Trying to find the perfect gift for kids can be challenging, especially gifts for world travelers and their families. So we have put together a list of some great travel gifts for kids which kids will love and be excited to get for either Christmas, their birthday or any other special day.
After travelling the world for 1 year with our kids we have some great gift suggestions for you!
We have included many items that we have bought for our kids and friends that we have found to be practical with a mix of some fun kid gift ideas.
Let’s try and making your shopping easier this year and feel good about the gifts you are buying and hope your favourite kid loves what you have chosen for them.
All of these gifts are for travel lovers and all the kid travel gift ideas are great for boys and girls! There are some more suited for preschoolers, toddlers, school age kids and some great travel gifts for teens or tweens.
What You'll Find in This Post
Fun Gifts for Kids
Kids do need to have a little bit of fun when they are getting a present! They will be excited about these gift ideas and at the same time are useful for travelling in the disguise of being FUN! These ideas are great gifts for people who travel and can use it on their next trip.
1. Portable Mini Speaker
Kids love to listen to music in the hotel rooms, outside by the pool, or on the balcony. A mini portable speaker is a fun idea for kids to use for dancing and listening to music while traveling.
2. Travel Games
We had playing cards, Monopoly Deal, Scopa, Guess Who card game and Tenzi dice game that came with us all around the world.
Travel Tip: Keep them in their own packing cube to keep them organized.
3. Colouring Books, Markers, Pencil Crayons or Crayons
You cannot go wrong with travel themed colouring books and twistable pencil crayons for kids who travel. There are many no mess colouring items for preschool age kids too. It’s also a thing now for tweens, teenagers and adults for detailed colouring books.
4. Camera
If you have a preschooler or little ones, I would recommend this camera for their durability. The instant cameras are also fun for kids to see the image right away. Any kid over 6 years of age, I would suggest an inexpensive digital point and shoot camera, or an underwater camera would be cool for them too.
5. Binoculars
Binoculars are an awesome gift! Our daughter actually asked for these for her 7th Birthday to see the animals. If you have a kid who loves animals this is the perfect gift. The kids also take them to football or sporting events too!
6. Headphones
A gift that the kids will use on every road trip or plane ride. Check out ones that are Bluetooth and cordless but also have the cord to use if not charged (because that does happen)! We prefer the over the head style versus the earbuds just because it stays on them easier, but teenagers may prefer earbuds.
7. Lego
Lego is brilliant! We carried around a small amount of Lego with us everywhere on our world trip. The kids can interchange all the pieces and be creative. We use them at restaurants, in hotel rooms or on the plane. Buy kids the small sets and then it will all easily fit into their daypack.
Outdoor Gifts for Kids
Much of travelling families include a fair amount of time outdoors and exploring. Get outside and keep kids active! So these are some gift ideas for someone going travelling outdoors. Over the years, we have bought our kids ALL these travel gifts for Christmas or their birthday’s and they absolutely loved it!
8. Snorkel Gear
We carry snorkel gear with us whenever going somewhere by the water. Travel Tip – We only bring the goggles and snorkel, the flippers generally take up too much space for packing.
9. Frisbee
An easy and light outdoor fun activity. For smaller kids we found the rings to be easier for all to have fun with.
10. Waboba Balls
Hands down the BEST water ball we have found. It is indestructible, floats and so much fun. Good for kids of any age!
11. Swimming Goggles
Swimming goggles for pool time on any vacation are a necessity and be sure that each kid has their own because inevitably they will both want them at the same time.
11. Diving sticks
A fun swimming pool activity that will keep them busy for hours. We carried a set of these around with us for our world trip.
12. Scooter or Helmet
Scooters are great to take with you when you travel to big cities or parks. It lets kids go along side you while covering more ground to see more places. Plus, kids burn some energy and have some fun! This is the scooter our kids have which folds down nicely into vehicles for travelling.
13. Sports Gear
We love to travel and go skiing and snowboarding as a family. Many families go and do active sports while they are away on vacation. So consider buying them new sporting gear since kids GROW out of many of their gear very quickly and will need new stuff. Think both of summer and winter activities and things the children like to do. Ex. bikes, portable paddleboard, skates, water skis, etc.
14. Camping Gifts for Kids
We love to go camping and so do many other families. But, the best part of some of these items is that they can double with them on other vacations too. We took 4 of these travel pillows with us all around the world, they were the best because they rolled up smaller and we used them as an extra pillow in our hotels. Fun things like the kids own sleeping bag, headlights or S’mores kits can be an easy gift.
Small Gifts for Kids
The fact is that sometimes you need a small gift for kids, to either put in a Christmas stocking, Easter scavenger hunts or only need to get something small that fits in your suitcase while travelling. Trust me, when we celebrated Christmas in Bali I had to think of many small things that could easily fit in the existing luggage that we had. Or take up NO space at all! These are great gifts for someone going travelling!
15. Luggage Tags & Locks
Keep it fun and personalize their luggage tags with these ideas.
16. Gift Cards
We always buy kids iTunes gift cards to buy movies and music for on their iPads. It is a great gift to give for a digital movie or music for when kids travel in long car rides or no screens on planes.
17. Subscriptions
Think about giving a gift that kids can keep enjoying all year round. Consider getting Netflix gift cards, or Audible gift cards for subscriptions.
Educational Gifts for Kids
Our kids always get something to read and learn from for Christmas and other special days in the year. It took a while but we found a few great options that the kids absolutely love and they think of it as more fun than educational.
18. Globe
A great gift to get the kids involved with travelling and learning about other places in the world in a fun way.
