101+ Amazing Experience Gifts for Kids and Families

The minimalist trend is gaining steam, but you don’t have to be a hardcore minimalist to want less stuff! Many busy families want to pare down their stuff so they can spend less time cleaning. Others just want to be able to find their favorite soccer ball or doll. 

If you’ve worked hard to declutter your home and purchase new items thoughtfully, the holidays can be a challenging time. Generous relatives and friends may want to buy gifts for your kids, and you are of course grateful. That doesn’t mean you need more toys, though! 

What can you give kids besides toys?

Clothes, books and sporting equipment can be great non toy gifts for kids. Kids often need new shoes (boy can they tear through those things) or winter wear. Coats, hats, and mittens frequently get lost. School supplies can also be a great alternative to toys. My kids could always use another water bottle.

Experience gifts can be great for kids too! They’ll help your kids create a special memory, and they won’t take up space in your house. Here’s a massive list of inspirational experience gifts for kids and families! 

How to ask for experience gifts

Sometimes gift givers are reluctant to give experience gifts, especially to smaller children. They might be afraid that the child won’t understand the gift since it isn’t tangible. Some people are worried that children will be disappointed when they don’t get a toy or game.

Explain how much you appreciate their generosity and desire to give something to your child. Let them know how much they’re supporting your family goals by buying an experience gift. Here are a few ideas to help make an experience gift a little more special:

• Ask the gift giver to participate in the experience (take them to the baseball game/museum/etc).
• Wrap a small related item with the experience gift (e.g. a baseball hat with tickets to a baseball game) so the child has something to open.
• Take a picture of the child at the experience, print it out, and send it to the person who gave the gift with a “thank you.”
• Share that your child has been really wanting to do x activity or has really loved y museum when you’ve gone. 

How to wrap an experience gift

I always recommend wrapping experience gifts for kids! If the experience has physical tickets, like a game or concert, you can wrap those. Just be sure that the tickets won’t be damaged when the gift is opened. 

If you don’t have tickets for the experience, you can always print out information about the event and wrap that. 

Another fun idea is to buy a small related item to wrap. For example, you could buy a horse coloring book and give horseback riding lessons. That way, the child has something fun to unwrap while also getting the experience gift! 

101+ experience gift ideas for kids and families

Memberships

Museum, zoo, and aquarium memberships are perfect non toy gifts! A membership allows kids and their families to go to the museum for free all year long. Most museums also have reciprocal agreements with museums around the country. That means that memberships can also be used at other museums when you travel! Parents and kids LOVE memberships and they usually pay for themselves after just one or two trips. 

1. Museum membership
2. Zoo membership
3. Aquarium membership
4. Special paid activities (e.g. feed the giraffe at the local zoo)
5. Pool membership/passes
6. State park pass
7. National park pass
8. Symphony membership
9. Community theatre membership
10. Gym membership
11. Ballet membership

Classes

Is the kid in your life begging to try a new sport or activity? Parents are often reluctant to commit to expensive classes when they’re not sure whether their child will like the activity. Giving a few classes as a gift is a GREAT way to help a child try a new sport or hobby. Who knows? You might be launching a lifetime passion or an amazing career!

1. Gymnastics classes
2. Dance classes
3. Taekwondo classes
4. Art classes
5. Cooking classes
6. Horseback riding lessons
7. Piano lessons
8. Photography class
9. Acting classes
10. Archery lessons
11. Voice lessons
12. coding/programming lessons
13. Wilderness survival class
14. Ski resort season pass
15. Scuba lessons
16. Sailing lessons
17. Magic class

Camp

Kids love camps but they’re expensive. When parents are facing weeks of summer camp, they might default to the cost-effective method. Help switch up a child’s summer camp schedule by giving the gift of a special camp. No matter what activity the child is interested in, there’s probably a day camp or overnight camp out there! A week of camp could be a great experience gift for kids. 

1. Soccer camp
2. Art camp
3. Sleepaway camp
4. Lego camp
5. Science camp
6. Family camp (hey, why not? Grown ups should get to go to camp too)

Fun Outings

My kids have a running list of things they want to do around town, but it wouldn’t be something we would do on a regular weekend. Ever since a school event at the skating rink earlier this year, my oldest daughter has been asking to go roller skating. And just tonight, my youngest ask when we were going to the local “fun park” again. Adding those to the experience gift list now! 

