From catapulting flaming soldiers over castle walls to sitting on active geysers, humans have long been fixated on flying through the air. Absorb the wonderment of flight with today’s Groupon: for $299, you get a plaza-lights helicopter tour for three and a champagne reception from KC Copters (a $750 value).

Founded by local TV news chopper reporter Johnny Rowlands, KC Copters shepherds air-traveling trios high above the nocturnal Kansas City skyline. FAA-authorized plaza-lights tours commence at Downtown Airport's Signature Flight Support, where guests partake in a private champagne reception as decadent as a mink outfitted in chocolate-covered $100 bills. Next, gravity-defying groups whisk into the night sky for 20-minute sojourns, which delight passengers with sweeping views of the glistening plaza-lights display and the holiday animations at the Marriott Hotel. Voyagers can also fix sights on the mayoral yuletide conifer as the aerial steed makes a pass over the Crown Center complex or rebel against the holiday spirit by hurling grinch-like threats at passing birds.