So you want to Learn to Fly?
Dreams where you are flying can be magical, but you can learn to fly a real plane when you sign up for a flying experience. If watching the landscape pass below you while you experience your first helicopter flight appeals to you, you may like to sign up for a special flight experience. An experience for two, including a romantic picnic lunch with champagne, can be a wonderful way to celebrate an anniversary or another significant occasion with your spouse or partner.

Try Flying Acrobatics for Some Daredevil Fun

Stunt flying is not for the faint of heart, but if you are something of a daredevil you may love a lesson in flying acrobatics – an experience that will provide you with your fix of adrenalin. An experience operated by qualified and experienced pilots will be safe, and a lesson which includes extensive pre-flight preparation can be enjoyed with less anxiety, if you are a first-time stunt performer. You can also book an acrobatic flying experience for a loved one; anyone who has a love for airplanes and/or extreme experiences is likely to love this gift.

For a Rare Treat, Fly a Vintage Tiger Moth Biplane

You can go on an ordinary domestic flight any day, but a rare experience such as a flight on a vintage Tiger Moth biplane will be an airborne adventure to remember. If you are something of a history buff and fancy yourself something of a flying ace put your prowess to the test. You can whiz around and even enjoy demonstrations of acrobatic flying stunts such as loop-the-loop and barrel rolls. For flight training with a difference, fly a biplane that would meet the approval of the Red Baron himself.

Helicopter Tours Offer a Different View of the Landscape

You may have travelled around extensively via land, but helicopter tours can provide you with an altogether different, exciting view of familiar landscapes. A helicopter flight may be a little noisy, but that is half the excitement – hearing the propeller’s blades turn powerfully, lifting you high over a picturesque scene. A helicopter flying lesson is a great gift for that friend who likes to take charge and experience new things, and a lesson which includes an opportunity to take the controls will provide a memorable experience that is also a great conversation starter.

Microlight Flying – the closest thing to Autonomous Flight

Since microlights are small and light, as their name suggests, they provide you with the closest thing to the sensation of being weightless; the next best thing to the fantastical idea of swimming breaststroke through the air. The speed of flight depends on your wishes, so you can whizz through the air or slow your pace down to a gentle glide, taking in the sights and the rush of having a boundless aerial view. You can book flight training for yourself, or can give a microlight experience to a friend who would love to learn to fly.

I need a gift for my uncle’s birthday. Any ideas? I want to get him something fun that he hasn’t done before.

Lindy

Dear Lindy,

Believe it or not, more people ask about Gifts for Uncles than any other kind of gift over here! At least I have a little bit of experience in the area

The two most popular gifts for uncles are definitely (1) sailing lessons and (2) flying lessons. It really does depend on what kind of guy your uncle is! If he loves to be outside, grappling with the elements and testing his mettle against the high seas then sailing is really the best choice. On the other hand, flying lessons are enormously popular with people with all kinds of interests – -  and it suits everyone who has ever wanted to try something different! They’re both loads of fun and I’d highly recommend them as the best gift options. Do have a quick look at the video below (related to the flying experience) so you get an idea of why this is so popular!

Hope that helps!

Stacey

Yes I agree, our health is of the utmost importance! And it’s good that you mention this at Easter too – everyone is going to be tripping over each other to find the perfect Easter eggs when they could be treating each other with healthy activities that are fun too! There are loads of fun Easter activities that you could enjoy like Sphereing or Zorbing, and there are some healthy food options as well. Here are some of my favourite classes that you might share with a loved one for the perfect Easter gift that is pro healthy living:

Keith Burke’s MARKET FRESH cookery course is a fabulous introduction to healthy eating. You are guided around one of London’s finest fresh produce market to purchase lovely fresh ingredients before heading on to Keith Burke’s (Michelin Star Chef!) kitchen to learn how to prepare them. This is a great cooking course for couples – - I hear that it is heaps of fun!

Another cooking course you might consider is the quick and easy “cook, eat and run” course which is taking the nation by storm. This incredibly popular course is ideal for those of you who don’t have much time to spend enjoying the culinary arts but would like to give it a go anyway… you learn quick and easy recipes that you can cook up in half an hour, and then you sit down with your classmates and enjoy your cooked meal together afterwards. The recipes are delicious and the class has a very friendly atmosphere. Have a quick look at this video to see what I mean:

And finally, my personal favourite is the THAI COOKERY course, also hosted by Keith Burke. If you love Thai food (and I DO!) then you’ll love this course! Keith is friendly and encouraging, the kitchen facilities are superb and the people are all so nice! I had a brilliant time there, I can’t wait to go back! And best of all my new Thai Green Curry recipe is a hit at all of our dinner parties! This is a must do this Easter.

Good luck with finding the perfect Easter Gift, and I hope that you manage to achieve those six-pack abs you mentioned!

x Stacey

If your uncle is ready for retirement then celebrate this special occasion with a fabulous ‘retirement gift’ that will show him what he’s got to look forward to! Introduce him to a new hobby like sailing or cooking so that he can fill his new ’spare time’ with heaps of amazing activities.

