Coming up with ideas for birthday and Christmas gifts for kids who have everything can be a real challenge. Especially if you don’t want to buy something that will be loved for all of two seconds before being buried in the already overflowing toy box.
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We are trying hard to make birthdays and Christmas in 2022 about things the kids really need or that we can enjoy together. Even better, we want to inspire their wanderlust.
In this post I’m sharing some of the gift ideas I’ve come up with if you fancy doing the same but are stuck.
Eek! Have you left your Christmas shopping until the last minute? Don’t panic! Check out my last minute Christmas gift ideas that you can deliver in time for the big day.
2022 gift guide: ideas for kids who have everything
1. Adventure story books
You can never have enough books! We have two young readers in our house so they are discovering books to read themselves and for us to share with them.
Reading is always more fun when we are sharing stories that we can all get into, so travel and adventure books are popular here.
There are so many fun facts and illustrations in Salvatore Rubbino’s A Walk in Paris*, A Walk in London* and A Walk in New York* – these really are charming story books for children under eight.
Here’s some more books for children aged 8 and up to inspire wanderlust and some adventure books to read with younger children.
They’re available from toy stores and online. Whirligig Toys is a popular example.
2. Experiences
We’re big believers in giving presents that create happy memories. Theatre tickets, a day out* or booking a unique experience* that relates to a child’s passions or hobbies will put a lasting smile on their face.
How about a festive day out? Here’s some Christmas events happening around the UK as well as Christmas markets and light trails.
How much joy would it bring your kid who has everything if they could spend a day as a zoo keeper*, try indoor skydiving* or throw themselves into an outdoor adventure*?
Of course, experiences are always best when shared. Here’s my big list of gift ideas for the whole family.
Read our review of the Buyagift Family Experience box.
3. Travel activity books
Like I’ve already mentioned, you can never have enough books. As well as fiction books, travel and destination related activity books are the perfect gift for kids who have everything.
Deliberate Travel have a range of workbooks to help children age seven to 12-years-old explore the history, culture and geography of different destinations from home. Take a look at Just The Ticket.
This year-long series of workbooks takes kids on an educational adventure to explore the history, cultures, peoples, geography, animals and food of different countries. When you sign up you get a Travel Pack filled with everything you need for the journey, including your bus ticket!
Tot was thrilled to receive her travel pack, especially the passport and map, and couldn’t wait to try out the first workbook on Lapland. This gives you a free taster of what’s to come.
If you are buying Just The Ticket as a gift it’s available for three months (£24.99), six months (£34.99) and the full year (£49.99).
Here’s where you can find out more about buying a Just The Ticket subscription for you child or as a gift.
4. Wall art or a photo book
Nearly every room in our house contains memories or mementoes from our travels: there’s magnets from different destinations in the kitchen, framed holiday snaps in the hall, pictures and photobooks in the lounge, and a huge pin map in my office.
Our kids love looking at old photos and chatting about where we were.
We can recommend checking out the My Picture website for wall art and photo books; big and small. The site is easy to use and the quality of the end result is excellent.
5. Magazine subscriptions
The brilliant thing about magazine subscriptions is they’re not just for Christmas.
The Week Junior, National Geographic Kids and Eco Kids are all great magazines to broaden the minds of young travel enthusiasts.
We’ve been subscribing to The Week Junior for a year now. It’s a great addition to watching Newsround and the current affairs topics our girls follow in school.
6. Headphones
Our girls use their JVC headphones* with their Amazon Kindles when we are travelling and with their laptop at home.
They are a lifesaver on during long journeys and those days when we’ve all been couped up at home (thanks COVID!). There’s only so much of The Next Step and My Little Pony that I can take while trying to concentrate on work!
7. Kids luggage
I lost count of the number of imaginary trips the kids took when we weren’t actually allowed to travel. They love packing their wheelie bags and boarding an imaginary plane or going camping in our lounge.
There’s lots of kids luggage* on the market but our favourites are the LittleLife wheelie bags*. You can fit so much in them and because they are soft they can put up with a lot of pretend trips and play.
Read my LittleLife wheelie bag review.
8. Travel journal
As well as developing into avid little readers my kids are becoming keen writers too. It makes me so proud!
After this year’s summer holidays we printed off pictures and the girls stuck them in scrap books* with little notes about what they’d done.
As they grow older I’m sure they’d love proper travel journals*. Lonely Planet make a travel scrap book* with lots of prompts to help kids record and keep memories from their trips.
9. Practical clothing
Kids always need new clothes so buying them some outdoor gear for Christmas means your gift will definitely get used.
Items in constant use during our camping trips in the UK are wellington boots*, walking shoes, waterproof jackets*, hoodies* and gilets*.
If the travel and outdoors loving kid in your life enjoys water sports a new wet suit or buoyancy aid could be the perfect gift.
Check out my list of gear for paddle boarding with kids for inspiration.
You might also like my guide to outdoor gifts for kids.
10. Travel toy box
When we do get away we let the kids bring a few small toys to keep them entertained during the journey and when we reach our destination.
More often than not their toys from home are forgotten when they are off making friends and exploring, so there’s no point taking lots on holiday.
The Teebee travel toy box is compact and can be easily used while seated in the car, on a train or a plane. Fill it with whatever small toys will keep your kids entertained while you are on the move.
It’s washable so you can even load it with snacks, which is our girls’ favourite way to use their Teebees*.
Disclosure: this post includes some items we’ve previously been sent to review, but we genuinely love them and that’s why they’ve been featured again. This post also includes affiliate links marked with *. If you click on one of these and make a purchase I may earn some commission. This does not affect the price you pay.
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