Christmas is one of our favorite times of the year. It can also be incredibly stressful. What in the world do you get for gifts for kids, and parents, who have everything!?
Giving experiences instead of toys for Christmas is a fantastic way to cut down on clutter, give something unique and personalized, and create lasting memories that material gifts just don’t provide.
If you’re like us,
the last thing you need is more stuff.
Christmas is one of our favorite times of the year. It can also be incredibly stressful. What in the world do you get for gifts for kids, and parents, who have everything!?
Giving experiences instead of toys for Christmas is a fantastic way to cut down on clutter, give something unique and personalized, and create lasting memories that material gifts just don’t provide.
If you’re like us,
the last thing you need is more stuff.
We’re giving you some of our favorite non-gift, gift ideas! Welcome to part 1 of Unwrap Joy: The Ultimate Guide to the Best Experiences for Christmas Gifts! (P.S. if you want to get our gift guide straight to your inbox, click here!)
5 activities to give as gifts
1. Coupon book
This is a creative way to give several different activities and experiences instead of presents.
You can include coupons for things like extra screen time, pizza night, family game night, and staying up a little after bedtime. Really anything your little one would find fun!
If you want to make a coupon book full of activities as gifts, you can personalize this template! You can print them at home or have them printed through Canva or Shutterfly to make them a little more fancy!
2. Trampoline park tickets
Not only do the kiddos get to do something fun, mom and dad get to watch as they wear themselves out! It’s a win/win!
It’s one of the best gifts for kids who don’t need toys. Of course, it’s fun! But it’s also a fantastic way for them to exercise and socialize with other kids.
Make sure you check with your local trampoline park to see if they offer yearly passes.
3. Weekend getaway
Who doesn’t love a weekend trip?! A quick getaway is a fantastic experience present for the entire family!
The best part about this gift is that there are so many options, no matter where you live!
Here are a few ideas you could give for a weekend trip as a Christmas present:
• Stay-cation at a local Airbnb
• Beach trip
• Cabin in the mountains
• Great Wolf Lodge
• 3 night cruise
• Disney
• Camping trip
4. Zoo Behind the Scenes Encounter
Honestly, how excited would 7-year-old you be if you opened up your gift to find that you got an elephant feeding experience for Christmas?! (Not 31-year-old me getting jealous…)
Some zoo experiences you can gift are sloth encounters, penguin encounters, reptile encounters, and more! Check with your local zoo to see what they offer.
Tickets to the zoo are also great non-gift, gift ideas! Most zoos allow you to feed some of the animals for much less than the cost of behind-the-scenes experiences.
5. The Adventure Challenge Book
I guess technically this is a material gift, BUT hear me out…
The Adventure Challenge Books are filled with of 50 different experiences and activities that aren’t your “normal” family game night.
You scratch off your adventure and then you have to do it. As the book says, “no take backs!”
It tells you everything you need for your game, activity, whatever it may be. The book also tells you (before you scratch it off) if it’s a daytime or nighttime activity, if there are additional things you’ll need to complete it, all kinds of info.
The Adventure Challenge Family Edition is for families of 4-8 people and ideally for kiddos ages 4-15 years old. Don’t count it out for the older kids, though. I guarantee they’ll still have a ball!
The Adventure Challenge Kids Edition has 30 adventures for kids- ideal for ages 6-12. It includes solo and group activities. They promise very little effort needed on the parents’ part and it actually comes with a parent key so the activities are a surprise for the kiddos, but not for you!
What makes this such a great non-toy gift idea is that beside your scratch off adventure description, there is a place to stick a photo and write a fun memory from your activity! After you’re done with all of the experiences, you have a really unique scrapbook full of fun memories together. The photos from this Fujifilm camera are the perfect size to fit in the dedicated photo space.
1. Coupon book
This is a creative way to give several different activities and experiences instead of presents.
You can include coupons for things like extra screen time, pizza night, family game night, and staying up a little after bedtime. Really anything your little one would find fun!
If you want to make a coupon book full of activities as gifts, you can personalize this template! You can print them at home or have them printed through Canva or Shutterfly to make them a little more fancy!
2. Trampoline park tickets
Not only do the kiddos get to do something fun, mom and dad get to watch as they wear themselves out! It’s a win/win!
Not only do the kiddos get to do something fun, mom and dad get to watch as they wear themselves out! It’s a win/win!
It’s one of the best gifts for kids who don’t need toys. Of course, it’s fun! But it’s also a fantastic way for them to exercise and socialize with other kids.
Make sure you check with your local trampoline park to see if they offer yearly passes.
3. Weekend getaway
Who doesn’t love a weekend trip?! A quick getaway is a fantastic experience present for the entire family!
The best part about this gift is that there are so many options, no matter where you live! Here are a few ideas you could give for a weekend trip as a Christmas present:
• Stay-cation at a local Airbnb
• Beach trip
• Cabin in the mountains
• Great Wolf Lodge
• 3 night cruise
• Disney
• Camping trip
4. Zoo Behind the Scenes Encounter
Honestly, how excited would 7-year-old you be if you opened up your gift to find that you got an elephant feeding experience for Christmas?! (Not 31-year-old me getting jealous…)
Some zoo experiences you can gift are sloth encounters, penguin encounters, reptile encounters, and more! Check with your local zoo to see what they offer.
Tickets to the zoo are also great non-gift, gift ideas! Most zoos allow you to feed some of the animals for much less than the cost of behind-the-scenes experiences.
5. The Adventure Challenge Book
I guess technically this is a material gift, BUT hear me out…
The Adventure Challenge Books are filled with of 50 different experiences and activities that aren’t your “normal” family game night.
You scratch off your adventure and then you have to do it. As the book says, “no take backs!”
It tells you everything you need for your game, activity, whatever it may be. The book also tells you (before you scratch it off) if it’s a daytime or nighttime activity, if there are additional things you’ll need to complete it, all kinds of info.
The Adventure Challenge Family Edition is for families of 4-8 people and ideally for kiddos ages 4-15 years old. Don’t count it out for the older kids, though. I guarantee they’ll still have a ball!
The Adventure Challenge Kids Edition has 30 adventures for kids- ideal for ages 6-12. It includes solo and group activities. They promise very little effort needed on the parents’ part and it actually comes with a parent key so the activities are a surprise for the kiddos, but not for you!
What makes this such a great non-toy gift idea is that beside your scratch off adventure description, there is a place to stick a photo and write a fun memory from your activity! After you’re done with all of the experiences, you have a really unique scrapbook full of fun memories together. The photos from this Fujifilm camera are the perfect size to fit in the dedicated photo space.
Christmas is the season of giving, but that doesn’t mean it has to leave your home full of clutter you don’t need! Swap those toys out for activities as gifts. It will give you and your family so many memories that last much longer than toys will.
Next week, we’re sharing some of our favorite experiences you can gift to mom and dad! If you’re not on the list to get our newsletter, make sure you sign up below so you don’t miss out!
7 Comments
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I think these experiences are all great gifts for your little ones. They will have tons of fun with them, and enjoyment thinking about when they’re going to do it.
I have to agree with the comments – experiences are a great gift! Thanks for the ideas 🙂
Hi, big fan of non-material gifts and the gift of travel is wonderful. I have given my mother two trips so far for big birthdays and birthday and Christmas (tagging myself as her “guide”), but I struggle gifting smaller amounts so your ideas are great and much appreciated!
Fun ideas! Experiences are so meaningful!
This is an awesome list for adventure gifts. Thanks for putting this together!
This is a great list of gift ideas for adventurous kids. Our family love to travel and we love the adventure challenge book.