MasterClass is the last-minute gift that no one will expect and everyone will love—and it's 50 percent off right now
While waiting out this pandemic, what do you do with the extra at-home time? Especially now that you’ve organized the cupboards, cleaned the attic, and really, truly caught up on your paperwork?
One word: learn. How?
Two words (mushed together): MasterClass.
For the uninitiated, MasterClass is a vast buffet of smart, inspiring, beautifully produced multi-session online courses given by experts and celebs at the top of their field, covering everything from cooking to space exploration, pastry-making to skateboarding. Think tennis lessons from Serena Williams, comedy class with Steve Martin, restaurant-caliber home cooking with Gordon Ramsay (minus the rage!), a country music course with Reba McEntire, basketball with Steph Curry and creative writing with Judy friggin’ Blume. If The Queen’s Gambit has you ready to channel Beth Harmon and get your chess game on, then you can learn from one of the greatest players of all time, Garry Kasparov.
These are not one-shot quickie events; they’re layered, thorough, well-thought-out classes with many installments. Case in point: Shonda Rhimes’s MasterClass on TV writing is 30 parts (6.5 hours) and includes not only how to write and pitch your TV ideas but deep analyses of scripts from Rhimes’s shows, including Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy. Penn & Teller’s 17-part MasterClass teaches the fundamentals of coin and card magic, yes, but it also delves into the psychology of creating a sense of amazement and awe.
Shop it: MasterClass All-Access Pass, Buy One Get One Free, $180/year for two people, masterclass.com
There are classes in photography, design, politics, filmmaking, ballet—all taught by true masters in their fields. Right now MasterClass is offering an incredible deal—two all-access passes for the price of one. That means you and someone in your family can enjoy this panoply of options, jumping in and out of classes at will. Think of it as on-demand video lessons from a really cool remote alterna-college while you’re home helping to keep the world safe.
This has been a tough time for young people. Maybe MasterClass is the thing that pulls one of your co-quarantiners (in the next room or another state) out of a funk and into a creative, productive space. Even if it takes a while to ramp up, that would be fine; once purchased, an all-access MasterClass pass is good for a whole year.
If you prefer to start smaller, you can enjoy a single MasterClass for $90. How about acting classes with Helen Mirren? Singing lessons from Christina Aguilera? Maybe you’re more of a naturalist. Dr. Jane Goodall offers a MasterClass too, covering conservation and protecting the planet. For photographers, there’s Annie Leibowitz and for would-be fashion magnates, there are in-depth courses from Marc Jacobs and Diane von Furstenberg. There’s even a course in the art of communication, by Robin Roberts, of Good Morning America. What better way to utilize this stay-at-home winter?
MasterClass is an ever-growing treasure trove of knowledge, advice, motivation and stimulation, with something to delight everyone. For $180 you can indulge in the entire array of 90-some MasterClasses yourself and present the gift of MasterClass to someone in your life. But this special deal is good only through Nov. 30, so act fast.
As Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote, “The world is so full of a number of things/I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.” MasterClass delivers these things in abundance. Help yourself through this tricky winter with the gift of learning. It will lift your mood, ignite your brain, and focus your attention on something positive. You’ll be so glad you did.
MasterClass All-Access Pass, Buy One Get One Free
Shop it: MasterClass All-Access Pass, Buy One Get One Free, $180/year for two, masterclass.com
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