1. Movie tickets
2. Go karts
3. Putt putt
4. Laser tag
5. Escape room
6. Ropes course pass (goape, etc)
7. Roller skating
8. Ice skating
9. Hay ride
10. Guided horseback ride
11. Bounce house passes
12. Trampoline park passes
13. Indoor playground passes
14. Play gym membership
15. Splash pad membership
16. Climbing gym pass
17. Bowling
18. Arcade
19. Batting cage
20. Helicopter rides
21. Hot air balloon ride
22. Special hike
23. Zipline
24. Yoga passes (for kids and adults!)

Culture & Arts

Consider introducing kids to the arts by taking them to a kid-friendly play, concert or live event. My kids have gone to a few kids’ plays put on at a local university, and they loved it. You could also give the gift of a paint-your-own pottery outing. Kids can pick out a pottery piece, paint it and then leave it to be glazed. They can pick up the finished work a few days later. My kids have done this a few times and still talk about it! Encourage the budding artist inside with an artsy non toy gift.

1. Kids theatre tickets
2. Kids concert tickets
3. Paint your own pottery
4. “Live” shows (e.g. disney on ice, paw patrol live)

Holiday

It’s fun to give a festive experience for Christmas! Many cities have Christmas light tours, train rides, breakfast with Santa, and other holiday events. Make a trip to one of these events both a Christmas gift and a family holiday tradition! (Just a hint: be sure to book these holiday activities well in advance! In my town, the Christmas train and Polar Express events sell out basically as soon as the tickets go on sale.) We love to give these holiday activities as experience gifts for kids.

1. Christmas lights tour
2. Visit with Santa
3. Polar Express
4. Christmas train
5. Sleigh ride

Trips

If you want to really go for it, give the gift of a trip. Kids LOVE to go on special trips. Make it as simple as an overnight camping trip, or amp it up by taking them to an amusement park or Great Wolf Lodge. No matter what the activity, your kids will enjoy a special outing and make amazing memories! 

1. Special day with mom or dad
2. Great Wolf Lodge
3. Amusement park
4. Water park
5. Train ride
6. Camping trip (w smores of course!)
7. Rafting trip
8. Tubing trip
9. Disney trip
10. Ski trip
11. Beach trip
12. Airbnb gift cards
13. Canoe trip
14. Boating trip
15. Disney
16. Cruise
17. Special train ride
18. Dude ranch

Sporting Events

Sporting events are such a unique experience for kids, which is why they make a great experience gift. These events don’t have to be professional teams, either. Check out local minor league, semi-pro, and college teams. We went to a women’s college soccer game last year and it was so fun! 

1. Baseball game
2. Football game
3. Soccer game
4. Tennis match
5. Basketball game

Learning

Parents and kids both love fun, educational gifts. These non toy gifts help kids learn to love reading, encourage their specific interests, or help them find activities they’ll enjoy! 

1. Starfall membership
2. Epic membership
3. Kids magazine subscription
4. Activity box subscription
5. Audible subscription
6. Kindle unlimited subscription

DIY

You don’t have to spend a ton of money to give experience gifts to kids. Some of the best experience gifts are things you can do around the house for a little or no money! I personally love the idea of a DIY coupon book and am definitely going to give that as a stocking stuffer this year. 

1. DIY coupon book – back scratches, extra book, bedtime extension, etc
2. Paint their room
3. Craft supplies (glitter, clay, glue, paper, etc.)
4. Face painting
5. Hair chalk
6. A scrapbook from a memorable trip or time period
7. Movie night kit (movies, snacks, cuddly blanket)
8. Gardening classes/supplies
9. Special dinner
10. Streaming music subscription (e.g. Spotify)
11. Netflix or Disney+ subscription
12. Special breakfast before school
13. Bring them lunch at school

Get Creative to find the perfect experience gifts for kids and families

Let your imagination run wild! Once you start thinking about experience gifts, the ideas will flow. Think about the gift recipient’s local area, interests and hobbies. I guarantee you’ll come up with a bunch of creative experience gift ideas of your own. Non toy gifts are super meaningful to kids and help them create amazing memories!

Have YOU given or received a great experience gift? I would love to hear about it!