Home for the holidays: gift giving goes local and experiential.

• Author: Sukin, Gigi
• Position: E-COMMERCE

'Tis the season for gift giving. And with spirited "Go Local" campaigns abounding, more shoppers are growing more mindful about purchasing presents from their neighborhood ma and pa shops.

Boulder-based Wishlist LLC encourages locally minded buying with a slightly different approach, enabling purchasers to give the gift of Colorado experiences.

Enjoywishlist.com--launched in December 2012 by Wade Rosen--offers gift certificates for activities right in your own back yard. Categories include: Adventure, Charming Getaways, Relaxation, Fitness, Urban Living and Adrenaline, at prices ranging from $40 to $500.

"It turns out Coloradans are apt to go run a marathon and buy the Relaxation package to treat themselves to a day at the spa thereafter," Rosen said.

Once gift certificates are picked and purchased, recipients receive emails directing them to the startup's site to sift through various offerings in each category, from white water rafting trips to wine tast-ings and massage sessions.

Along with cataloging and curating vendors, such as Brooklyn Mining Co., Raft Masters and Moyer Total Wellness, Rosen--a University of Denver alum who dreamed up the business while studying abroad in Spain--works with businesses to reward their hardworking employees.

"When we started, a lot of consumers were eager to buy on Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. But we realized companies started embracing the idea, too," Rosen said, citing Applied Trust, a Boulder-based security, infrastructure and compliance services firm, as an example. "Rather than giving generic...