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One of the most popular gifts ideas for the children in your life is found in giving them experience gifts instead of items. Experiences gifts for kids are the best! Are you tired of buying your children the newest toy only to find it in the back of an already overstuffed closet after a couple weeks? If so, giving your children one or more of these experience gift ideas is a great idea.
Doing so not only ensures that your children still feel special upon receiving a gift from you, but it also helps you create memories with your kids that will last a lifetime. If you’re wondering what some of the best experience gifts for kids are, discover the answer to that question here.
What Are Experience Gifts for kids?
Before we start discussing what some of the best experience gifts for kids are, it’s a good idea to make sure that you know what we’re talking about. An experience gift is based on the idea of creating a memory more than giving an item. It is important to understand that these experience gifts, in the same way that tangible gifts, should be age appropriate. For example, you wouldn’t give the same experience gifts for an 11-year-old boy as you would give to a three-year-old.
Experiences for three-year-olds would probably focus more on helping your children learn something as they are still a developmental stage of life. Experience gifts for your children can include learning experiences, a trip to an amusement park, a weekend of camping, or other ideas.
The goal of an experience gift is to do something that deepens the bond within your family while creating memories that will last a lifetime. These have become increasingly popular, as many people are looking to declutter their homes and simplify things in the house.
While it’s crucial that you only choose experience gifts that are appropriate for your child’s age and interests, these ideas are among the best for parents or guardians who want to show the children in their lives how much they love them through creating memories.
Why Give Kids Experience Gifts for kids?
Are you on the fence about giving your children an experience gift instead of the latest toy on the market? If so, be sure to consider some of these benefits.
Declutter and Destress
This is a must have for us. Specially before holidays. Parents of children, especially young children, know that toys are a major source of clutter.
While you can certainly require your kids to put their toys up as a way to teach responsibility, everyone knows you’re still probably going to end up stepping barefoot on a block in the middle of the night at some point. When there are fewer toys cluttering up your home, you’re going to experience less stress at home.
I do this activity right after thanksgiving right before asking kids what they want and lately has work the don’t want more toys to put away!
Experience Gifts for kids Create Fun
There is nothing more precious to a parent then seeing their children laugh. When you share an experience with your child, not only do they get to experience something that brings about joy, you get to share those moments with them.
Experience Gifts for kids Promote Learning
One of the greatest aspects of giving your children experience gifts is found in teaching your children new skills. While your experience gifts don’t have to include a classroom setting, teaching your children how to do something like ice skating can help them find something they’re passionate about, even at an early age.
Making Memories using experience gift for kids
Finally, the most important aspect of an experience gift is the opportunity to make memories with your children. When your child grows up, they probably won’t remember that video game that they played twice and then stuck on a shelf.
They may never think about the new doll that wound up in the back of their closet. However, they will think back to that time when they rode their first rollercoaster with you.
Now that we’ve established what experience gifts are and why they make such great gift ideas, discover some great experience gift ideas for your children here.
Indoor Rock Climbing
Rock climbing is quietly becoming one of the most popular outdoor sports in the world. Due to the adrenaline rush associated with climbing the face of a massive rock, adults around the world have started rock climbing. However, it’s also a great opportunity to improve personal fitness.
There is no way to go about climbing a mountain without being in good physical shape. In a time where childhood obesity is such a problem, consider introducing your children to rock climbing. Obviously, children shouldn’t be scaling the face of a giant cliff, but there are countless indoor rock climbingfacilities that cater to kids. A weekend trip to one of these locations can help your children learn a new skill that leads to a passion for the outdoors.
Go to an Amusement Park
Is there anything better than spending a weekend riding rollercoasters, eating cotton candy, and enjoying other amusement park amenities. Most of us can probably look back to our childhoods and think about our first trip to an amusement park. For some of us, that first trip probably led to annual family trips to some of the most popular amusement parks.
Obviously, there are some amusement parks that cater to older children, but if you have toddlers, there are still plenty of options for you. Consider visiting one or more of these amusement parks to create lasting memories with your children.
We love amusement park like the boardwalk and Great America in California. Disneyland or California Adventure. All of the can be so expensive but if you gift that instead of toys it would be an experience never forget!
Visit an Aquarium
Aquarium are great places for learning opportunities for kids. Provide hours of entratainment. Giving memberships to this aquariums is a great idea but it can be pricie, so if you cant provide membership a day visit is alway great.
Our favorite is the Monterey Aquarium we always love visiting it and the amount of facts they learn is incredible
Visit a Water Park is a great experience gifts for kids
While water parks are certainly a type of amusement park, we still think they deserve their own discussion here. Water parks are a great idea, regardless of the age of your children. Obviously, there are some waterslides and other rides that aren’t appropriate for small children, but most waterparks provide a variety of options, ensuring there’s something for everyone.
