Want to be the real winner of the upcoming holiday season? Give experience gifts to the kids (and adults!) on your shopping list instead of toys. Don’t get me wrong toys are great but typically families already have WAY TOO MANY. Instead, give a gift that makes great memories without cluttering up the house.

Benefits of Experience Gifts

There are many benefits to giving experience gifts besides not adding to the toy clutter.

First of all, a gift card or money is super easy to wrap and inexpensive (or free) to mail/email/print.

This type of gift gives the child something to look forward to. A number of toys lose their initial appeal fairly quickly but looking forward to an experience extends the joy of your gift past the holiday season. For example, my kids are ecstatic to receive a kids’ magazine each month.

Also, you as the gift giver could participate in the experience deepening the relationship between you and the child. Maybe you bought the child a gift card to the movie theater and you are going to take the child to three movies of their choice throughout the year. The kid looks forward to spending time with you when going on these special dates to the movies.

But What Will The Child Open?

This question is one that often stops friends and family from giving an experience gift. The gift-giver wants to see the look of joy on the child’s face when he/she opens the gift.

I recommend adding little items to accompany the experience gift card/ticket/money so the child gets to open more than an envelope (especially if the child is younger). For example, if you are gifting a camping weekend maybe wrap up a bag of marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate bars, and roasting sticks. If you are gifting a gift card for swim lessons, put a pair of goggles in a gift bag.

Guidelines for Gifting an Experience Gift

When giving an experience gift make sure to follow the following guidelines;

• Is the experience appropriate for the child’s age?
• Has the child ever shown any interest in the experience you will be gifting?
• Will the parents be okay with the experience gift? (READ THAT AGAIN!!)
• Will the child, or parent of the child, have to spend their own money when cashing in your experience gift? If the answer is yes, will the receiver/parents of the receiver be okay with that?

Examples of terrible experience gifts;

a) You signed up a child for ice skating lessons. You only paid for a month of lessons and the parents can’t afford to continue the lessons. The lessons are located an hour away from the child’s home. The parents also have to buy ice skates and ice skating outfits before the lesson.

b) You are gifting a plane ticket to a child to visit you in another state. The parents are not comfortable with the child traveling alone or taking time off of school.

c) You are giving a gift card to a local amusement park full of roller coasters. The child is short and doesn’t meet the height requirement for the majority of the rides. One parent gets motion sickness and the other parent is terrified of heights.

Preferably, you should discuss and get approval from the parents about the experience gift idea before the holiday celebration. If you want it to be a bit of a surprise you could mention numerous experience gift ideas and then pick one after discussing all the options.

Experience Gift Ideas

Sports/Lessons

Parents (and the child) will absolutely love you if you gift money or gift cards towards activities the child enjoys. If you are giving a gift card make sure it is to the exact place or organization the parents want to take the child to.

If you want to include something for the child to unwrap, consider adding a piece of equipment or part of the uniform to the gift. A related book or movie might be a good idea too.

For example, you are giving money towards ballet lessons. You’ve checked that the parents are definitely planning on having the child start ballet lessons. You wrap up a leotard and an Angelina Ballerina book for the child to open at the holiday gathering.

Swim Lessons

Golf Lessons

Tennis Lessons

Dance Lessons

Ice Skating Lessons

Cooking Lessons

Soccer Team

Football Team

Baseball/Softball Team

Gymnastics Lessons

Horseback Riding

Instrument Lessons

Language Lessons

Vacations/Trips

There is nothing I look forward to more than going on a vacation or even a small trip. If you know the child or the child’s family is going on a vacation somewhere think about what you could gift to make that vacation even more fun.

Ski Lift Tickets

Summer Camp

VRBO or Airbnb Gift Card

Campsite Reservation

State or National Park Sticker

Plane Ticket

Money for an Excursion (snorkeling, ziplining, etc)

Activities

A gift card to go somewhere super fun with friends or family is something all kids would enjoy receiving.

My young girls beg us to take them back to an indoor waterpark all the time. Learning at Christmas that one of their gifts is to go to an indoor waterpark would make their day. Plus, it gives them something to look forward to after the holidays.

Read More: Indoor Water Park Tips for Families

Trampoline Parks

Indoor Rock Climbing

Mini Golf

Bowling

Amusement Parks

Water Parks

Entertainment

As a stay-at-home mom, I am always looking for fun places to take my kids to get out of the house (especially in winter).

This present could be a great way for you to spend more time with the child. Taking the child to a musical production or football game will create lasting fond memories.

Aquarium

Children’s Museum

Botanical Gardens

Zoo

Petting Farm

Concert Tickets

Theater Tickets

Movie Theater Tickets

Sporting Event Tickets

Misc

Spa Day

Restaurant Gift Card

Magazine Subscription

Streaming Service – Netflix or Disney+

Read More: Subscription Box Gift Ideas

I hope this list of experience gift ideas has helped you brainstorm the perfect present for the child(ren) in your life! Do you have another idea I should add to the list? Let me know in the comment section below.