The science of happiness has shown us that experiences elicit more happiness than material things. And according to leading child psychologist Oliver James, while the joy elicited from toys is fleeting, outings and experiences are valued by kids both in the moment, as well as long afterwards in cherished memories.
And of course we are all now becoming so much more aware of how excess STUFF, rather than adding to our happiness, can actually be bad for our well-being.
So this year avoid adding to the STUFFOCATION – that feeling of stress we get from having too much – and gift your loved ones with experiences that create priceless memories or that develop new skills that will last a lifetime.
To save you time, we’ve collated a list of local experience gift ideas for your North Shore Kid:
- Luna Park annual pass
- Taronga Zoo Zoo Friends membership
- A gift voucher for a family Escape Room Experience
- A Geocache membership so the family can head out “treasure hunting”. Sydney’s North Shore has many local caches to discover on some of the best kid friendly walking trails. Some faves include Manly Dam, Middle Cove and Berry Island.
- Ten pin bowling outing in Chatswood
- Gift certificate or homemade coupon to a favourite cafe
- A Subscription box. Your child can receive a box of goodies delivered to the mailbox every month. There’s a growing range of options, focused on different themes. Some of our favourites include the science and art projects from Kiwi Co which offers boxes for several different age levels. We also love Little Passports, where kids can learn about a new country or new world theme each month.
- Whale watching cruise
- Cinema tickets
- Tickets to a local theatre production at Marian Street Theatre
- Tickets to a storytime ballet performance at The Concourse in Chatswood or The Opera House
- Musical instrument and lessons
- Kids cooking class
- A farm stay
- A Merlin Annual pass which gives entry to all of the following attractions – SEA LIFE Aquarium, WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo, Madame Tussauds Sydney, Sydney Tower Eye, and Australian Treetop Adventures
- A MAAS Membership for entry and member benefits at Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Observatory and Museums Discovery Centre.
- Seedlings from your local nursery or Bunnings store so they can plant their own flower or herb garden.
- A ten visit pass for indoor rock climbing
- Voucher for Indoor Sky Diving at iFLY Downunder
- A gift pass to Manly Surf n’ Slide
- A family board game
- Horse riding lesson or trail ride
- Animal Encounters or Junior Zoo Keeper Programs at Featherdale Wildlife Park are perfect for the young animal lover.
- A gift voucher to take a craft class of choice
- A question book – my kids love this Q&A a Day book. It prompts so many interesting discussions and its so fun looking back over previous years answers once you are a couple of years into it.
- Tent or other camping gear
- Online maker classes – Get access to a huge range of how-to craft classes on a wide range of topics from baking and cake decorating, to crochet to photography with a membership subscription or individual class on Craftsy. Perfect for the tween or teen (and mum and dad too 😉 )
- A kayaking trip
- A home spa day – Put together a box of beauty items perfect for a homemade spa day for the tween and teen girls. Include things such as a face mask, foot soak, new nail polish and possibly a beautiful cotton robe.
- Learn to scuba dive – available to kids over 8 years old
- Flying trapeze lesson at Olympic Park ( for kids 5 years and older)
*A few of the above links are affiliate links, meaning if you chose to buy we may receive a small commission at no additional cost to yourself.