting at Young & Jackson's Hotel.
Breakfast overlooking Darling Harbour comes with a hot breakfast and a glass of Prosecco or a mimosa each, right on Cockle Bay Wharf, with the Gourmet Harbourside Breakfast with Sparkling Wine. In the evening, a 60-minute sunset cruise on Sydney Harbour covers a grazing platter and 360-degree views, capped at 30 passengers so it never feels crowded.
A 60-minute floatation tank session is complete sensory deprivation: warm water, no light, no noise, just roughly 350kg of Epsom salt keeping you afloat. For something more active, self-guided double kayaking on the Mornington Peninsula runs for three hours through a dolphin sanctuary, no experience needed beyond being comfortable on the water.
A gin tasting or a coffee walking tour doesn't need to be the only present under the tree. It works well as a stocking filler that still feels considered, or something added alongside a smaller wrapped gift. Not sure which one to pick? The RedBalloon gift voucher lets them choose from this list themselves, which takes the guesswork off you and puts the decision back where it belongs.
The 3 Course Set Menu with Drink in Melbourne CBD is a popular pick for exactly that reason; it works for almost anyone who likes eating out. The ceramics class in Melbourne is a strong option too, if they would rather make something than eat something.
Yes, this whole list is built around that. The Melbourne coffee walking tour and the haunted pub tour both sit at the lower end, along with most of the paint and sip classes. For a wider spread of ideas at this end of the range across the year, not only Christmas, the Gifts under $100 hub covers more ground.
The Sydney Harbour sunset cruise with a grazing platter suits two people well, an hour on the water with drinks in hand. On land, the Dryridge Estate wine tasting in the Blue Mountains works the same way: six wines and a cheese platter to share.
Some of them. The paint and sip classes and the coffee walking tour both work in a group setting without needing everyone to know each other well beforehand. The wine and whisky tastings tend to suit a smaller group of four or under, since most run as a shared tasting rather than individual pours.
If a wine tasting or a distillery tour sounds right but the occasion isn't Christmas, wine tasting and winery tours and whiskey and gin tasting tours run those same formats year-round. Paint and sip classes have a full list of their own too, beyond the handful here. Want a bit more room to spend this Christmas? Christmas gifts by price breaks the wider range down by budget, and the full Christmas gifts list covers everything without a ceiling.