These travel-inspired gift ideas for families will be sure to help create memories that will last a lifetime.
I don’t know about you, but I would much rather give (and receive!) gifts that create memories rather than stuff that will just get set aside and forgotten after a while. One of my mantras is, “Fill your life with adventures rather than things. Collect stories to tell rather than stuff to show.”
So, what’s going to be under your tree this year? Today I’m sharing my 17 favorite travel-inspired gift ideas to help you choose meaningful and useful gifts for your family.
1. A vacation
I’ve secretly always wanted to just wrap up my kids’ suitcases with a packing list inside and put them under the tree and tell them we’re leaving the next day for some fun place. Wouldn’t that be so fun? One of these years, I’m going to do it! I know I’ve said this before, but I love using Get Away Today for all my travel needs. They are so easy to work with, and they have the best prices! You can even do payment plans. Seriously, you won’t regret booking a vacation with Get Away Today. They even send you some fun goodies you could wrap up for the big reveal. For example, when we went to Jamaica, they sent us some beach bags, towel clips, and passport holders.
2. Ornaments
I love to collect ornaments from the places I visit. Not only does it make a fun, useful souvenir, but I get to relive the memories from that place every year when I decorate my Christmas tree. I’ve started this tradition with my kids as well, and they love pulling out their special ornaments each year. They look forward to seeing which ornament I’m going to give them from one of the places we’ve visited that year. Honestly, this is probably my favorite travel-inspired gift!
3. A map
I’ve had this map for 20+ years and have been putting stickers on all the places I’ve visited. It’s come with me through several moves, and I love looking at it and remembering all the places I’ve been.
If you want something a little nicer, I love this wooden one with these little flag pins! Emily has also started her own map and hangs it proudly in her room.
4. Travel-based subscription boxes
Give the gift that keeps on giving by gifting a travel-themed subscription box. Your loved one will receive a new box each month with fun-filled activities, goodies, and learning materials that will spark their love of learning about new places. A few favorites of ours are Universal Yums, which includes treats and snacks from a different country each month. Little Passports is great for kids of all ages to help them learn about different places and cultures. They’ve got several different types of boxes, based on your kids’ ages and interests. And Little Global Citizens, great for kids 4-10, includes activities, crafts, recipes, and books.
5. Adventure supplies
Got a trip coming up? Give your loved ones something they might need for the trip, or just adventures in general. Things like water shoes, hiking socks, snorkel sets (take your kids to the pool to have them practice before your trip), hiking shoes, a camelback backpack, or a swimsuit or snow gear make great gifts! I’ve linked to our favorite brands for you. We use the hiking and water gear year-round!
6. Books
Not only do books inspire curiosity and learning, they keep kids occupied while on flights or long road trips! Emily (11) is currently into the Wings of Fire and Fablehaven series. Zach (9) has been loving the Dog’s Purpose series. And Katie (4) loves anything that have to do with rainbows, butterflies, and unicorns! Haha! She loves Red Riding Hood’s Rainbow and 10 Magic Butterflies (all so cute, btw!). For more book ideas, check out these top travel books for kids.
7. Legos
We love these Lego Architecture sets that feature highlights from different places around the world. Some sets feature skylines of famous cities (like San Francisco or London), while others feature a single attraction like The White House, Statue of Liberty, or the Eiffel Tower.
Emily especially enjoys putting these together and learning about the places featured. Or even just a big set of random Legos inspires kids to recreate places they’ve visited. Emily once built a Lego Disneyland!
8. Luggage
Last year, we knew we were going to be going on a few trips and wanted our kids to have their own luggage. We wanted it to be something that would last, could be used as a carry-on, and that they could manage themselves. We love these Disney-themed luggage sets from American Tourister. They fit all our criteria, plus they were fun and our kids were excited about them. They come in all sorts of patterns. I kinda want some for myself!
9. Adventure scratch-off book
This Adventure Challenge Family Edition scratch-off book will keep your family making memories together as you scratch off all the activities. These challenges are meant to be a mystery until you scratch it off for the details. The activities are fun and will have you laughing so hard your face hurts. Each challenge has a time and budget guide to help you decide. Then you can add a photo and journal entry right there in the book to leave you with a completed scrapbook full of family fun when you’re done! I’m totally getting one of these for my family for next summer break to combat the “I’m bored!”.
10. Camera
I always wanted a Polaroid camera when I was a kid. I thought they were so cool! They’ve come a long way since then, and one of these Instax cameras would be so fun for kids to capture their own memories.
For teens who may already have a smartphone, these Instax smartphone printers allow you to print right from your phone. You could even get them one of these cool frames to hang their pictures in.
For parents, a GoPro would be fun to capture all your adventures. My husband has fun taking underwater videos while snorkeling!
11. Travel journal
Encourage your family to document their trip experiences with a fun travel journal. I still have one I made from when my family visited Disney World when I was 10. It’s fun to go back and see what I wrote about!
Or, compile a photo book of a recent trip to gift to a loved one. I made one for my mom after she took my sisters and I on a Hawaii girls getaway. It’s super easy on Shutterfly to make one!
12. Paint by sticker books
These paint by sticker books are awesome for kids of all ages. They’re great for flights or long road trips, and these travel editions are so fun!
13. Weighted lap blanket or stuffed animal
This weighted lap blanket has been a life-saver for our autistic son, Zach. It helps keep him regulated on long trips where he has to sit still for long periods of time. It gives him the proprioceptive input his body needs and also is super soft, which helps him with his sensory needs as well. These weighted stuffed animals are also cute!
14. Kindle
If you don’t want to haul a bunch of books on your trip, consider gifting a Kindle. This e-reader makes it easy to enjoy your favorite books without all the extra weight. Gift a Kindle Unlimited membership for access to millions of books! You could also gift an Audible subscription to allow your loved one to listen to their favorite books on the go.
15. Noise-reducing headphones
Noise-reducing headphones are great for kids and adults alike. Zach often gets triggers by a lot of noise. These help reduce that noise and prevent meltdowns. My husband even will wear them in the car on long trips to drown out the kids’ noise to save his sanity!
16. Money for buying souvenirs
If you know you’ve got a trip coming up, giving kids money to buy their own souvenirs can be a great idea. This way you don’t have to fight over what you will and won’t buy your kids on the trip. They’ll know exactly how much money they’ll have to buy what they want. To learn how we manage our kids’ money and get them to buy their own souvenirs, check out this post.
17. Experiences
I love gifting experiences to my family. We’ve done season passes to the local amusement park, zoo tickets, Disney on Ice tickets, sporting event tickets, Chuck E Cheese gift cards, a pottery painting experience, water park passes, a weekend at Great Wolf Lodge, restaurant gift cards, ski passes, a fancy afternoon tea experience, and more! Not only does gifting experiences help make memories and create opportunities to spend time together, it gives your loved one something to look forward to!
Happy gift-giving! I hope these travel-inspired gift ideas have gotten your wheels turning. What are some of your favorite gifts you’ve ever given or received?
Note: I only recommend products that I love and would use myself. This post may contain a few affiliate links. When you purchase something through a link on this site, we may earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you). See our full disclosure here. Thank you for supporting our family!
Thank you for these ideas. I’m having a really hard time thinking of gifts this year for some reason.
Hi Linda! I hope these suggestions sparked some ideas for you!
These are great ideas. I love that photo frame. And experiences are awesome too. Plus trips! Love it all. Better start getting our shopping done.
Hi Angie! Thanks for stopping by! I love that frame too. I’m considering getting one and changing out the pictures every season with my favorite Halloween, Christmas, snow, beach, etc pics to relive the memories each season!