40 | DECEMBER 12 • 2019 

Give the Gift 
of an Experience 

LYNNE KONSTANTIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

From private wheel-throwing 
or canvas-painting classes to 
Mommy and Me weekend classes 
and art camp — even wax hands 
and spin art — Creative Arts 
Studios in Royal Oak is inventive fun for 
all ages. creativeartsstudios.com.

Give an underwater adventure 
in Metro Detroit. Recipients can 
learn to scuba dive in a pool with 
Novi’
s Motor City Scuba, whose 
blended approach begins with 
eLearning, then classroom, then confined 
water before heading out to open-water 
certification dives. motorcityscuba.com.

Introduce the kids (ages 6 and up) 
to classical music and the Detroit 
Symphony Orchestra with the 
DSO’
s Young People’
s Family 
Concerts (purchase a single con-
cert or season tickets). Often including 
dance, theater, storytelling and video, 
the 2019-20 season includes Gershwin’
s 
Magic Key (shown) and Musical Heroes. 
dso.org.

Learn to cook pasta from a chef 
in Italy, sushi from a chef in 
Japan, paella from a chef in Spain 
and more with The Chef & The 
Dish, cooking classes with chefs 
from around the world via Skype. Your 
chef shows you, then watches and coaches 
you from your computer. From the ulti-
mate couple’
s night to a dinner party with 
the girls — all taught by chefs featured on 
the Food Network, the BBC and more. 
thechefandthedish.com.

Pack up the family and head to 
Washington, D.C., for a festive 
Chanukah Getaway package: 
Three nights at the Watergate 
Hotel, including two family-con-
necting rooms, kosher wine tastings at 
the Bar at Kingbird, kosher chocolate 
gelt, a kids’
 Chanukah book and dreidels, 
a private car and more. Check out the 
National Menorah Lighting on the 
Ellipse, Chanukah on Ice, Zoo Lights at 
the National Zoo, a holiday market and 
more. Kosher meals can be included for 
a cost. thewatergatehotel.com/offers/
hanukkah-in-dc-package.

Take a peek into your past — and 
gain insight toward your future — 
with a visit to a psychic medium. 
Gift givers can schedule a small 
group or private reading with two 
local, renowned intuitive mediums, both 
of whom may provide affirmation of an 
afterlife if the client is open to it: Lynn 
Darmon in Farmington Hills (248-860-
1121; lynndarmon.com) has clairvoyant, 
clairaudent and precognitative abilities; 
Lori Lipten, a shamanic medium, author 
and spiritual teacher based in Bloomfield 
Hills (248-219-5928; lorilipten.com), says 
she can “see into the multiple dimensions 
of this universe and sense people’
s souls.
”

Sign up for a course or two with 
JLearn (formerly FedEd), the 
JCC’
s and Jewish Federation of 
Metropolitan Detroit’
s Jewish 
adult learning mecca. Offering 
workshops and classes on topics includ-
ing genealogy, ethics, Jewish history, 
Hebrew language and more. (248) 205-
2557; jccdet.org/jlearn. 

gift guide 2019

— and of making memories.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1

2

3

4

5

CREATIVE ARTS STUDIO
MOTOR CITY SCUBA
GERSHWINÍS MAGIC KEY
THE CHEF AND THE DISH
THE WATERGATE HOTEL