Unwrap Priceless Experiences With Your Kids This Holiday Season

Sometimes the best gifts don’t come in a box – try one of these ideas for a memory-making time together.

Crafty and Creative

If your child likes projects or you’re a maker-minded parent that wants your child to learn practical life skills, try some of these ideas to get your hobbyist started:

Experiences:

• Take knitting or crocheting classes at Yarning for Ewe
• Sign up for Home Depot free woodworking classes
• Learn to sew with classes at JoAnn Fabrics or Fabricate Studios
• Try beginning jewelry making class from Art at Home, where the artists come to you.
• Take lessons in glasswork from Art at Home (some classes have an age requirement of 14 or 15)
• Learn Bath Bomb Making from Green Girl Basics at Goat Farm Art Center

Gifts:

• Knit or crochet kit for kids
• The book “Woodland Crochet: 12 Precious Projects to Stitch and Snuggle” by Kristen Rask
• Young Woodworker’s Project Kit from Lakeshore Learning (includes everything needed to build a small corner shelf, tool box and treasure chest)
• Beginner Sewing Machine like the Singer Start 1304
• Beads or jewelry making kit

Sports Fans

Atlanta is a sports lover’s headquarters, with the many sporting museums and arenas. Try these ideas:

Experiences:

• Buy tickets to a professional sporting event like Atlanta Hawks basketball, Atlanta United soccer or Atlanta Gladiators
• Tour the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, SunTrust Park or the College Football Hall of Fame
• Ice skate at one of Atlanta’s many seasonal outdoor rinks or take lessons together at an indoor rink
• See jousting at Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament
• Sign up for Dbat membership or lessons for baseball fans

Gifts:

• Sports equipment
• Professional or college team jerseys or hats
• Fitness tracker watch
• Gymnastics or yoga mat
• Over the door basketball hoop

Future Foodies

Cooking classes for just kids or kids with their parents will get your young chef excited.

Experiences:

• Take cooking lessons at Young Chef’s Academy or Cozymeal
• Sign up for a kid or teen class at Publix Alpharetta Aprons Cooking School
• Join Kroger Chef Junior classes on Saturdays at select stores throughout Atlanta.

Gifts:

• MasterChef Junior Cooking Essentials Set
• Personalized chef apron, jacket or hat
• MindWare Playful Chef Knife Kit (it really cuts but is safe for kids)
• American Girl Baking Essentials Set
• “Kid Chef: The Foodie Kids Cookbook” by Melina Hammer

Wild About Books

If your child loves to read, try one of these ideas:

Experiences:

• Go for storytelling at The Little Shop of Stories, The Wren’s Nest, the Children’s Museum of Atlanta or the Atlanta Botanical Garden or your local library
• Attend book signings with the kids of some of their favorite authors
• Browse with the kids at bookstores, thrift stores, used book stores or your local library for books they’d like

Gifts:

• Book by a favorite author and book light
• Reading tent
• Comfy beanbag chair
• Magazine subscription
• Book club subscription from Highlights

Fashionistas

These ideas show your fashion lover you care about their style.

Experiences:

• Go to a fashion show
• Sign them up for modeling classes or do classes together
• Indulge in Mommy and Me mani-pedis at Posh Spot, Sugarcoat or Lush Nails & Spa

Gifts:

• My First Fashion Designer (by Lakeshore Learning) includes a miniature dress form, cloth swatches and buttons to create runway designs
• A mix-and-match fashion drawing set like Fashion Plates
• FabKids subscription box
• Gift card to a favorite clothing store
• Books for designing and creating, such as “Klutz My Fashion Portfolio” or “My Even More Wonderful World of Fashion”

Back to Nature

Atlanta has plenty of places to fish, hike, canoe and enjoy nature.

Experiences:

• Sign up for the Wild Explorers Club, a monthly online adventure program
• Visit the Chattahoochee Nature Center or take one of their canoe trips
• Plan a whitewater rafting trip or fishing trip
• Get SCUBA ready with beginner lessons
• Experience the thrill of ziplining

Gifts:

• Fishing rod and gear
• Compass, binoculars and hiking gear
• Tent
• SCUBA gear
• Canoe or kayak

A Flair for Design

Help your child find their inner interior designer or architect.

Experiences:

• Use your child’s ideas to design his or her bedroom or playroom makeover
• Paint the bedroom together in a color your child chooses or put a faux finish on the bedroom furniture
• Sign up for architectural drawing or design classes at MODA, Atlanta’s museum of art and design

Gifts:

• Klutz: Design Your Dream Room lets your child explore with patterns, color and space, with 300 punch-out pieces to design a room
• Young Architect House Designer from Mindware lets kids design and build a 3-D home model
• Paint for a bedroom or playroom picked out by your child
• Sheets, bedspread, curtains or designer pillows your child wants
• Lamps, desk set or wall art

Time for Tea

Boys and girls both enjoy quiet conversation over a warm cup of tea, with scones, cookies or tiny sandwiches.

Experiences:

• Enjoy a tea time at Dr. Bombay’s Underwater Tea Party, Tea Leaves & Thyme or American Girl Bistro
• Set the table with your best china and dress up for a tea party at home

Gifts:

• Tea pot and cup
• Tea cozy
• Costume necklaces, hats, gloves and purse to wear to tea time
• Scones and tea biscuits

STEAM On

If your child loves STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math), Atlanta provides a plethora of classes and camps.

Experiences:

• Explore with classes at Engineering for Kids or Start Code
• Visit Chattahoochee Nature Center, Tellus Science Museum or Children’s Museum of Atlanta
• Build and create at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Atlanta 
• Sign them up for summer camp at Club SciKidz, Camp at iD Tech or Camp Invention

Gifts:

• Science subscription boxes like Groovy Lab in a Box and Kiwi Crate
• Microscope
• Composter
• Telescope
• LEGO Master Builders Academy kit

–  Janeen Lewis