This post contains 30 suggestions of amazing experience gifts that children will love! They are perfect, clutter free gifts for Christmas and Birthdays.
Shopping local or second hand is always best but, for those times you aren’t able to, I have included some Amazon links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Before we get to the list, here are three reasons why experiences make great gifts…
Experience gifts reduce the amount of clutter in our homes
Most children have way too many toys. Studies have found that the less toys children own, the more creatively they will play with the ones that they have. Having too many toys to choose from leads to children feeling overwhelmed. Having toys cluttering up your home can be stressful and is just one more thing for mums to manage. Even if you’re great at decluttering, no doubt every Christmas and birthday will mean more kids stuff coming into your home. Asking for experiences over material gifts is one way to help reduce stress and overwhelm in your home, for parents and children alike.
Children prefer your presence over presents
All children crave time and attention from their parents and loved ones. Gifting a child an experience instead of a material gift helps to fulfil that need. It also provides an opportunity to create lasting memories for both you and your child. It’s lovely to give and receive gifts, but ultimately there’s nothing more valuable than feeling loved and that people enjoy spending time in your company. This quote from Dr Edith Eger, a holocaust survivor, really stuck with me…
Experience gifts are a more sustainable option
Toys are really difficult to recycle. Once a plastic toy leaves your home, it doesn’t really go anywhere. As in, it’s still here on planet earth. Even if the toy gets passed on to several more families after you have let it go, eventually it will break and end up in landfill. Most plastic toys will outlive us by about 500 years. Scary thought! If you’re anything like me and have eco-anxiety, probably not something you wanted to think about. So that’s why you’re going to feel inspired to choose something different for your child’s next Christmas or birthday present! And I have 30 great ideas for you to choose from.
How to get friends and family onboard?
Hopefully by this point in the article you are sold on the idea of gifting your child an experience over a material gift. But what about friends and family members who might also want to give your child a gift? Speaking from experience, Grandparents in particular might struggle with not giving your child gifts that get big excited responses upfront. They might feel reluctant at first, as if they are missing out too.
This quote from one of my favourite minimalist mama’s, Denaye Barahona Ph.D, sums it up perfectly:
“The reason experience gifts can be a “hard-sell” is that as adults we love to, what I call, front-load the gifts. A front-loaded gift is something that you open up and the kid lights up and is so, so excited about. This not only brings joy in the moment to the child but also to the adult who gave the gift. The gift-giving process is as much about the gift giver as it is the gift receiver.”
Reassure the gift giver that whilst your child may not jump for joy initially, you know it’s something they will really enjoy. Be sure to take lots of photos of your child enjoying their gifted experience and send the photos to gift giver! That way they can still share in the joy that the experience has brought your child, even if it’s in the form of delayed gratification.
Without further ado, here are my 30 experience gift ideas for kids, broken down into three different categories…
Gift Vouchers or Tickets for Indoor Activities:
Trampoline Parks – Flip Out or Air Hop are found throughout the UK and are a fantastic option for kids with lots of energy to burn. This is also one of the most inexpensive options on the list.
Ninja Warrior – Great fun for all the family and most centres also have an area for smaller children too.
Soft Play – Most kids love soft play centres, although the adult who takes them might come away with a headache! Even better if they can go along with a friend or sibling to charge around with for a couple of hours.
Pottery Painting – This is a great opportunity to support a small local business. You and your child can choose something to paint, which you can then take home with you afterwards. You can enjoy time sitting next to each other and having a chat whilst doing something creative.
Cinema – A fun experience for kids and adults alike. You could choose to go all out with premium seats and buy popcorn, snacks and drinks for the full experience.
Bowling – You could enjoy a game of bowling as a family, followed by some fun exploring the arcades.
Afternoon Tea – I gifted my daughter this last Christmas and it was amazing. We got dressed up and had afternoon tea at a local hotel. We had sandwiches, cake and scones with tea and hot chocolate. The hotel was decorated all Christmassy, as we booked to go between Christmas and New Year. We spent a lovely couple of hours chatting one on one and eating delicious food. I presented it to her on Christmas morning by giving her a Belle tea cup and saucer set, along with a handmade card. She got a couple of other smaller things, including some second hand koala cuddly toys, which I found on Vinted. This was her main Christmas gift though and she was absolutely delighted with it!
Escape Room – A brilliant and exciting activity for all the family ages 7 years upwards. Have fun working together as a team, as you problem solve and find clues to help you escape in time.
