Both of my kids have birthdays shortly after the Christmas holidays. For anyone else in the same boat, you may share my hesitation to see any new toys come into the house. As we are committed to decluttering our home, one option that needs more attention is giving the gift of an experience, instead of another item from a store. Whether your kids are 2 or 20, there are so many options for them to enjoy that are outside the box.
Here are some of my favorite experience gifts for kids.
- Trip to a show
- Children’s museum visit, or a specialty museum that ties into your kid’s favorite hobby
- Visit the zoo or aquarium
- Spend the day at a local theme park
- Let your child pick their favorite restaurant for a special birthday dinner
- Attend a concert
- Spend the day in the city, be a tourist even if you don’t live that far away
- Sporting event. From basketball games to a gymnastics tour, there are many different options.
- Movie tickets
- Tour a local farm or orchard
- Cooking or art classes
- A session of classes: music, sports, dance, etc.
Giving the gift of experiences is also a great suggestion for the grandparents and extended family looking to do something special for a birthday or holiday. We recently took a trip as a family to see the Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: Get the Sillies Out! event in Boston. It was just a delight to watch the kids get excited for the show. They danced, twirled, clapped and laughed the entire time. It made me realize that we are at the point where the kids are old enough to enjoy these type of experiences together now. (Although JJ is still saying “Loud” and covering his ears when Madison starts talking about the show!) I consider it a success when both Mom and Dad are happy coming out of the show and the kids are both singing on the car ride home.
As one of my readers said, “Making memories is better then a toy that will be obsolete sooner, then later.”
What are some other experience gifts you would add to this list?
Disclosure: We attended the Yo Gabba Gabba! LIVE!: Get the Sillies Out! event to help facilitate this review and story. It in no way influenced my opinions shared here. I’m sharing this with the Tuesday Baby Link Up , Frugal Days and Your Green Resource.
We gave my 14YO daughter dance classes for Christmas. She certainly didn’t need one more “thing”, and she said that’s what she really wanted. We figured it was exercise and learning something new and fun…hard to say no to that!
LOVE getting and gifting experiences rather than stuff. Will you remember some doodad you got or will you remember the first time you went ziplining? Great article!
Thanks Tiffany. I agree, one of my favorite memories are the shows my grandparents took me took me to every year.