Holiday Gift Guide - Tickets for Live Entertainment

There is nothing quite the same as seeing live entertainment. Whether that entertainment is a Broadway show, a ballet, or a live sporting event, being at the show/game in person is just better than watching it at home.

I think it all started when my husband and I were dating. He is a huge baseball fan, more specifically, a huge New York Yankees fan. He also is one to buy himself whatever he wants, two minutes after he knows he wants it - which makes it really hard to come up with gift ideas. You hear an idea that you think you can tuck away for later and then the next day, he is telling you about what he bought. (okay, maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but not far from the truth.) Since he is such a big fan of baseball, I started giving him the gift of baseball. Each year, I would choose a new city to travel to to see the New York Yankees play baseball. Many teams don't release their individual game tickets for sale early enough to have the tickets on hand, but I would find the game and then print out a certificate that told him what games we would be going to.

One more than one occasion, he has also purchased tickets for me. The tickets that he has purchased for me are typically to go see a live performance. When I was pregnant with my son, he bought me tickets to see Annie live on stage in Pittsburgh. One of the best things about the gift, it was truly a gift for him to take me to see Annie - it is certainly not a show that he would have chosen for himself.

But tickets to games or shows, does not need to be limited to adults. I love taking my kids to see shows. Many theaters offer family packages and/or $10 tickets to shows. The tickets at that price are limited, but they give you the opportunity to share the experience without breaking the bank. We are fortunate, that in addition to regular shows, that we have been able to take in shows geared towards children. We have seen groups like Imagination Movers in concert, a local Children's Ballet group perform Fancy Nancy and Madeline ballets, storybook shows such as If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Wrinkle in Time by a Professional Theater Company for young audiences and families, and shows like Disney on Ice and Phineas & Ferb Live. Each of these experiences can be used to teach children about the arts and to see familiar things transformed into live performances.

The holidays can be a great time to give someone the gift of show tickets (and sporting event tickets). Many theaters, having thought of this too, will send out their annual performance information just in time for the holidays.