Giving an experience may be greatest gift of all

When it comes to gift giving, maybe it’s time to think out of the box — literally. This holiday season, consider giving an experience rather than an item.

Over the years, my column has been filled with experiences that you can gift to loved ones (or suggest for yourself!). Time to check the Holistic Guinea Pig Facebook page or pull out those dog-eared archives!

By taking the time to consider what experiences your loved one might truly enjoy you are sure to give something that will be deeply appreciated. Does your spouse complain of body pain? Show you are listening by giving a gift certificate for massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, reflexology or float therapy treatments. How about food? Show you are supporting dietary lifestyle choices by giving a week (or more!) of gourmet gluten-free vegan home delivery or gifting membership in a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Has your spouse ever hinted that dancing together might be a great new hobby, or do you know someone eager to meet new friends, getting married, newly divorced or looking for something fun to do with or without a partner? Think about a gift certificate for swing dance lessons. How about a personal training session for someone who wants to exercise more?

Just be sure you are giving gift certificates for something the recipients would want, not what you want them to want. A gift certificate to a personal trainer is an ideal gift for someone who has expressed a desire to exercise, has been medically advised to exercise, wants motivation to exercise, enjoys exercise, is an athlete or is in training, but maybe not for your couch potato spouse who considers exercise picking up the remote.

Stress is rampant in our culture, and there is likely no one on your list who wouldn’t love the gift of pampering at the aptly named Happiness Day Spa in New Paltz. Owner Kelly Macaluso, one of my swing dance students, invited me to experience her special holiday offerings in two afternoons. Macaluso, who graduated from the Hudson Valley School of Massage Therapy and Advanced Aesthetics, has 13 years of spa experience, including at the prestigious Mohonk Mountain house, and is able to provide the ultimate luxury in skin and body care in a private spa setting nestled at the foot of the Shawangunk Mountains.

The experience

The Macalusos used a local home improvement contractor to help them transform their garage into a spa oasis.

“My husband thought I should open my own spa and have more control over my hours,” Macaluso explained, then shrugged and laughed. “Now I just work all the time.”

Macaluso’s holiday special includes two combined services for a total of 100 minutes. Her brochure describes the choices, which can be mixed and matched in any combination:

1. Body scrub: “Invigorating salt scrub to exfoliate and nourish your skin.”

2. Body wrap: “Draws out impurities and toxins and leaves your skin feeling incredible.”

3. Therapeutic massage: “Using a variety of modalities to target troubled areas and alleviate pain and discomfort.”

4. Optimizing facial: “Deep cleansing and exfoliation to improve circulation and skin tone, including LED light therapy.”

As I settle down on a sheet- and towel-covered massage table for my initial service combo, a deluxe body wrap and facial, it becomes obvious why Macaluso is so popular. She’d asked me to choose the “mask” for my body wrap and I chose one that said moisturizing without really looking at the packaging. Turns out she uses a gourmet vegan organic skincare line appropriately named Yum Yum because the scent is delicious. While most people would be ecstatic over the cocoa undertones in the one I had chosen, I do not like chocolate. As soon as I mention it, Macaluso stops stirring and tosses the mixture in favor of one I would more fully appreciate. Customer service from the start!

Macaluso rubs my new choice, Thai Lemongrass Body Mask, over my back, arms and legs. She explains the rice powder base mixed with cornstarch is designed to draw out toxins and soften my skin. When she asks me to turn over, she expertly slips a towel over my breasts so she can apply the mask to my stomach without any injuries to my modesty. After applying the mask, she wraps my body in wet, warm towels to further open my pores and promote detox.

After she is done letting the mask do its work, she invites me into the steam room/shower, instructing me to sit in the steam for as long as is comfortable and then to rinse off in the shower while she prepares the room for my facial. The steam is so thick I can barely see in front of me. I relax and allow the warmth to envelop me. Steam rooms are great for opening pores and sinuses, but I never seem to be able to stand them for long and I only sit for about five minutes before I turn the steam off and turn the shower on. When I emerge I am shocked at how soft my skin feels. Macaluso invites me back on the table and smooths body butter all over me. Then she begins the facial. Again she allows me to choose my “flavors.” I choose pumpkin spice cleanser, sour cherry exfoliator and a nori butter mask. In between the cleanse segment and exfoliation, she gives me a massage with cold and warm stones to relax (as if I needed any further help). She finishes with a LED light treatment: Red to promote collagen stimulation; Blue for acne and bacteria; and Green for hyperpigmentation. She uses an ultrasonic brush to help the products penetrate deeper, and applies an anti-aging serum and avocado moisturizer.

