Every year people buy theatre tokens as great presents, but did you know many lay un-used in the bottom of drawers, or buried in the christmas box, or even in “the voucher pile” yes I have one of those in my bedroom. There is not a lot there but I bet I could put the value together andbuy some nice plants, a cd or two and buy a ticket on special offer for We Will Rock You!

To make sure that your next gift is used why not buy it in a special gift pack, making sure that the recipient remembers their vouchers every time they put a cd on or play a board game or read a book.

Here are some great gift pack ideas just in time for Christmas. (If you would rather book a break then check out some of these seasonal packages of Christmas theatre breaks in London: you can get them from London theatrebreaks.

£59.99 Theatre Quiz Gift Pack

This gift pack contains £50 worth of Theatre Tokens and the Theatre Chat quiz cards.

£59.99 Stage Classics CD Gift Pack

This CD pack contains £50 worth of Theatre Tokens and the ‘Stage Classics’ CD.

£59.99 Show Tunes CD Gift Pack

This CD pack contains £50 worth of Theatre Tokens and the ‘Show Tunes’ CD.

£59.99 Shall We Dance? Quiz Gift Pack

This gift pack contains £50 worth of Theatre Tokens and the Shall We Dance? quiz cards.

£59.99 Book Gift Pack

This gift pack contains £50 worth of Theatre Tokens and The Faber Pocket Guide to Musicals.

£39.99 Theatre Quiz Gift Pack

This gift pack contains £30 worth of Theatre Tokens and the Theatre Chat quiz cards.

£39.99 Stage Classics CD Gift Pack

This CD pack contains £30 worth of Theatre Tokens and the ‘Stage Classics ’ CD.

£39.99 Show Tunes CD Gift Pack

This CD pack contains £30 worth of Theatre Tokens and the ‘Show Tunes’ CD.

£39.99 Shall We Dance? Quiz Gift Pack

This gift pack contains £30 worth of Theatre Tokens and the Shall We Dance? quiz cards.

£39.99 Book Gift Pack

This gift pack contains £30 worth of Theatre Tokens and The Faber Pocket Guide to Musicals.

A voucher with an amount on is the simplest thing to give.  You can buy it online or on the phone: you choose the value and tell the system where to send them – you can just buy theatre breaks vouchers here!

Pros and Cons

I feel a list coming on!

Pros

• Quick and easy
• Great for gifts for people who are hard to pin down
• Great for Corporate Gifts
• Long Shelf Life
• Versatile – use vouchers for part payments of more expensive breaks or split over two cheaper break.
• Vouchers need not be used for London theatre breaks: valid for short breaks all over Europe
• Really easy to understand for the recipient

Cons

• The recipient knows how much you spent

OK so not a very long list

They have the longest shelf life of all Theatre Break Vouchers and they can be used however the recipient likes: a two night, 3 star break, a one night, 4 star break or as part payment towards a longer stay at a posher hotel….  maybe The Savoy?

They are the most flexible of vouchers: partly so because of the huge amount of different breaks and hotels all over Europe that Superbreak offer. You are not only giving a night out to see Blood Brothers, you are giving them a night out at the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo, a Disneyland Paris break or a beach weekend on the Mediteranean!

This makes the vouchers the most flexible option. Many of the descriptive vouchers  (“this voucher is exchangable for a theatre breaks for two Monday to Thursday for the following shows…”) are great but are generally based around special offers which have short shelf life and limited availability.

Of course the recipient does know how much you love them which in some circumstances can be awkward, as both amounts that are too small and too large can cause embarrasment, but if you are unsure what the recipient wants to do, when and in whose company, then this is the safe bet.

So how much do you spend on a Superbreak Voucher?

This is covered more in depth  in my posting of that name but here we can be a little more specifical for Superbreak vouchers.

Over the last 12 months the price paid for theatre breaks for two have ranged from £142 to £631. And of course for those cheaper breaks rail travel was not included.

But if you budget for a 3 Star breaks with seats in the Upper Circle then the recipient can always upgrade – or they can put it towards a short break in York if they a) don’t do 3 star hotels and b) have already seen everything in London.

So what is what.

£100 – the recipient will almost certainly have to pay for some of the break and for travel.

£200 – cheap but clear view seats and a standard 3 star hotel. Unless they live near London they will probably have to pay for travel.

£300 – Good seats and a standard 4 star hotel any time of the week. Maybe even 2 nights in a three star hotel but they would have to get a deal on the tickets so maybe a midweek break. A one night, three star break would give them money left over to spend on travel or a pre-theatre meal or a ride on the London Eye.

