If you are looking for experience gifts for kids or outdoor adventure gifts for kids, you’ll love the ideas in this post! This list is full of the top experience gifts for kids, both for boys and girls.
More and more I come across Facebook posts in mom groups that all say the same thing:
“My kids do NOT need more toys. I don’t want to give my kids more stuff that they won’t play with for more than 10 minutes and clutter up their room for the next 3 years until we give it away!! What are some great experience gifts for kids?”
This idea of experience gifts for kids is not really new, but is certainly growing in popularity.
And I think it’s great that people are reflecting about Christmas gifts for their kids, wanting to gift them something that doesn’t come in a box, but wanting to gift them memories, gift them their time.
We all know that happiness doesn’t come from a box or a store, and Christmas Day presents are not an exception to that fact.
While we all love Christmas gifts, new toys, and so on, there are very few toys we keep forever. Many which we forget about altogether.
I once put together a list of great classic kids toys because of this very reason. I wanted to gift my kids things they’d actually enjoy playing with again and again, for YEARS.
It’s why I even put together a list of adventure and experience gifts for couples, him, and her. I personally don’t need stuff, but I love DOING new things!
If you’re on board this experience gift train, then let’s begin!
Experience Gifts for Kids
There are tons of great things to do and see that make for great kids birthday experience gifts as well as for Christmas.
This list is intended to spark creativity on your part so you can pick the perfect kids experience for your own individual child.
Local Events
Local events are always happening, and some are totally awesome, unique experiences for kids.
I personally love checking Groupon for cheap tickets and an easy way to gift the event tickets.
Some local events which make for pretty great adventure gifts for kids are:
- Sporting events (especially at the collegiate or professional level)
- Concerts (bands, musicians, orchestras)
- Comedy Shows
- County and State Fairs
- Ballet
- Plays or Musicals (High School, College, or Professional/Broadway)
- Seasonal Festivals
- Car Shows
How to Wrap Experience Tickets to Local Events:
As you most likely need to buy tickets ahead of time, put the tickets inside a box or card to gift it. If you don’t receive physical tickets by mail, printing out the receipt of the email into the card or box.
You could also create your own gift certificate stating what event you are taking them to, and when it will be.
You can also pick up a Groupon Gift Card!
Local Attractions
Similar to the above, local attractions can also make for fun experience gifts for kids of various ages.
Places you might want to pick up tickets or memberships to include:
- Six Flags
- Zoo
- Water Park
- Ski Slopes
- Ice Rinks
- Museums
- Regional, State, or National Parks
- Sea World
How to Wrap Local Attraction Experience Gifts:
If you receive a membership card or tickets with your purchase, go ahead and wrap them up or put them in an envelope or box for them to open.
If it’s a one-time ticket, printing off a gift certificate or other form stating the location/venue works too.
Vacation Experience Gift
There are few things more exciting and adventurous than taking a vacation or trip to a new location! And even venturing to places within your town or within a few hours driving can be super adventurous and awesome to receive!
Whether it’s a ski vacation, trip to Disney, cruise, camping/RV trip, indoor water park, beach, white water rafting trip, or something else, I’m all over it!
To gift someone the adventure gift of a vacation, staycation, or night away, check out the following sites:
How to Gift a Vacation Experience Gift:
You can have a little fun with this! Instead of just wrapping an itinerary or gift certificate, it could be fun to get a little trinket or souvenir that represents the location of the planned adventure, along with the tickets/itinerary/gift certificate!
Learning and Creating
While not everyone is into the same types of creativity and activities, chances are there is some class or course that would spark an adventure in your child’s life!
Think about gifting your son or daughter a month-long (or longer) membership to some sort of class!
You can often find such classes on Groupon or LivingSocial, your local craft store, or your local community college or university.
Or, you can even hook them up with on-line learning classes through Bluprint!
- Cooking Class
- Dance Class
- Self-Defence Class
- Glass Blowing Class
- Painting Class
- Pottery Class
- Sewing/Crochet Class
- Photography Class
- Flying Lessons
- Cake Decorating Class
- Exercise/Fitness Class
- Surfing Lessons
- Fly Fishing Lessons
- Golf Lessons
- Sailing Lessons
How to Gift Creative Classes and Learning Gifts for Kids:
Along with the gift certificate to the class you’ve signed them up for, you could buy them a complimentary gift.
Buy them a set of frosting piping tips or cake decorating book. If you gifted them a dance class, buy them some dance shoes, or if you gifted them fly fishing lessons, buy them a rod and/or lures. I think you get the idea.
Adventure Gifts For Kids
Kids absolutely love going on new adventures! Adventure gifts for boys and girls can be so fun to give. They’ll likely remember these adventure gifts forever.
Below are some more unique items that kids are sure to love:
- Theme Park (We love SeaWorld)
- Water Park
- Horseback Riding
- Outdoor Play Equipment
- Jumpy Place
- Trampoline Park
- Roller Coasters
- Camping Trip
- Bowling
- Go-Karting
- Laser Tag
- Paintballing
- Martial Arts Classes
- Getting ears pierced
Again, many of these can be picked up as a Groupon Deal, but some are just a matter of going with your kids to do them.
How to Gift Kids Adventure Gifts:
If you’re gifting an outdoor adventure or outing, you can gift them a complimentary gift to go with the place, like googles or a new towel if you’re heading to the water park, or a cowboy hat if going horseback riding.
Wrap them up and then include a note or tell them yourself that it’s a symbol of what’s to come!
Monthly Subscription Boxes for Kids Gifts
As monthly subscription boxes are often educational, hands-on, need parental involvement, are something to look forward to every month, and can help a child learn new skills, I think monthly subscription boxes can be great experience gifts for kids!
Click the following links for great subscription experience gift options:
- Educational Subscription Boxes
- Monthly Science Kits for Kids
- Chemistry Kits for Kids
- Arts & Crafts Boxes for Kids
- Baking Kits and Cooking Subscription Boxes for Kids
- Toddler Subscription Boxes
- Baby Subscription Boxes
- Kids Monthly Book Boxes
- Kids Clothing Subscription Boxes
How to Gift Subscription Boxes to Kids:
Many subscription boxes let you choose where the box is delivered (in case you don’t live with the child it’s intended for), purchase the subscription as a gift (usually in 3-12 month subscriptions), or let you purchase individual boxes.
With some, you can request the start date too, but if the box comes early, you can try to hide it away before the child sees it.
Free Experience Gifts for Kids
While most items on this list cost money, know that you can totally gift experiences to children that don’t cost anything but your time, and we all know love is spelled T-I-M-E.
Many of these ideas would be great daddy-daughter or father-son or mother-son or mother-daughter activities and adventure or experiences.
- Go for a walk together
- Hike a new trail
- Bake favorite treats together
- Visit a nursing home together
- Give family service
- Play sports in the backyard or local park
- Check out every park in town, ranking them after your visits
- Volunteer at an animal shelter
- Go on a long bike ride together
- Train for and run a 5k together
Whew! I hope you enjoyed this list of adventure gift ideas! Now go out there and have some new experiences and fun!
Looking for more gift ideas? Check out my Christmas Gift Guide Ideas! They include things like:
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