Sometimes it feels like there’s just too much “stuff”.  Last year for Christmas, we decided to forgo all the useless toys that just ended up cluttering our house and gave the kids “experiences” instead.  It ended up being one of my favorite Christmases and we had so much fun making memories with each child individually.

For our experience gifts, we chose something we thought that child would enjoy doing and gave them tickets for their experience.  We thought it would be fun to enjoy the experience with the child and mom and dad – just the 3 of us, while the other kids were with a babysitter.  All 3 of us loved each date and it created such special memories.

If you’ve thought about giving an experience to your kids instead of gifts, I’ve compiled a list of 65 ideas that will help get you started!

When we gifted these experiences to our kids, I put the gift card, tickets, etc in an envelope with their name and paired the envelope with a small toy that would give them a “hint” as to what the experience would be.  It was a fun way to give them a clue to what they’d get, and also have something tangible to get them excited about the experience.

For example, with my son’s tickets to Medieval Times, we included a foam shield and swords.  We paired my daughter’s Disney on Ice tickets with Disney princess figurines.  For my son’s Top Golf gift card, we included some practice golf balls.  We wrapped up a little brain teaser puzzle with my daughter’s Escape Room tickets.

Gifting an experience is also a great option for a Christmas where you’re traveling and don’t have a lot of space to bring big gifts.

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Experience Gift Ideas

• 4-Wheeling Excursion (pair with a set of toy ATVs)
• Aquarium (pair with sea animal figurines)
• Archery (pair with a play bow and arrow)
• Ballet/Dance Concert (pair with a ballerina stuffed animal)
• Behind-the-Scenes Tour
• Bookstore Trip (pair with a new book)
• Bowling (pair with a toy bowling set)
• Butterfly Growing Kit
• Camping Equipment
• Cirque Du Soleil (pair with an acrobat toy)
• Concert (pair with a toy microphone)
• Cooking Class (pair with a kids baking tools set)
• Cooking/Baking Supplies
• Craft Supplies
• Dance Lessons (pair with a new leotard)
• Dinner theatre
• Disney on Ice (pair with Disney figurines)
• Escape Room (pair with a maze game)
• Factory/Stadium/Historical Site/Farm Tour
• Fancy restaurant
• Foodie Road Trip
• Game Night Kit (include card holders for little kids)
• Gardening Kit
• Go Carts/Car Racing (pair with toy cars)
• Great Wolf Lodge, or other indoor waterpark (pair with a new swimsuit)
• Hang gliding/para gliding (pair with parachute toys)
• Helicopter ride (pair with toy helicopters)
• Hiking Gear
• Horseback Riding (pair with toy horses)
• Hot air ballon ride (pair with a hot air balloon puzzle)
• Hotel Stay
• Ice Skating (pair with warm socks)
• iFly Indoor Skydiving
• Indoor Surfing (pair with a new swimsuit or rash guard)
• Jump Gym (pair with grippy socks)
• Magazine Membership (our favorite is Highlights)
• Medieval Times (pair with a foam shield and swords)
• Miniature Golf (pair with a toy golf set)
• Museum (pair with a notebook and pen)
• Music Lessons (pair with my music practice sheets)
• Ninja Warrior Class (pair with sweat bands)
• Pet
• Plane Ticket (pair with new headphones)
• Play/Musical (pair with a soundtrack from the play)
• Pottery/Ceramics Class (pair with some modeling clay)
• Rock Climbing (pair with a chalk bag)
• Ropes Course (pair with a knot tying game)
• Service Mission
• Sewing Class (pair with a sewing kit or sewing machine)
• Shopping spree (pair with a new wallet)
• Ski Trip (pair with a new hat/gloves)
• Snowmobiling Excursion (pair with a toy snowmobile)
• Sporting Events (pair with a ball from that sport)
• Sports Camp (pair with new sports equipment for that sport)
• Swim Lessons (pair with a new swimsuit or goggles)
• Theme park (pair with a Lego roller coaster set)
• Top Golf (pair with practice golf balls)
• Train/Boat/Ferry Ride (pair with toy trains)
• Trampoline Fun Center (pair with grippy socks)
• Treasure Hunt (pair with a magnifying glass)
• Virtual Reality Game Center
• Water park (pair with a new swimsuit)
• Wildlife preserve (pair with safari stuffed animals)
• YMCA Family Pass
• Zoo (pair with zoo figurines)

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Make sure to check out the rest of my gift guides HERE.

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