BY MiamiHerald.com

It's still nearly a month off, but it's not too early to imagine sitting under the tree Christmas morning, cup of coffee in hand: the twinkling lights, the carols echoing softly from the stereo, the gleeful shouts of the kids as they tear away wrapping paper, the gnashing of sharks' teeth on the cage . . .

What? You don't have a certain someone special enough to fly to Mexico on a charter jet with nine friends and spend a week shark diving from a private yacht? Well, how about an afternoon of aerial combat in World War II fighters? A long weekend learning how to tap phones, rescue hostages and all the other stuff that makes being a spy so fun? Or a couple dozen laps in a sleek NASCAR racer around the track in Homestead? Or blasting into zero-gravity in a specially modified Boeing 727, barf bag no extra charge?

This holiday season, the hottest gift under the tree is a shot of pure adrenaline. It's easy to wrap, and there's something for every pocketbook, if not necessarily every EKG readout. From $40 for trapeze lessons to $100,000 for that shark-diving weekend, you can give a loved one an experience they'll never forget -- and might not survive.

Just kidding about the survivability, sort of. That afternoon in World War II fighters is no computer simulation; you're actually flying a plane, dodging and weaving, firing laser guns at the enemy pilot and screaming ''Curse you, Red Baron'' (wrong war, but for $1,200, you can say anything you want) if a puff of smoke signals that you've been hit. But don't worry -- there's an instructor along.

''It's about as safe as something like that can be,'' says Adam Michaels, chief executive of Cloud 9 Living, one of the companies that offers the aerial combat experience. ``It's like driving school -- the instructor has a set of dual controls. He handles takeoff and landing and makes sure you don't get into too much trouble up there.''

The instructors at The Flying Trapeze School in Bayfront Park say their safety harnesses and net mean even the most spastic customers can fearlessly, if not always successfully, attempt a backflip. And if you show some aptitude, they'll try a midair catch.

''Bumps and bruises and scrapes are part of any physical activity, so those always happen,'' says L.J. Mintz, a circus veteran who is the school's director. ``But we haven't had any flying disasters.''

The Flying Trapeze is one of several South Florida companies offering a particular experience. There are plenty of others: If the thrill has worn off Scarface after 40 viewings, you can rent a British Sten MK II submachine gun for $40 for an afternoon at Ace's Indoor Shooting Range in Doral. (Save some money for ammo, too. That thing fires 800 rounds a minute.) Or you can go rock-climbing on manmade cliffs for around $25 at the Coral Cliffs Rock Climbing Center in Fort Lauderdale or the X-treme Rock Climbing Center in Miami.

For a gift that might produce as big a rush for the giver as the givee, an hour of belly-dancing lessons at the Shakra Relaxation Oasis in Coral Gables goes for $14.

But if you aren't quite sure what you're looking for, there are half a dozen or so companies on the Internet that package a wide selection of exotic experiences, most of them available in Florida. Browsing through their websites, you can find everything from sunrise balloon rides over Biscayne Bay to bullriding lessons in Homestead.

''You can find all these things yourself online if you have the time,'' says Cloud 9 Living's Michaels. ``But if you don't, we've done all the research for you.''

So-called experience gift companies have been in Europe since the early 1990s, but they only began to pop up in America two or three years ago, when the popularity of the Internet made their marketing easier.

''The Internet allows us to have one storefront that serves the entire United States,'' says Kim AuBuchon, chief operating officer of Excitations.

Nothing is too adventurous for these guys. Well, almost nothing: AuBuchon recalls her company passed on offering a chance to pilot a MiG fighter -- in Moscow.

''We decided that was just too far away,'' she says. ``And with all the travel, it was going to carry a price of $100,000.''

Her general rule is, the more adrenaline, the more sales.

''Cheese-making, that didn't do too well for us,'' AuBochon says. ``And our Feng Shui class kind of died a slow death.''

Some of the offerings from the experience gift companies:It's still nearly a month off, but it's not too early to imagine sitting under the tree Christmas morning, cup of coffee in hand: the twinkling lights, the carols echoing softly from the stereo, the gleeful shouts of the kids as they tear away wrapping paper, the gnashing of sharks' teeth on the cage . . .

What? You don't have a certain someone special enough to fly to Mexico on a charter jet with nine friends and spend a week shark diving from a private yacht? Well, how about an afternoon of aerial combat in World War II fighters? A long weekend learning how to tap phones, rescue hostages and all the other stuff that makes being a spy so fun? Or a couple dozen laps in a sleek NASCAR racer around the track in Homestead? Or blasting into zero-gravity in a specially modified Boeing 727, barf bag no extra charge?

