Best Experience Gifts for Teens Who Already Have Too Much Stuff
Are you looking for the best experience gifts for teens who have it all? Finding gift ideas for teens who, quite honestly, already have too much stuff is difficult but experience gifts are the perfect option.
A few years ago I realized I was dreading shopping for the holiday season. I’m not a Grinch, but I was already overwhelmed trying to deal with the amount of stuff we had in our home. I was definitely not excited to add to the clutter.
Our solution was something we’d never done before. We opted to skip the gifts completely and take our kids on a surprise trip. Waking up on Christmas morning on a cruise ship was so exciting for them that not a single kid complained about not having gifts to unwrap.
Experience gifts for teens don’t have to involve a trip, though. There are lots of different experiences you can give your teens that are perfect for any budget.
Shopping for younger kids? Check out this list of non-toy Christmas gifts.
What Are the Benefits of Giving Experience Gifts?
The first time we focused on experience gifts I was nervous. I had no idea how my kids would react. It turned out that they had a lot more fun with experiences than they did unwrapping more stuff, some of which they never even used.
If you have older teens like I do, you may be realizing that the number of holidays you have with your teens still at home is limited. This makes it the perfect time to make some memories with experience gifts
Benefits of Experience Gifts:
- Create memories
- Give teens the opportunity to explore new interests
- Reduce clutter in your home (and the time it takes to care for it)
- Create opportunities for active entertainment
- The excitement (and anticipation) lasts longer
What are Experience Gifts for Teens?
Experience gifts for teens may not look like you think they do. They can be anything from trips, materials for projects, event tickets, memberships, day trips, and more.
Get creative and take into account the things your teen is already interested in. You’ll probably find that you can come up with experience gifts that your teen will be thrilled to receive.
Best Experience Gifts for Teens
Experience gifts are great for birthday gifts for teens or Christmas gifts. If you are easing into the idea of experience gifts, there’s nothing wrong with doing a mix of traditional gifts and experience gifts. Give it a try. You will probably be surprised at how much your teens enjoy it.
Travel Experience Gifts for Teens
Gifting travel is always a fun option and you can find options for a range of budgets. I sometimes like to gift items that my teens can use or make them more comfortable on the trip. Some ideas include a travel pillow, new suitcase, headphones, makeup organizer, etc.
Check out our full list of travel essentials on a budget to get some related gift ideas to give with a travel experience gift.
- Plan a surprise trip to Disneyland or another amusement park
- Rent a beach house
- Go on a teen-friendly cruise
- Plan a trip to a museum in another city that focuses on something your teen is interested in
- Plan a camping trip (or glamping trip for the teen who needs some extra amenities)
- AirBnb or hotel gift card
- Plane tickets to somewhere your teen has never been
- Go whale watching
Day Trip Gifts for Teens
- Theatre tickets
- Concert tickets
- Bowling gift card
- Movie theatre gift card
- Water park or amusement park tickets to a local attraction
- Sporting event tickets
- Trampoline park tickets
- Escape Room gift card
- Laser tag gift cards
- Top Golf gift card – We did this for my son’s birthday and everyone had a blast
- Restaurant gift card
- Water sports equipment that can be used locally
- Indoor skydiving
- Ax Throwing
- Skip pass
- ATV tour
- Spa trip with friends
Membership Gifts for Teens
- Gym membership
- Museum membership
- Rock climbing gym membership
- National Parks Annual Pass
- Streaming service subscription for teens who love movies
- Yoga studio membership (or online membership)
- Zoo membership
- Hello Fresh Subscription for teens who love to cook
Experience Gifts That Help Teens Learn Something New
- Music lessons
- Masterclass subscription
- Cover the cost of an interesting class
- Educational subscription box
- Wildlife encounter
- Cake decorating class
- Mountain biking class
- Sporting equipment for something new your teen wants to try
- Photography workshop
- A domain name and website hosting for teens who want to learn how to create a website
- Kindle Unlimited Subscription
- surfing lessons
