50+ Outdoor Gifts for Families |

I am so excited because I have officially finished (and now published) this years first holiday gift guide. I started the gift guide at the end of August. Every time I would thought of a gift that our family enjoys or would enjoy, I would add it to my list.

I now have over 50 gifts for outdoor families! There are gifts for toddlers, big kids, and I even for parents!

If I am completely honest, our family is not huge on presents and spending a lot of money on “things”. However, we rarely buy stuff for our family during the year and use this time to purchase some of those items we need.

If your looking for other gifts then make sure to check out our other gift guides listed below!

50+ Gifts for Outdoor Families

Backyard Games – Backyard games are a great way to bring the family together. Our favourite game to play with friends and as a family is Spike Ball together. We modify the game when we play with the kids. It is very addicting. Do yourself a favour and google YouTube videos. Other entertaining backyard games we love are Bocce and Ladders.

A snowboard – Get your kids started on the slopes with their very own snowboard! The Burton After School Special is perfect for toddlers. Older kids would love the upgrade to StepOn bindings and boots!

Winter Fun – Wintertime does not just have to cozy and indoors. Getting outside in the colder months is great for overall physical and mental heath A winter sled or winter wagon, real cross country skis or the plastic slip on toddler cross-country skis, and real kid’s snow shoes.

Not sure if you should purchase real cross-country skis or plastic ones for your toddler? Check out this post “Choose Cross-Country Skis” to help you decide which option is best for you.

Backyard Play Gear – You honestly cannot go wrong with some of the classic backyard play gear like a good adjustable jump rope that sounds your jumps, a ball and glove to practice throwing and an adjustable hula hoop. Some of these items like this adjustable hula hoop can be used inside as well if you have the space.

Backyard Fun – Add a little bit more activity to your backyard with a fun hanging tree fort hammock, rope swing, or to splurge purchase this epic Geometric Dome Climber.

Ultimate Backyard Adventure – If you have the trees or structure to support this amazing set of “ninja” gear then this ultimate set will help your kids stay entertained and active!

Slackline – Slacklines themselves are a ton of fun for the whole family and promote physical activity. We love our slackline so much so we wrote a post featuring the Best Slacklines for Kids.

Games – Now that are kids are age five and seven, it has been so fun playing games. One of our current favourites for our five year old is the classic Uno and we also love playing the game Spot It. Make sure to pair the card game with a card holder like the Little Hands Card Holder because it can be really challenging for their little hands to hold their cards!

Books – Books can be some of the best gifts for kids. They can inspire outdoor adventures or teach outdoor skills. This Knot Tying Book for Beginners is a fun interact book for kids! For more books ideas check out our post “20+ Books for Outdoor Kids”.

Swedish Ladder for Kids at Home – Sometimes life keeps you inside but you still want the kids to be active. The girl’s were so excited when we revealed their Christmas present and it was an indoor swedish ladder which doubles as a playground for kids AND a work out centre for adults!

Monthly Subscriptions – Our family loves the Owl and Chickadee subscriptions for our kid’s age five and seven. Every few months, they receive a magazine in the mail with stories, information, a recipe, and activities to enjoy. For kids age 8-12, a monthly subscription box like the Wild Life Outdoor Subscription will have the kids learning and exploring the outdoors every month.

Hiking Guide Book and Sticker Sheet with Challenge – This year I came out with my first ever book called “Hikes for Families : A Guide to the Canadian Rockies” along with a super cute animal sticker sheet and 5.25 x 8.25 10 Hike Challenge Sheet. If you’re heading to the Rockies this year with your family then this book is a must have. If not, then purchase the sticker sheet and challenge sheet to motivate your little hiker to complete hikes wherever you explore!

Baby Gear – When our kids were really little, we used Christmas time to give them practical gifts that would help us all get outside exploring together. If you don’t already have a soft-structured baby carrier for short wanders and a hard structured carrier for those longer hiking trails then now is a good time to invest. A travel/camping bed is also a nice item to have for those summer adventures.