£400 – Most people should be able to book a really nice break for two for £400 and not have to dig into their pocket at all! travel, tickets, accommodation, pre-theatre dinner, the lot.

Over £500 – 5 star hotels or two night breaks, first class travel: from here on up you are buying the weekend of a life time

 Conclusion

I like vouchers with a value on them for the flexibility and honesty: they are the better voucher. But if you don’t want the recipient to know how much you love them then these are not for you.

Book Theatre Break Vouchers Here

There are many companies offering theatre break vouchers: Theatre Breaks, Superbreak, Virgin Experience Days, Treat Me, Red Letter Days, Gift Heaven, Buyagift.co.uk, Into The Blue, even the Society of London Theatre’s theatre tokens can be exchanged for Theatre Breaks.

It used to be easy: Theatre Breaks and Virgin Vouchers did the descriptive vouchers that you could give without the recipient knowing how much you had spend, and Superbreak did the monetary amounts that the recipient could use as full or part payment to a theatre break.

Now, with so many to chose from it is hard to make a choice – you may as well have booked a theatre break by the time you have compared them all!

I’ve already given you the links for the individual companies so you can go off and do your own homework but just as a guide here is wahat you should look for if you are considering a theatre break voucher.

Theatre Breaks Vouchers – Monetary Amounts

This is the simplest thing to give. It’s almost like cash but only redeemable at a theatre break company.  You chose the total amount and the denominations you would like to make up that amount and the vouchers are sent off to the gratefull recipient.

They have the longest shelf life of all Theatre Break Vouchers and they can be used however the recipient likes: a 2 night 3 star break, a 1 night four star break or as part payment towards a longer stay at a posher hotel….  maybe The Savoy?

Of course the recipient does know how much you love them which in some circumstances can be awkward as both amounts that are too small and too large can cause embarrasment. But if you are unsure what the recipient wants to do, when and in whose company, then this is the safe bet. They are also valid for hotel breaks and theme park holidays if the theatre is not to their liking.

See Superbreak Theatre Break Vouchers for further information on this type of Theatre Breaks Voucher – if you’ve read enough you can buy these theatre break vouchers here.

Experience Theatre Breaks Vouchers

By far the most varied of theatre break voucher types is the Experience Voucher. The recipient is offered a choice of shows to see and a range of dates and they have to phone up to redeem the voucher.  Vouchers cover breaks at three, four and five star hotels. Some vouchers are just for midweek dates and other vouchers cover the whole of the week – or exclusively the weekend. Some vouchers offer breaks for a specific list of shows and seats, with others the recipient can make their choice out of the whole of the London’s Theatreland (subject to availability of course!).

As you can see there are almost as many vouchers as there are performances in the West End.

The main differences are:

• the shows that are included
• the hotel offered
• the dates that the vouchers are valid for.

Most vouchers will have an expiry date – usually somewhere between 6 months and a year. They can be extended but that will attrract an administration charge to the recipient: usually about £20.

Special Offers may be even shorter: Buyagift.co.uk offer a £199 voucher each winter but the validity is very short and the availability is limited: but having said that it is a good deal and, like most voucher companies, if the voucher hasn’t been used most voucher companies will swap it for something else: for a fee!

See Experience Vouchers for further information although if you have read enough you can buy Theatre Breaks Experience Vouchers Here.

How Much to Spend on a Theatre Break Voucher

The cost of an average Theatre Break booked in Britain for two people is approximately £320 to £350. The cheaper breaks are consistently between £120 and £180 per person whilst the more expensive breaks fall between £500 and £700.

Typically they include a theatre ticket and a night at the hotel but they can also include travel, insurance, pre-theatre dinner, extra nights, entry to London attractions, Oystercards… you get the idea.

Midweek breaks are not necessairly cheaper than weekend breaks but they can include better seats as availability tends to be better.

Quitye often the price of getting to London or Edinburgh or Manchester puts the price up and of course you needn’t include that in your calculations but that can be a contributory factor to the higher prices of theatre break.

See How Much to Spend on Gift Vouchers for further information but if you can spend between £100 and £300 then you are well on your way to either paying for the break outright or paying for a good majority of it.

If however your budget is at the bottom of that price range then do consider buying Society of London Theatre Theatre Tokens as these can be used for theatre breaks but they can also be used just for theatre tickets – and quite often a pair of theatre tickets can cost £150!

What ever you decide to buy them, the gift of a night out at the theatre is a wonderful thing and it is usre to be a present that is remembered for a long time to come.