Take him out for an amazing Yacht Racing Adventure where he’ll get to experience first-hand what it’s like to live a life of luxury powered by awesome speed and action adventures! This is a great opportunity for your uncle to make the most of the great weather that is heading our way…

Another idea would be to send him on a cooking course like the popular Guys in the Kitchen Cooking Class. He’ll learn all the basics behind culinary wizardry and he’ll be able to cook up a storm after acquiring these important skills! This is a great hobby that always produces amazing results.

And finally, if he likes being outdoors and in charge then treat him to a once-in-a-lifetime Air Rifle Shooting in a War Bunker where he’ll get to live out all of his wartime stories and dreams in the safety of a shooting range. This is an immensely popular hobby that I’m certain he’ll enjoy!

Treat your uncle to an amazing gift that will make this anniversary a day to remember! Let him take on the skies with a flying lesson, enjoy the aristocratic hobby of clay pigeon shooting, or conquer the seas with yacht racing!

In my experience I’ve had one gift that the guys in my family just can’t get enough of… the Euro Spec Driving Experience. That’s where he’ll be able to drive monster trucks and land rovers and jeeps through an obstacle course! I keep hearing rave reviews about how much fun everyone has on this activity day so it’s no wonder that it’s always a huge success. Just have a look at this video to see what I’m talking about:

Take advantage of the summer sun and treat your uncle to an amazing outdoor driving experience that he’ll love! Here are three of my top “driving day” recommendations – all of which have been immensely successful in my own gift-buying history

The best driving day I’ve ever bought someone (he can’t stop talking about it!) is the fab Armoured Vehicles Driving Day. It’s a popular choice because it’s really quite unusual … you get to drive two armoured military vehicles across a purpose-built all-terrain track and get to live out all of your army driving dreams!

The second most-popular driving day that men just can’t seem to get enough of is the Quad Safari Experience. This one is heaps of fun and will have the boys racing around a forest track to get the best times This one is really popular because you get the off-road ruggedness of the 4×4 with the compact versatility of the motorbike in one thrilling challenge that will keep you coming back for more! You’d be amazed at how responsive these quads are!

And finally, number three on my list is the thrilling Ferrari Driving Day. Most boys I know would love the chance to drive the fabulous Ferrari and the statistics seem to prove my point. Everyone is clamouring to get behind the wheel of these racing legends so do your uncle a favour and give him this amazing opportunity! Have a look at what I’m talking about…. how can you resist it?

If you’re looking to treat your uncle to an amazing day out this Easter then you’re in luck: here are my TOP THREE recommendations that are guaranteed to be a big hit!

(1) Treat your uncle to an amazing day that he’ll never forget when you give him the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive a legendary Lamborghini! He’ll love being able to live out his driving dreams over the up-and-coming long weekend. Have a closer look at what’s on the cards if you decide to give him this:

This is one experience that he’s definitely not going to forget in a hurry!

(2) If he’s seen and done it all then he’d probably feel really excited about being given the opportunity to take to the skies with a unique paramotoring course. Paramotoring is quite an exciting adventure activity that lets you feel what it might have been like in the open-aired Wright brothers plane! This was recommended to me by my friend’s fiance who couldn’t get enough of the ‘flight freedom’ as he called it. Essentially, it’s a flying experience where the motor is worn on the pilot’s back and the parachute glider is controlled and manoeuvred by the pilot alone.

(3) And finally, give him something that never gets boring when you treat him to an aqua sphereing experience! He’ll love how crazy it gets when you’re rolled down a hill in a giant inflatable sphere! I can’t wait to try this one myself – it looks fab! I love the idea of rolling down hills – it’s the kind of thing you try when you’re very small and every hill looks like it holds a wealth of dirty possibilities

If you’re looking for a fabulous driving day for the special guy (or girl!) in your life then I’ve got some good news for you! One of my good friends was treated a fabulous gift for his recent birthday and he had the rare opportunity to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo around a race track. Now it sounded like it was an amazing day, but I think I have something even more exciting to tell you.

… now anyone can drive one of their dream cars around a real race track at a very reasonable rate! He came across the best deal and was nice enough to share it with me so I could share it with you. I can only imagine what kind of gift-doors this special bit of information is going to be opening in the near future! Treat friends to a Ferrari challenge and lads to a Lamborghini day, give your aunt the keys to an Audi R8 or go the Full Monty with a tank driving phenomenon! I’m just so excited, I can’t wait to show you what I’ve found!

First of all, let’s have a look at Sean’s Lamborghini that he won’t stop talking about. He keeps saying that it’s something you’ve got to experience for yourself and that no words can describe it. Not very helpful, is he? Have a look at this video to see for yourself what it must be like to drive this dream car:

Looks pretty good doesn’t it? I love cars that bend neatly at the back like that, looks very supercar-ish.

Okay, they also offer a range of other super cars so you can pick out your particular dream vehicle and have a go. I must say, I’ve always been captivated by the styling of the Porsche Carrera 911 so I was quite excited to see that they have this one there as well. And what a good deal!

I could get used to driving one of those! Makes a big change from my Verso I love that there are videos to watch, it makes it so much easier to see what’s actually going on.

