Is there a person in your life who is happiest mountain biking on a steep ridge, diving into cold seas or jumping out of a plane? Come on, you know that person won’t be satisfied with a Christmas gift of a jumper. The gifts below, on the other hand, will provide them with the pulse racing feeling they love.

Flying a plane

Fancy flying a plane over majestic highland scenery? This Christmas gift for a Microlight flight offers an unforgettable flight over Perthshire with the chance to take the controls. Leaving from Balado Park Airfield, there are three options of the gift: a 20 minute flight, a 30 minute flight and a 60 minute flight. There are plenty of opportunities for sightseeing from the sky, and the longer the duration, the further towards the likes of Stirling, the Wallace Monument, Falkland Palace and the Strathearn valley near Perth you’ll get.

Microlight Flight at Balado Park Airfield from Into The Blue, from £55 on 5pm Christmas Gifts 

Canyoning

Canyoning is a unique combination of climbing, abseiling and swimming, an adrenalin-soaked way to explore Scotland’s great natural scenery. This Christmas gift canyoning experience takes place in the Keltneyburn Canyon close to Aberfeldy. It’s the ideal location for introductory canyoning sessions, as it combines steep wooded gorges with the more gentle meadowland preferred by walkers. This canyoning Christmas gift is ideal for thrill seekers but you don’t need to be a skilled climber to enjoy it: instructors vary the itinerary based on your ability and enthusiasm, offering the chance to take on jumps from various heights and scrambles down natural rock formations, mixed in with some invigorating swimming through white water pools.

£34 for Canyon Scrambling Experience for 1 with Into The Blue, near Aberfeldy, Perthshire on 5pm Christmas Gifts.

Gorge walking and river tubing

Based out of Easterhill Farm, on the picturesque edge of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, Action Adventure Activities have plenty of experience running a wide range of outdoor activities. The area’s spectacular landscape of mountains and lochs provides an atmospheric backdrop for this exciting gorge walk and river tubing adventure.Your walking and tubing adventure will begin in the relatively calm waters of a local river, where the guides will test your balance and nerve before the river speeds up. You will scramble upstream, challenging the river’s flow, before attempting some smaller jumps. Once you have gained some confidence in the river you will finish by riding some rapids in your large inflatable tube. The experience is conducted in groups of up to 12 participants. River tubes will be shared between participants. There are three options of this Christmas gift: for one people, for two people, or for a family.

£39 for a Half Day Gorge Walking and River Tubing Experience for 1 with Action Adventure Activities. £75 for 2 People. £129 for Family of 1-2 Adults and 2-3 Children on 5pm Christmas Gifts.

Paddle boarding

Paddle boarding is on the crest of a wave in the States, where this traditional Hawaiian activity has become an outdoor pursuit as popular with hipsters as it is with families. Paddle boarding is a variation on the traditional Pacific sport of surfing. In this sport, stand up paddle boarders remain upright on their boards and use a paddle to propel themselves through the water. Based out of Easter Hill Farm, on the picturesque edge of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, the area’s spectacular landscape of mountains and lochs provides an atmospheric backdrop for this experience.

£24 for a Paddle Boarding Experience for 1 with Action Adventure Activities. £39 for 2 People. £79 for a Family of 1-2 Adults and 2-3 Children on 5pm Christmas Gifts.

White water rafting

The half day white water rafting experience, lasting around 3 hours, tackles the course of the river from Aberfeldy to Grandtully. After a gentle start, the challenge picks up as you encounter the zoom flume and the ‘washing machine’ before the rapids on the final part of the course. It’s an action-packed introduction to some of the river’s most exhilarating challenges. River levels fluctuate dramatically over the season, with high water usually from September to April providing faster flow, bigger waves and challenging rafting. Lower flows during the summer months make for a gentler introduction, but require teamwork and more precise manoeuvring (the gift is available until December 2017).

White Water Rafting Experience in Perthshire from Into The Blue, from £30 on 5pm Christmas Gifts.

Supercar driving

This supercar driving experience is the perfect gift for Top Gear fans who love life in the fast lane. There are five options available: Option one is to drive three laps round the Driftland track near Lochgelly in a Porsche Boxster or Lotus Exige. Option two is for you to drive three laps in a supercar such as an Audi R8 V10 plus, Ferrari, Porsche 911 Carrera or Lamborghini. Option three offers three laps in two supercars. Option four offers three laps in two supercars with the addition of a hot lap as a passenger as an experienced instructor takes the wheel to demonstrate the power of these machines. Option five offers three laps in three supercars. Cars are subject to availability and may change at the last minute. Regular guest cars include Ferrari, Lamborghini Huracan and a Maclaren 570s.

Drive 3 Laps in a Sports Car or Supercar with Supercar Experience Days UK, from £35 on 5pm Christmas Gifts.

Helicopter flying

This Christmas gift is a hands-on helicopter flying lessons from Heli Air at Cumbernauld Airport. Available seven days a week, the offer comes in three options. All three include a pre-flight briefing and one-on-one, hands-on flying time with one of Heli Air’s professional helicopter instructors. Option one is for one person to have an introductory trial lesson with 20 minutes flight time (rotors start to rotors stop). This includes a classroom-style briefing lasting ten to fifteen minutes. Option two is for one person to have an extended trial lesson with 40 minutes flight time. Again, this includes a classroom-style briefing lasting ten to fifteen minutes. Option three is for one person to have a deluxe flying lesson with a whopping 60 minutes flight time.

Helicopter Flying Lesson for 1 from Heli Air, Cumbernauld Airport, from £125 on 5pm Christmas Gifts.

4 x 4 driving

Fancy tackling deep ruts, deeper water hazards and mud troughs in a monster 4×4? An introduction to the rugged skills needed for off road driving, this Christmas gift gives one person the chance to learn 4×4 driving techniques in the safe, experienced hands of the instructors at Action Adventure Activities. Before you get your chance to drive, your instructor will demonstrate the techniques required to negotiate the tracks at the Action Adventure base near Stirling. Watch out – each track is trickier than the last. Each driver will enjoy approximately 20 minutes behind the wheel of one of their Off Road Prepared vehicles. This session is shared with up to four other drivers and, depending on group size, can last up to two hours. Aimed at 12-16 year olds, option two will give younger drivers the chance to get up to 20 minutes of hands-on experience in an automatic 4×4. Full session time is approximately 30 minutes for one driver, 45 minutes for two drivers and 60 minutes for three drivers.

£29 for an Introduction to 4×4 Driving with Action Adventure Activities. £24 for a Junior 4×4 Driving Experience on 5pm Christmas Gifts.

For more experience gifts (as well as hotel, restaurant and spa gifts) check out 5pm Christmas Gifts Page.