One of the best aspects of taking older children to a water park is that most of them allow you to enjoy a relaxing float in a wave pool or a lazy river while your teenager plummets down thrilling waterslides. No matter how old your children are, visiting some of the top waterparks in the US is a great way to beat the heat in the middle of summer.
Great America has a great water park during the summer as well!
Visiting a Zoo
Zoos are one of the most popular places for people who want to give an experience gift to their children. One of the most beneficial aspects of a trip to a zoo is found in the fact that it not only provides children with a fun day, but it also helps them learn. Sure, most kids aren’t signing up for a lesson in zoology, but when you take your children to the zoo, they will undoubtedly learn some things during the trip.
The United States is home to some of the best zoos in the world, so you’re sure to be able to find one or more quality zoos relatively close to where you live. If you want to spend a weekend with your children where they not only enjoy what they’re doing, but also learn a few things along the way, a trip to one of these top zoos is a great idea.
San Diego Zoo is a great zoo and during October is free for kids keep that in mind!
Taking a Cooking Class
As we’ve already established, one of the most important aspects of experience gifts is the fact that they can let your children discover something that they may be great at. If you have a child who has shown an interest in cooking and baking, cooking classes can make for a great experience.
What’s even cooler is the fact that many of these classes allow you to participate along with your children. Even if you’re not a whiz in the kitchen and the casting crew from “Beat Bobby Flay” won’t be calling you anytime soon, taking a cooking class with your kids can still provide you with a great chance to bond over a shared interest. Even if you live in an area where there aren’t any in-person cooking classes for kids or adults, there are plenty of cooking classes available online. This means that you can enjoy a cooking class with your kids from the comfort of your own kitchen!
Skiing or Ice Skating Lessons
For many parents, wintertime is one of the most difficult portions of the year. This is especially true if you live in an area where weather can get bad. When kids are stuck inside, they get frustrated and bored. Unfortunately, those feelings can easily bleed into the parents.
If you want to get your kids outside, even when the conditions aren’t great, investing in skiing and ice-skating classes is a great idea. Not only do these classes get your kids outside, but they can also learn a skill that they can one day enjoy with their own children.
Tickets to a Sporting Event
If your kids love playing sports, it’s a great idea to take them to a game where they can watch people play at the highest level. However, even if you don’t have a professional sports team within driving distance of your home, you can take your kids to a college game. If they’re younger, consider attending some high school sporting events with your kids.
When you allow your kids to see how athletes at higher levels play, it not only deepens their interest, but you can help them better understand the principles of teamwork, leadership, and more. Obviously, you can get high school tickets just by showing up to a game, but if you want to take your kids to professional sporting events of at any level, it’s a good idea to buy your tickets in advance.
Pottery Classes as gift of experience
Encouraging your children to explore their artistic side is one of the greatest things that a parent can do. Even if your child doesn’t seem interested in composing music, painting, or drawing, there are certainly other outlets that you can explore with them.
One such example is found in pottery classes. Many pottery studios offer classes tailored for younger children, but they also have some opportunities for older kids to learn. In these hands-on classes, not only do kids get to learn how to create their own pottery, but the studio generally provides them with the materials that they need to paint the pottery and truly make it their own.
Quality Time with You
Not every experience gift has to involve travel, hotel reservations, tickets, or appointments. It’s also possible to give an experience gift that simply involves spending some quality time with your child. It’s easy to become so consumed with work and responsibilities at home that you forget that your kids just want to spend some time with you.
Consider taking a Saturday afternoon and going to a movie and enjoying a nice meal. There is nothing that you can give your children that is more valuable than your time.
Summer Camp
If you grew up going to summer camp, you probably have wonderful memories of the time you spent there. Additionally, summer camps provide kids with the chance to make new friends that they wouldn’t meet at their school. If your kids are extroverted, love meeting new people, or have an interest in the outdoors, consider allowing them to spend a couple weeks at a summer camp.
These camps are great for fostering relationships. Also, you can find several that focus on certain areas of interest, so it’s possible to find one that is tailored to your child’s own needs and wants.
Museum membership
Build Something Together
Even if you’re not on the same level as Bob Vila, building something together with your children is a great experience for both you and them. You don’t have to know how to use every tool at the hardware store to do something as simple as building a treehouse in the backyard.
Sure, there will come a day where your kids outgrow the treehouse, but its presence will serve as a constant reminder of the days that they spend working with you to construct it. Be sure to check out some of these easy-to-follow treehouse plans if you’re not looking to undertake a massive project.
Other ideas are:
Pinball courses
Horseback riding
Beach day or picnic at the park
Have a YES Day and Let your kids pick an activity
National and State Parks pass
kiwico inc boxes subscriptions
Train ride tickets
Swimming classes, skiing, snowboarding
you may be interest on Gift for outdoorsy people