This holiday season, the hottest gift under the tree is a shot of pure adrenaline. It's easy to wrap, and there's something for every pocketbook, if not necessarily every EKG readout. From $40 for trapeze lessons to $100,000 for that shark-diving weekend, you can give a loved one an experience they'll never forget -- and might not survive.

Just kidding about the survivability, sort of. That afternoon in World War II fighters is no computer simulation; you're actually flying a plane, dodging and weaving, firing laser guns at the enemy pilot and screaming ''Curse you, Red Baron'' (wrong war, but for $1,200, you can say anything you want) if a puff of smoke signals that you've been hit. But don't worry -- there's an instructor along.

''It's about as safe as something like that can be,'' says Adam Michaels, chief executive of Cloud 9 Living, one of the companies that offers the aerial combat experience. ``It's like driving school -- the instructor has a set of dual controls. He handles takeoff and landing and makes sure you don't get into too much trouble up there.''

The instructors at The Flying Trapeze School in Bayfront Park say their safety harnesses and net mean even the most spastic customers can fearlessly, if not always successfully, attempt a backflip. And if you show some aptitude, they'll try a midair catch.

''Bumps and bruises and scrapes are part of any physical activity, so those always happen,'' says L.J. Mintz, a circus veteran who is the school's director. ``But we haven't had any flying disasters.''

The Flying Trapeze is one of several South Florida companies offering a particular experience. There are plenty of others: If the thrill has worn off Scarface after 40 viewings, you can rent a British Sten MK II submachine gun for $40 for an afternoon at Ace's Indoor Shooting Range in Doral. (Save some money for ammo, too. That thing fires 800 rounds a minute.) Or you can go rock-climbing on manmade cliffs for around $25 at the Coral Cliffs Rock Climbing Center in Fort Lauderdale or the X-treme Rock Climbing Center in Miami.

For a gift that might produce as big a rush for the giver as the givee, an hour of belly-dancing lessons at the Shakra Relaxation Oasis in Coral Gables goes for $14.

But if you aren't quite sure what you're looking for, there are half a dozen or so companies on the Internet that package a wide selection of exotic experiences, most of them available in Florida. Browsing through their websites, you can find everything from sunrise balloon rides over Biscayne Bay to bullriding lessons in Homestead.

''You can find all these things yourself online if you have the time,'' says Cloud 9 Living's Michaels. ``But if you don't, we've done all the research for you.''

So-called experience gift companies have been in Europe since the early 1990s, but they only began to pop up in America two or three years ago, when the popularity of the Internet made their marketing easier.

''The Internet allows us to have one storefront that serves the entire United States,'' says Kim AuBuchon, chief operating officer of Excitations.

Nothing is too adventurous for these guys. Well, almost nothing: AuBuchon recalls her company passed on offering a chance to pilot a MiG fighter -- in Moscow.

''We decided that was just too far away,'' she says. ``And with all the travel, it was going to carry a price of $100,000.''

Her general rule is, the more adrenaline, the more sales.

''Cheese-making, that didn't do too well for us,'' AuBochon says. ``And our Feng Shui class kind of died a slow death.''

Some of the offerings from the experience gift companies:

• Weightless flight: Fifteen swooping 10,000-foot dives, about 30 seconds apiece, in a Boeing 727 from Cloud 9 Living, $3,750. Or take along 26 friends for $95,000.

• Indy-car racing: Ride with one of Mario Andretti's instructors in Homestead for $129. Or drive 34 laps on your own, following the instructor at ever-higher speeds, for $1,999, from Xperience Days.

• Spy weekend: Three days with former Navy Seals and Army Green Berets sneaking around Gainesville (at least, they say it's Gainesville, but they're spies, so who knows?) from Great American Days for $2,950.

• Bull-riding school: One day, $380 from Great American Days and, if you ask nicely, they might also explain the secret of how they fit all those rodeo clowns into one little VW.

• NASCAR racing: Ride shotgun for an hour in Homestead for $120, Signature Days. Or drive yourself for 30 laps, $1,095 from Xperience Days.

• Ultralight flying: Take the controls of one of these feathery airplanes (or just let the instructor handle everything for half an hour), $140 from Excitations.

• Get hypnotized: Imagine you're a bug! Or a newspaper reporter! $250 for a two-hour session from Signature Days.

• Balloon rides: For one, $265, for two, $525, from Excitations. No extra charge if you accidentally wind up in Oz.

• Cigar lessons: The world's most sedentary way to live dangerously: Learn how to smoke. For $150, visit Naples and get lessons in selecting, cutting, lighting and puffing away on a cigar, as well as gourmet tips on how to tell a Montecristo from a Macanudo. White House interns need not apply.

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