There’s also a Ferrari 360 on offer for Ferrari fans. I was recently dragged to the popular Ferrari Shop in London and I must admit, there’s something very appealing about the tell-tale red paint (which is even branded as Ferrari red!) and the very sleek contours.

That looks really exciting! I’m glad to see that other girls like cars too… Mind you, I’m more about what it looks like on the outside than on the inside. I wouldn’t know a carburettor if it fell on my foot!

Then there’s the Aston Martin DB9 which is the car most famous for being James Bond’s first choice. Okay, it’s probably more famous for something else but that’s why I know about it! I am a self-confessed Ian Fleming fan.

Look at it go:

Wow! I love the way they highlighted the red in that video, very neat – it makes it quite distinctive from the Ferrari red, don’t you think?

Let’s not forget the Audi R8 which is a very popular choice for ‘big kids’ and businessmen. It has won hundreds of awards and when I went to ask my colleague why it is that he chose to drive one of these to work every day, he answered simply: ‘It was Playboy’s Car of the Year’. Goodness!

Finally, the last ’single’ car driving experience that you can choose takes place in a Ford RS. You see a lot of these on the road – they’re unmissable with their distinctive orange, green or white paint jobs and their cheeky styling. But I have it on good authority that they’re a whole lot of fun on the race track as well! Sean got taken out for a ‘practice lap’ in one of these before they let him loose in the Lamborghini, and he said it was quite a beastly car.

Look at it zip around! Now if you thought that you’d been given a world of choice here, think again. There’s more where that came from! The clever people behind these fun driving days came up with something for the die-hard drivers out there.

That’s right, I’m talking about versus days. That’s when you take two of the biggest names in race driving and put them head-to-head to see which one handles better, which one is faster, and which one you like better. For example, you might compare the Ferrari with the Lamborghini.

Now that’s going to be a driving day worth doing! What a treat for big car fans. And you know what else could be fun? What about if you put a Aston Martin against Ferrari? Can you imagine James Bond going up against the legendary Jody Shekter or Kimi Raikkonen!

Look at that! You can really let your imagination run wild when you’re coming up with fun versus days!

If you’re looking for a car that has a bit more ‘raw power’ than these muscle machines we’ve already been discussing then you’ll probably appreciate the next item on our line-up: the Aston Martin Vs the Nissan GTR! The GTR is hailed as the Sports Car of the Year, the Motor Trend Car of the Year, Supercar of the Year, Automobile of the Year… etc. I don’t think I need to keep telling you, just watch this video and you’ll understand:

Wow! Did you hear that – a top speed of 195mph! That does seem to put up a bit of tough competition for the Aston Martin. Which one do you think will do better?

Not to be outdone by it’s rivals, the Ferrari makes a come-back to our line-up with a stunning versus day in the form of the Ferrari Vs Audi R8 challenge.

I can’t imagine which one would win – they’re both such super rides! I guess that’s why they let you drive both of them around the track … so you can see for yourself!

And finally, I’ve got a little ‘kicker’ surprise for you. I saved the best for last! If you’re looking for the ultimate driving day for a car enthusiast then you simply have to treat them to a fantastic ‘Full Monty Tank Day’! This one is a winner in my books, and it pulls out all the stops as one of the best gifts I’ve come across:

This is quite a comprehensive video which details everything the lucky guy (or girl) will get to do on the day. I must say, I’m sure every little boy dreams of driving a tank over a real car! Wow.

So there you have it folks. Thanks to Sean for telling us about these great deals! I hope that you all manage to use these as gift inspiration and gift ideas for birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions and important events.

Hi Stacey. Hope ur well. I need2get something4 my uncles bday. He’s turning 50but he’s a bigger kid than I am! lol. He just got his skippers license so thought maybe water related like a cruise or a yacht day or something. Any ideas????

Becky

Dear Becky,

Luckily it’s getting towards that time of year when water sports are becoming a lot more popular. I think I have a few ideas that might help you out of your predicament. See what you think:

First of all, if your uncle already has his skipper’s license then he has probably enjoyed quite a bit of yachting or cruising! That’s why I’d recommend something a bit more action-packed than a leisurely afternoon at sea. That way he can enjoy a totally different experience and still be out on the water!

He might enjoy a bit of water-skiing where he’ll learn the basics behind standing up and manoeuvring  behind a moving boat. This will also be incredibly useful if he plans on getting his own boat later on – especially fun for summer days!

He might also get a kick out of jet skiing which I hear is quite a lot of racy fun! This is idea for the adrenaline junkie or ‘big kids’ like you say your uncle is. I’m sure he’ll love every minute of it!

Lastly, one of the  most popular water sports at the moment has got to be white water rafting. I’ve found a video that will show what this is all about, so do take a minute to watch it below and see for yourself! I think this could be a lot of fun for anyone who loves being outdoors! It looks like it gets really wet but I’m sure that the wetsuit will keep you nicely insulated.

It looks like so much fun! I might even give it a go… Becky, it  might be quite a lot of fun if you went with your uncle on this kind of adventure – he’d have such a great time!

Best of luck,

x Stacey