I leave, as the brochure promises, feeling “refreshed and rejuvenated.” My skin feels amazing.

A week later I return for my second double treatment. This time, I’ve combined a massage and body scrub. Macaluso has two treatment rooms in her spa and this time we are in the other room. Both rooms, I discover, connect to the bathroom, important for the body scrub and mask treatments, which require a shower for rinsing.

She starts today’s treatment with a massage. You would think that with all the massages I get I would be knot free, but Macaluso finds and soothes every ache and pain. She is an expert at deep tissue massage. As she painstakingly works her way through releasing all the bound-up muscles in my body, she reminds me that I have an active lifestyle. I’ve just come from a workout, and while exercise is great for your health and body, it also is complemented by a good massage. And Macaluso gives a great massage, using both heat and pressure to work away my multitude of knots. The massage is perfectly matched with a follow up body scrub as she seamlessly moves from one service to the next.

The body scrub begins with the salt mixture rubbed against the dry skin of my now relaxed legs and arms. The sensation is, as you would imagine, a coarse salt mixture against bare skin, but also invigorating as the dead skin is exfoliated and younger, newer skin surfaces. After she rubs the mixture all over the front of my body, she asks me to turn and does the back. For those of you, like me, who grew up at summer camp trying to dress inside your sleeping bag rather than expose your body for public viewing, it’s important to note in all these treatments that Macaluso is an expert at exposing only one body part at a time, keeping the rest under blankets. My trips to and from the shower were also in privacy.

After I am covered from head to toe in the salt mixture, Macaluso invites me to shower it off, and points out that shampoo and conditioner are available, which I appreciate since I am scheduled to be somewhere after my treatments. When I return to the room, I lie on my back, again under blankets, as she moves the blanket appropriately to apply body butter as a finishing touch.

The bottom line

Giving an experience like an afternoon at Happiness Day Spa to a harried mom or an overwhelmed wife, sister or girlfriend, goes far above and beyond thoughtfulness. It’s a gift of time and indulgence, something many busy women don’t allow themselves. There are so many opportunities out there when you think outside the box of traditional gift giving. Consider the people on your list and imagine what experience they would most enjoy receiving. And if you want to nudge your spouse or partner in the right direction regarding gift-giving ideas for yourself, dog-ear this column and slip it next to the coffee maker.

Know what the Holistic Guinea Pig is up to. Follow her on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/holisiticguineapig. If you have a practice you would like to share, contact Linda Freeman at the holisticguineapig@gmail.com

Gift ideas

•Happiness Day Spa, 170 Guilford Schoolhouse Road, New Paltz; www.happinessdayspa.com; 845-256-3840

Massage

•Mark Pukmel, Poughkeepsie Massage; www.poughkeepsiemassage.com; 845-518-2708

•Amanda Snyder, Amanda Snyder Spa Therapy; www.amandasnyderspatherapy.com; 845-616-6481

Chiropractic/Acupuncture

•Dr. Peter D. Lichtenstein; http://newpaltzacupuncture-chiropractic.com; 845-256-0212

Reflexology

•Lorraine Cucci; ebserenity21@gmail.com; 914-489-9149

Gluten-free vegan home meal delivery

•Roni Shapiro, Healthy Gourmet To-Go; www.healthygourmettogo.com; 914-388-2162

Community Supported Agriculture membership

Kira Kinney, Evolutionary Organics; https://www.facebook.com/EvolutionaryOrganics; 845-417-1543

Personal training

•Dorothy Hamburg, exercise physiologist; http://trisportstraining.com; 845-876-1191

Floatation therapy

•Mountain Float Spa; http://www.mountainfloatspa.com; 845-256-9800