With 6 kids and multiple business ventures (and an indoor plant obsession!), it’s easy for things to pile up around the house. Amidst the holiday season gift-giving these gifts can lead to more stress for both the giver and receiver. Over the years we’ve embraced a minimalist lifestyle, including giving experience gifts whenever we could.
After some trial and error, it’s now the norm… and the results are amazing!
An experience gift can be easy to arrange and thoughtful, even if it’s last minute. They’re also rewarding to both the giver and receiver. And you don’t have to live near Chicago or NYC and see a Broadway play to have a unique experience. Going to the movies as a family, taking art classes, or learning to scuba dive are priceless memories or skills that last a lifetime.
We still give a few material presents out at Christmas (you can find many of those unique gifts in this ultimate gift guide). However, our focus has shifted from piles of gifts to experiences that often the whole family can enjoy.
Do We Have Too Much Stuff?
Joshua Becker is my favorite expert on the topic of clutter and minimalism. He shares some sobering trends on his Becoming Minimalist blog.
Consider this:
- The average American home has over 300,000 items in it.
- At least 4 in 10 of us have a storage unit to store our excess stuff.
- There’s enough physical space for every man, woman, and child in America to stand in U.S. storage facilities—all at the same time!
Why Give Experiences and Not Stuff?
Those staggering statistics wouldn’t worry me if it seemed the excess stuff somehow improved our lives. But that isn’t the case. Statistically, we’re not happy. Over 54% of us report being overwhelmed with clutter, and 78% of us have no idea how to overcome it! There are tons of topics on organizing and decluttering out there to help us deal with all of our stuff and the stress it causes us.
Thomas Gilovich, a researcher at Cornell University, spent more than a decade on the subject. He explored why experiences contribute more to happiness than stuff. He found that experiences are a uniting factor. You’re more likely to bond with someone who enjoys the same hobby or has traveled to the same places as you.
Even the anticipation leading up to a family trip, event, or experience has the potential to give happiness. This makes it the gift that keeps on giving! Happiness in anticipation, during the experience, and in the memories. Beats the heck out of a pile of toys you trip over while tucking the kids in at night!
Experience Gifts: The Importance for Kids
Shared family time (even at family dinners) is drastically important for a child’s well-being. Much more important than the toys we give them or the dozens of extracurricular activities we often neglect family time for.
There are lots of reasons to have shared family time and experiences, including:
- bonding within the family
- fewer behavioral problems in children
- a stronger sense of identity and sense of security
- higher rates of academic success
- lower rates of violence
These shared experiences can be as simple as time spent together during or preparing meals. Or even while driving or reading stories before bed. Prioritizing shared experiences as gifts helps reduce unwanted material items while fostering family bonding. These ideas are great for Christmas or as a birthday gift.
53+ Ways to Give Experiences This Year
The average parent spends over $276 per child on toys and gifts each year! And over 40% of Americans are willing to go into debt over Christmas gifts. That just adds to our clutter and stress.
Experience gifts are great because they reduce clutter, give kids something to look forward to, and promote bonding.
Family Experience Gift Ideas
Bigger experiences, like memberships or vacations, are often family gifts. It’s a fun way to check a few things off of your bucket list. Or try a new activity as a family, ranging from kayaking or rafting to setting up a zipline at home in the backyard. Feeling adventurous? Schedule a hot air balloon ride!
Season Passes or Memberships
- Museum Memberships – Look into which local museums offer annual memberships near you. Some even offer discounts for local residents or have programs for kids.
- Science Center Memberships – Many cities have an interactive children’s museum or science center with an annual pass option. Sometimes these end up costing less than one visit.
- Orchestra Season Tickets – We have a local orchestra that performs every few months. I found children’s season tickets to be extremely affordable (less than $8 a show). It’s now a fun family activity.
- Community Theater Tickets – If you have a local theater, buy season tickets. If you can’t buy one for each member of your family, buy two. Parents can go to the more grown-up plays as date nights, and then Mom or Dad can alternate taking the kids for special nights.
- Sporting Events – Any professional or college teams in your area? Purchase season tickets to your favorite sport. Or if that’s too expensive, buy tickets to one game. My family loves baseball, and it’s been a great outing that lasts all summer.
- Nature Center Tickets – Check for local nature preserves or nature centers in your area and see if they offer an annual pass. I’ve found these for nature centers, a local cave, and state parks.
- The Zoo – Many zoos offer season passes and some have exclusive benefits for members.
- Local Attraction Season Passes – Any other local attraction with a season pass can be a great gift. Check for other types of museums, historical sites, or local attractions.
Family Activities
- Camping Tent – Sometimes, a material gift leads to an experience. This tent was a family gift a couple of years ago, and we’ve used it quite a few times. I picked this one because it’s easy to set up!