19. Atlas & World Map
Maps are great for kids on long road trips! Find an atlas that is kid-friendly either with animals, activities or cool monuments to help kids understand different places in the world.
20. Travel Books
Here are a few of our kid’s current favourites. Look for travel books that have some linkage to other places in the world or places they have been to for keeping them engaged in the book. Anything by Lonely Planet Kids is spectacular and you can’t go wrong.
21. Flag & World Games
Kids love board games or card games for weekly game night. Add these ones into the mix at home or pair them down for on the road. Our kids love this flag game and even just sort through the cards to see on their own without actually playing the game.
22. Travel Journals
A travel journal can be a great way for kids to document their trip and keep their memories of their travels.
Unique Travel Gifts for Kids
23. Photobook or Photo Album
A great way for kids to recall their memories from the trip is to photobook of the pictures of the trip. Shutterfly, Vistaprint, Costco or any local store where you get photos developed usually have photobook options. Many of the online ones can also integrate with your Facebook and Instagram for ease of use to collect photos. These can take time to create, but lasting memory for kids that are personalized for them. I like to do this differently for each kid to have pictures where they are in every picture.
If the techie side of this doesn’t work for you for the photobooks, we still love our photos printed and simply put in a nice travel album. Kids love having their own for their own room to look at any time they want!
24. Framed Pictures or Print
A super easy one is to frame a picture or get a large canvas print for their room to hang on the bedroom wall of their favourite travel moment.
25. Scratch off Map
A fun way for the kids to scratch off where they have been in the world. The kids got this one from a family member after our return from our big trip and the kids had so much fun scratching off all the countries they went to.
26. Jewelry with Travel Theme
A great idea for girls who are either tweens or older kids would be jewelry that is travel themed. Collecting charms from each place they have been to can be a great memory for them to keep.
Experience Gifts for Kids
Experience gifts can be some of the best ones to give! They take up no space, you spend time with them and you are sharing something new with them. They don’t have to be grand like a trip to Disneyland but can be exploring things in your own city or close by.
27. Local Science Museum Passes
Get passes for kids to go to local museums. Most museums always have new exhibits going on so take the kids again!
28. Movie Passes
Movies can be a great way for kids to be creative and a treat to go to the theatre with them. We have also taken our kids to other movie theatres in other parts of the world to learn about similarities and differences.
29. Play, Concert or Event Tickets
There is usually great local plays, concerts or events going on close to home or on their next trip. Think about this option for kids to buy them a ticket to a football game, play or event in the place they are travelling to.
30. Take a Day Tour in your Hometown
Take the kids on a day tour of your own city and see the city with fresh eyes with them. Do a walking tour with a local to learn something new about an area in your city.
31. Book a Day Tour for the Next Trip
Looking to do something exciting on your next family trip? Get the kids tickets for a day tour and surprise them. We did this as gifts for our kids when spending the day at the Great Barrier Reef and for when Luca went diving in Thailand. Click here for some tour options for your next trip!
32. Book a Trip
The ultimate gift is a surprise trip for the kids. Even if you have plans for the trip, regardless of it being a special occasion like Christmas, keep it a secret. Wrap up the plane, boat or train tickets with a big surprise for them!
33. Book a Local Hotel Trip
Even if you can’t get away for a big trip, book a hotel room at a local place that has waterslides or a fun pool for the day. The kids will love the little getaway and feel like a little trip. This is a great idea for a surprise on the kid’s birthday and invite a few of their friends.
Booking.comPractical Travel Gifts for Kids
I know, sometimes kids don’t like to receive practical stuff, but it is something that they need. I use this gift giving time to buy the kids high quality products that will last and endure how tough kids can be on things. Try being creative with finding their favourite colours, brand, animal or character to make it more fun.
34. Travel Gear for Kids
Anything and everything related to the gear that kids will need to travel. A new suitcase, daypack, toiletry bag, portable car seats or packing cubes are great ideas for gifts for kids.
35. Travel Clothing for Kids
Kids grow quickly and they need new clothes! But, we like to spend money on good quality clothing for what we take travelling so they are durable and can be washed 100 times without getting wrecked. Some practical clothing items that are useful for kids who travel are:
- Water Shoes
- Durable Walking Sandals (Best ones we have used)
- Runners / Hiking Boots
- Swimsuit
- Rain Jacket
- SPF Sunhat
- SPF Shirt
- Socks (our favourite are these brand)
- Shirts (wicking material and breathable)
Travel Gift Buying Tips
Over the past few years we really look at our gift buying for the kids and focus on things for the kids that will both bring them joy, but really are purposeful and thoughtful. We generally buy gifts that are travel centric and can be used when we travel as a family together.
Things that will bring us closer together, help them grow and learn while we travel.
I also wrap each present separately so the kids feel they have an abundance of gifts to open. I think half the fun for kids on Christmas morning or on their birthday is opening the gift, not what they actually received.
The surprise and anticipation that lights up their eyes and hearts. This helps a few great gifts go a far way. When at home I re-use all the previous years bags to help be kind to the earth too!
If you are not buying for your own child, ask the parents if there is something their child needs or is interested in. Suggest one of these gift ideas with the parents to see if it would be of interest to both the kid and the parents.
Or go together with other family members on a bigger item to share the cost and reduce the amount of junk kids get.
Hopefully, you’ve come up with some good gift ideas for the travelling kid that you love so much to make their day special.
These are all great gift ideas for your family travel adventures!
If you are a travelling parent and have some family members that might need some travel gift ideas, be sure to share this post with them. I know I will be sharing this with the grandparents, aunties and uncles as soon as it’s posted :)
Is there anything we missed that your travelling kids love?
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