Experience Gifts for Kids: They’ll Love Them!

If you had to think of one childhood gift that stood out above the rest, what would it be? A collectible? A board game? Or was it an experience that continues to stir up smiles every time you bring it up at family gatherings?

Experiences generate strong recollections associated with an emotion. Kids experience joy, awe, wonder, and excitement through anticipating and participating in a special event, and those feelings translate into cherished memories. So the next time an occasion calls for a present, choose an experience gift for kids that they’ll long remember.

What Are Experience Gifts for Families and Kids?

Experience gifts allow kids to participate in a favorite activity, go on an outing, or take part in an adventure. They could be hobby supplies, an up-close encounter with a favorite animal, or a private tour of a local museum.

In addition to creating happy memories, experience gifts:

• Save storage space: Toys are often a major cause of clutter in family homes. Even if you take a load of unwanted playthings to a donation depot once in a while, toys can still pile up. Experience gifts reduce the hassle of trying to find a place for everything.
  
• Allow for one-of-a-kind fun: Experience gifts get your kids out of the house for a fun activity with the family. You get to participate in all the excitement too—either directly or by listening to your child recount the experience.
  
• Provide an opportunity for discovery and growth: An experience gift may introduce your child to a new passion or unlock talents they hadn’t yet discovered. Music lessons, a trip to the zoo, or a magazine subscription are all opportunities for self-discovery and an exploration of your child’s ever-expanding outer world.
  
• Strengthen relationships: Sharing an adventure or experience brings loved ones of all ages together and reinforces interpersonal bonds. For example, solving a puzzle together can improve your collaboration and communication.

Ready to look for non-toy presents? Check out this list of favorite experience gift ideas and find the perfect way to surprise your child for their birthday or a holiday.

Experience Gift Guide

Whether you’re looking for an experience gift for a one-year-old or a fun birthday experience present for a seven-year-old, you can find a gift that will leave the entire family sharing, laughing, and talking for ages.

We’ll focus on six basic categories of experience gifts: activities, hobbies, subscriptions, adventures, lessons, and memberships. Each has its own draw, but the most popular types are activities, hobbies, and subscriptions. Let’s explore!

Activities

Spending time with the whole family or close friends while participating in new activities or favorite pastimes is a great way to bond. If your gift doesn’t come with an exciting ticket to present to a kid, you can create vouchers for kids to redeem for “events” like a game night or a bike ride with you.

Here are some fun activities you can gift:

• Game night with your child’s favorite board games
• Rainy day puzzles
• Puzzle and activity books
• One-on-one time doing your child’s favorite activity

Hobbies

Encouraging your child in their hobbies can keep them happily engaged on a rainy day, help them be more creative, and expand their imaginations. It also opens up great avenues for gift-giving. 

Check out this list of fun hobby-based ideas:

• Arts and crafts kits and supplies
• Science experiments 
• Coin collecting kits and display cases
• Build-it-yourself games
• Musical instruments or accessories 

Subscriptions

Subscriptions are a wonderful gift idea for kids who already have hobbies. Whatever their interests, sign them up for a present they’ll keep receiving for months, like:

• World adventure subscription boxes
• Science experiment subscription boxes
• Space exploration subscription boxes
• Geography subscription boxes
• Playful learning apps
• Coding apps

Adventures

Adventure-based experience gifts allow kids to tap into their love of exploring the unknown. An adventure could be quiet and indoors, like afternoon tea at a fancy hotel, or a fast-paced outdoor romp, like an adrenaline-pumping zipline trip down the side of a mountain. Whatever you choose, your young adventurer will remember their exciting gift for a long time.

Lessons

Educational activities like cooking classes, martial arts coaching, and music lessons are one of the best types of experience gifts for kids. They can be a one-and-done fun experience—or they might lead to the discovery of a lifelong passion. You never know, and that’s where the magic lies.

Memberships

Most people—even young children—have a place that they want to visit again and again. For some, it’s a children’s museum. For others, it might be the library or the zoo. Wherever it is that your young one is always eager to go, a membership is a great gift that lets them return whenever they want, and one that sometimes includes special perks and access to unique events. 

Gifts That Keep on Giving

Gifts based on your child’s hobbies and passions validate those interests, spark their imagination, and encourage them to explore. Want to share some new experiences with your child today? Help them create an astronaut to accompany them on a lunar expedition or explore the deepest reaches of outer space to discover the coldest place in the universe. You could also investigate the reasons why planets are round or reach for the stars with a DIY constellation light.

Does your child enjoy discovering new places and having adventures with new people? Fuel their love of exploration with the Little Passports’ World Edition subscription box. Each delivery comes with fun activities, stories, and souvenirs that will fuel their curiosity into the future.