- New Family Hobbies – Get the necessary equipment or passes to take up a new family hobby. Try hiking, camping, card games, a sport, or another fun activity.
- Escape Room – This is an ideal group activity that Mom, Dad, and older kids can do with extended family for some fun quality time. Check to make sure the theme is family-friendly.
- Be Puzzled – Feeling brave? This 33,600-piece puzzle is the world’s largest. It might take you the whole year to put together and will foster a LOT of family time!
- Fun Family Outing– You don’t have to go all the way to the Grand Canyon or New York City to have a fun family trip. Visit an amusement park, take a local food tour, or plan a family staycation. Remember, looking forward to an experience makes the experience more fun and fosters happiness on its own!
- Volunteer – Truly a gift that keeps on giving. If your kids are old enough, volunteer at a local food pantry or charity. Give your kids (and yourself) the gift of helping others!
- Give to Charity – Another favorite in our family. We designate $100 per child, and they decide where to give it. They love choosing gifts like farm animals, fruit trees, or educational supplies for those in need around the world through programs like Food for the Poor.
Best Experience Gifts for Kids
Kids love learning new things or spending time doing their favorite activities. It’s always special to spend one-on-one time with their parents. Experiences are a great way to give them both!
Learn or Perfect a Skill
- Local Pottery Painting – An absolute favorite with my girls. Our local pottery place has dozens of options to paint. This has been a fun activity for the kids (and me!).
- Pottery Making – For older kids, some places offer pottery-making lessons or classes.
- New Skill – Does your child want to try horseback riding, cooking, sewing, painting, or another similar activity? Give them classes for a new hobby or skill. You can even buy virtual classes through sites like Udemy. Or, to keep costs down, look at your local recreation center, or ask a family member to teach your child. Here are my favorite cooking classes for kids.
- Rock Climbing – Have a local rock-climbing gym? See if they offer annual passes or pick-up gift certificates for a climbing outing with older kids. Bonus: It’s a great way to get exercise too!
- Learning Magazine Monthly Subscription – Our kids love getting “real mail” in the mailbox. This is one gift my extended family members often get for them. They look forward to it coming each month and doing the activities.
- Craft Bucket – One of my favorite Christmas gifts as a child: a basket of craft activities that lasted me all year! My aunt filled a large basket with scissors, paper, glue, string, and every craft supply imaginable. It led to hours of fun for me. My kids love getting these baskets, plus books about how to draw, art kits, sticker pads, construction paper, and other craft kits.
- Musical Instrument – A favorite gift one Christmas was a steel drum for my kids. Though I admit, on a couple of especially loud days, I have regretted the idea! This is the one I got, and they’ve loved learning to play it. I also ordered mini musical instrument kits.
- Music Lessons – Along with their new instrument, you can gift them some music lessons. Piano or guitar lessons are popular, but there’s also violin, harp, and even ukulele!
- Subscription Box – The gift that keeps on giving! Kids love getting these regularly in the mail and you can choose from a wide variety of activities. KiwiCo has art, STEM, or geography boxes, while CrateJoy offers everything from arts and crafts to gardening or alien paraphernalia!
Active Experiences
- Local Jump Gym – Another fun activity that helps kids stay active. See if you have a local jump gym or indoor trampoline center and get annual passes or gift cards.
- Batting Cage Membership – For a child who loves baseball, look for a local batting cage. Some offer year-long memberships or bulk discounts on packages. This is a great way to stay active and have a fun outing together.
- Bowling or Skate Tickets – If you have a local bowling alley or skating rink, ask about family passes or gift certificates. Roller skating and ice skating are both fun.
- Every Kid in a Park – If you have a fourth grader, there’s no excuse not to get this one. It’s a free year-long park pass to all the national parks. It provides access to everyone in your immediate family, not just the fourth grader. (Here’s how to get it.)
- Treasure Hunt – If you’re giving a material gift, make it a fun experience. Instead of wrapping it up, create a scavenger hunt for the child to find the final gift. This is especially fun for a larger gift or experience!
- Geocaching – Speaking of treasure hunts, geocaching is a fun, free way to go on a treasure hunt with your kids almost anywhere in the world. You can learn more about it here.
Family Time
- Lunch Dates – Give vouchers to a favorite breakfast or lunch place to a child and plan a one-on-one date with them.
- Movie Tickets – We don’t go to the movies often, but sometimes there are some great family movies coming out around Christmastime.
- Question Book – My kids all love this Question A Day Book, and it gives us a fun conversation starter each day.
- Garden Kit – Just like crafts, gardening is a great activity to do with children. If you have a budding gardener (pun intended), wrap up some seeds and gardening supplies and let your child help you garden all year!
