As a family, we try to emphasize experiences and togetherness over material goods for birthdays and holidays. For Christmas, our kids generally get bigger presents from grandparents, one present from Santa, a present they pick out for each other, and 4-5 medium gifts from us. We try to limit once and done toys and encourage grandparents to do so as well, although we respect that part of being a grandparent is spoiling grandbabies.
Every year as I scroll through gift lists, I try to evaluate how often the items will be used. Our kids spend much of their time on the road or in the skies, so we often try to find gifts they can use while traveling. Here are some ideas for travel gifts for kids.
Click on pictures to go to Amazon (affiliate links)
Map themed items
Maps and globe-themed items will hopefully give our kids a better sense of the world and our place in it. Little passports is a subscription box that comes in the mail with activities and knick-knacks from a new country. Our kids also love having multiple US puzzles so they will be well prepared for future trivia nights when someone asks a geography question. This year, I bought Carter this travel journal so he can practice his handwriting and storytelling while recapping his trips.
Travel Gear and Accessories
A few years ago, I gifted Carter the joy of moving up to a booster seat. 🙂 A new small suitcase would make a great gift for kids who love to travel. Other gifts that could be great for both home and travel are sleep toys that play lullabies and this lovely night light that we were gifted recently.
>Location-Specific Clothing!
Snow bibs
Winter boots
Socks 🙂
If you’re going somewhere tropical soon, a new fun swimsuit or water shoes could also be a fun thing to tie in with a picture of an upcoming beach trip. We try to get fun, colorful items or character themed clothing like this fun Yoda Robe or Elsa diving sticks (90% of the things we own are Elsa)
Towel Robe
Diving Sticks
Swimsuit
New Books
Our kids love reading. Carter (7), especially, has recently been fascinated with the Magic Treehouse series and has been racing through them. For Ellie (4), seek and find and pop-up books are great. We usually let them bring library books on road trips but not on flying trips.
If we have an upcoming trip already planned, books about the location are also a cool item to get the kids excited. Carter loved these reader books. Last year, we asked Grandma to buy them this Atlas. This year, we’re going to buy several books on Paris that we’ll take on the plane with us on the way.
Reader Books
Paris: Ratatouille
Atlas
Arts and Crafts Refills
Especially in the car, we use a lot of inexpensive arts and crafts to keep the kids busy and entertained. Some of their favorites are dot stickers, coloring pens, and pipe cleaners.
Games and Toys that Travel Well
While many of our trips involve screen time with phones and tablet time, we try to have some activities to break it up. Some favorites as of late include Spot It, Uno, and Pop it toys. They are small and easy to transport and versatile for trips as well as activities to play while out at restaurants or at home.
Spot It
Uno
Pop It
Electronics
This is another item that we could just buy our kids when they need it but is also fun to wrap up as a gift. We bought them both new headphones this year. I’m excited about this brand because it comes with an outlet so they can watch together. Last year, my parents bought the kids smart watches that have games and cameras on them. They’ve mysteriously run off. Lastly, our kids love playing games and watching shows on the iPad. This ipad cover has been durable and long-lasting. We may have to replace our family iPad next year and may see if we can pass it off as our large family gift to each other. We’ll see if our kids buy that.
Final Thoughts
As a traveling family, we like to emphasize experiences, so gifting our kids items that will serve them well on the road or in a new place keeps our holidays exciting. They get pumped for any upcoming trips that we’ve given them new things for, and that joy, combined with the Christmas cheer, fills our special day with so much fun. 💫