Theatre Tickets – Treat your child to an unforgettable experience watching a live performance on stage. Musicals such as The Lion King or Frozen are pretty epic. Or for a slightly less expensive option you could opt for a Christmas pantomime at local theatre. Performances such as Cinderella or Aladdin are usually huge hits with kids and very entertaining.
Concert Tickets – These can be pretty pricey, depending on the artist. If your child does have a favourite band or solo artist that’s on tour this could be a perfect present. You could present them with a print out of the tickets. Or alternatively a t-shirt with the artist on, which they can then wear to the concert.
Ballet Tickets – If you have a child that enjoys ballet then seeing a live performance would be a real treat. Swan Lake and The Nutcracker are both absolutely magical. We love The Story Orchestra musical books, which would make a great accompanying gift.
Rock Climbing – A great experience for kids and good for building confidence, providing they’re not overly scared of heights.
Ice Skating – This might be more of a winter season experience, unless you have an all year round ice rink near you.
Gift vouchers or tickets for Outdoor Activities:
Sports Event – If your child is in to sport then gifting them tickets to go and see their favourite team at a live sporting event would be big hit. It doesn’t have to be a big national team. You could also go and support your local football or cricket team for example.
Zoos & Animal Sanctuaries – A day trip to your nearest Zoo or Animal Sanctuary would make a wonderful gift for any animal lover. You could buy a second hand cuddly toy from eBay or Vinted of their favourite animal that they might get to see at the zoo. This could be presented as an accompanying gift, so they also have something to open on the day.
Aquarium – Similarly a trip to your nearest Aquarium would make an amazing experience gift. You could include a small, second hand cuddly toy or figurine as an accompanying gift. Or there’s a great board game called Ocean Bingo that would work well with this theme.
Adventure Parks – A day pass to an adventure park where there are rides and animals is one of my go to suggestions when aunts and uncles want ideas for presents. Here in the South West we are lucky to have some great ones close by such as Puxton Park, Avon Valley and Crealy.
Amusement Parks – Gifting your child a trip to somewhere like Disneyland, Lego Land, Alton Towers or Peppa Pig World makes for a pretty epic gift! These places can be pretty expensive though. So it might be worth asking family members to contribute some money towards these days out or weekend trips away.
Water Parks – Is there anything better than being a kid and going on a trip to water park on a warm summers day? I think not!
High Ropes – A fun outdoor activity that’s great for building confidence. Not for the faint hearted though, or for those that might be scared of heights!
National Trust Membership – Annual memberships with the National Trust allow you free entry into 500 sites around England and Wales. There are a huge variety of castles, stately homes, gardens and woodlands to explore. This would make a perfect gift for grandparents to give the whole family to enjoy.
Money towards a term or ongoing Lessons:
Swimming Lessons – If you want to start your child in swimming lessons, why not ask a family member to gift the first term? Better yet, if they are happy to keep paying for ongoing lessons then this will save you a huge amount of money over time. Extra bonus points if the family member also offers to take your child swimming each week (thank you MIL)! I don’t know about you, but I find getting my child dressed after swimming a special kind of hell. So this is literally a gift that just keeps on giving!
Dance Lessons – Ballet, jazz, tap, modern etc. There are plenty of dance styles to choose from. The uniform can sometimes be expensive, so a pair of ballet/jazz/tap shoes as an accompanying gift is a great shout.
Music Lessons – If you decide to invest in an instrument outright then this would obviously be a great accompanying gift. However, if you are renting an instrument then a book of sheet music would be a nice way to present the gift of music lessons.
Gymnastic Lessons – a leotard would work well as an accompanying gift for this one.
Horse Riding Lessons – This can be a really expensive hobby to take on, so it might be worth trying to borrow riding hats and boots from the stable owners at first. You could present a horse riding taster lesson to your child with a small second hand horse figurine. We like the ones made by Schleich, as they are very realistic looking.
Football – Joining a local youth team is a wonderful option for kids who have a passion for the game. An actual football, some football boots or a team shirt would all work well as an add on gift.
Cricket – The kit for cricket can be expensive, so you could try borrowing or buying second hand initially. A cricket bat and ball would be a fun gift to go alongside a term of playing for their local youth cricket team.
Tennis Lessons – A tennis racket, some tennis balls and a uniform would be great add on gifts.
Martial Arts Lessons – There are so many martial arts to choose from like karate, judo, kick boxing etc. All are great for building confidence and learning discipline, as well as self-defence moves.
I really hope this list has provided you with inspiration to opt for some experience gifts over material gifts going forward. Along with some ideas of great accompanying gifts, so that you child has something to open on the day.
Remember to send the gift giver lots of photos of your child enjoying their gift!
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