For the Rock Lover – Gift your rock lover the ultimate rock collection from National Geographic that comes with a book to identify the rocks. For older kids or even the parent/grandparent that loves rocks, gift them a rock tumbler and they will see rocks transform with each cleaning cycle. Note that the cleaning cycles can take weeks to finish because of the scientific process.

Forts – This colouring fort will provide hours of fun from colouring the fort to imaginative play. Crazy Forts has a fun connector system that allows you to build a variety of different shapes. After building your spaceship, castle, or playhouse simply throw on a blanket and let the fun imaginative play begin.

Road Trip Activities – Fun stocking stuffers and also practical to have along for the winter holidays are activities for road trips. Kids will enjoy these Road Trip Bingo Cards , the Kahootz Fashion Plates, and playing “Would You Rather” with the whole family!

Headlamp – For adults, the new Petzl Iko Core packs a ton of punch with 500 lumens. The headlamp is both rechargeable and uses batteries for those longer trips when you may need a back up solution.

For the kids, skip the children specific headlamps that only use batteries and instead give a rechargeable adult headlamp like the Biolite Headlamp 200 lumens. It worked amazing for our two girls at ages 4 and 6 when we did a two hour hike in a pitch black lava tunnel.

Camp Stoves – A new stove for car or backcountry camping will make those meals easier to make. The Coleman Triton Camp Stove is a great option for car camping. For backcountry camping we love Jetboil. The Jetboil Zip takes about 2 and half minutes to boil water and is less expensive than the Jetboil Flash that boils water in only 100 seconds. If you have a larger family or go backcountry camping in groups, the Jetboil Genesis 2 Burner Stove is a great option.

Family Set of Pyjamas – A family set of pyjamas from Lazy Ones makes it really fun to wake up on Christmas morning. Even your pup can get in on the fun with their very own onesie.

Mittens for Kids – Every year I hear from parents that struggle to find the right mittens for their child. One of the biggest struggles is that a pair of mittens that may be good for one toddler will not work for another toddler. Well, a few years ago I wrote this post “Mittens for Kids” and I find myself updating it every year to help families find good mittens for their kids.

Adventure Kit – Build your own adventure kit with materials that inspire your kids to get outside! Find an adventure bag and add a few items. Start with a basic compass to begin teaching navigation, binoculars to bird watch, and include a set of notebooks to draw pictures and record findings. Throw in a pencil or set of pens, some band aids, a whistle to start teaching trail safety, and then a few zippered pouches to collect rocks, leaves, and other outdoor material. All these items below also work individually as stocking stuffers.

Outdoor Wool Socks – Wool socks for kids and wool socks for adults! One year, a good friend gave me the suggestion to ask for wool socks for the kids from the grandparents to help keep the kids feet warm while snowboarding or playing outside. This has been a game changer as wool socks are expensive but they are an important piece of gear that helps keeps kids warm during the really cold winter days!

Climbing Gear for Kids – The Petzl Ouistiti is a great harness for babies up to the age of four or five. The Macchuu by Petzl is a secure harness jam packed with adult features but made for kids! Add on The Body for younger children and the harness can last from as young as age four until the they are just under 40 kg! La Sportiva carries small climbing shoes called the Stickit for kids and can help make it easier for kids to scale the walls.

Climbing Gear for Parents – It can be hard to acquire all the gear to enjoy activities as a family but holidays are some of the best time to collect the gear. A few things that we worked hard to acquire for outdoor climbing was a Petzl Grigri belay device because we wanted to have the safest belay device when climbing with our kids outdoors. My husband and I recently upgraded to a more comfortable harnesses and we are loving the added padding on the SELENA’s women’s harness by Petzl and the ADJAMA men’s harness.

50+ Outdoor Gifts for Families

50+ Gifts for Outdoor Families

If your looking for other gifts then make sure to check out our other gift guides listed below!

Related

Leave a Reply Cancel reply