I like toys that don’t make noise or break easily. I seek gifts that foster an adventurist spirit in my children and encourage activity and relationship between people.
If you have a son and know me in real life, I have told you about my deep LOVE for JM Cremps– the boy’s adventure store. The majority of the toys in our home are from this family-run business out of Minnesota. It’s been my one-stop Christmas shopping spot for the past 3 years. For that reason, many things on this list are from there because… it’s my AWESOME secret store. Enough about the store, on with the gifts.
My Top Picks to inspire Adventure in boys ( and girls!):
(this post has affiliate links)
Slackline –
Hot gift this season. Anchor the slackline between 2 trees and balance your way across this narrow strip. The advanced version can even be used with skateboards and skis.
Military Surplus Tent – $29
Perfect for backyard forts.
Handcrafted Animal Slingshots$9.99
Choice of 7 animals – My boys spend hours outside trying to knock over cans and hit each other…I mean targets.
Backyard Zipline –
So fun for the right backyard.
Medic Bag – $12.99
Shockingly popular with my children!! Before I gave these to my kids, I filled them with camo duct tape, bandaids, a wooden (not sharp) pocket knife, a mini first aid kit, a camo water bottle, string and caution tape from the dollar store, and some books on survival in the outdoors and What to make with Duct Tape. They staged “animal rescues”, climbed trees roping off weak branches, and had picnics under strange bushes. They were a huge hit. Every tool in that bag was used to its fullest.
Rubberband Gun – start at $12
These have been so much fun that I went back to get one for my husband. I bought a pack of extra “ammo” or rubberbands which was a wise investment.
Z-Curve Bow and Arrow
This set is made of foam.There is also a Wolverine bow and arrow set for boys more self-controlled than my own.
Metal Detector
Spend hours searching for loose change and metal treasures. Detects up to 3 feet deep
Young Architect Kit
Design rooms and shapes in 3d design. Great building set for aspiring architects.
Electronic Snap Circuits
- Contains over 60 Snap-Together parts. Build over 300 exciting projects.
- Build a Radio, Doorbell, burglar alarm and more
Other favorites:
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- Crazy Cool Fly Boy Helmet
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- Night Vision Spy Gear
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- Duck Dynasty Board Game
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- Play Mobile Tent Equipment
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- Wooden Pocket Knife
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- Head Lights
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- Catapult
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- Duck Commander Flag Hat
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- Camo Duck Tape
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- Automoblox
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- Camo Face Paint
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- Knight Figurines
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- Compass
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- Leather Cross bracelet
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- Whittling Kit
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- Glow in the Dark Duct Tape
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- Book of Knots
- Fly Boy Street Helmet
- Night Visdion Spy Gear
- Duck Dynasty Board Game
- Play Mobile Camping and Tent Set
- Wodden Pocket Knife
- Headlamps
- Wooden Catapult Kit
- Duck Commander Flag Hat
- Camo Duct Tape
- Automoblix Cars
- Camo Face Paint
- Knight Figurines
- Compact Compass
- Leather Cross Bracelet
- Whittling Kit
- Glow in the Dark Duct Tape
- Book of Knots
- Motorized Coin Sorter
Some favorites BOOKS:
- Dangerous Books for Boys
- Pocket Guide to Boy Stuff
- His Mighty Warrior – *our favorite boy’s devotional*
- Book of Knots (with rope kit) $8
- Pocket Guide to the Outdoors
- The Beginner Book of Duct Tape Projects
- 31 Whittling Projects
- 50 Dangerous Things you should let your children do.
For more holiday ideas, check out our Pinterest holiday boards.
50+ Bloggers around the world have gotten together to create the 2013 Ultimate Gift Guide Series and Pinterest Board from which this list is part of. We’d love for you to check it out.
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Love this list! I, too, dread buying the gift for the sake of having a gift. I want it to be used- not wasted, valued versus the item under the bed or hidden in the back of the closet.
This is awesome!!
why is this only for boys? I have a daughter that like adventure.
Most of this would also suit a girl, if she enjoyed girl-guide (girl scout) style outside play. I could pitch a tent by age 11 and loved outdoors play even archery. Perhaps this is a list for kids in general who love the great outdoors.
Absolutely! My daughter gets many of these gifts too. I was simply asked by some moms for suggestions of gift ideas for boys, and these were our faves….boy or girl. I should have clarified better. Have a great night.
I found your post at Discover & Play. My son would love all those gifts! (We do have the rubberband guns already.) Thanks for sharing!
This is a great post! My kids are all getting just one quality gift they can share and not 10 that will be thrown in a corner 2 days after Christmas:) Now I know what I’m getting them…a slackline!! Thank you Allison!
This list is brilliant. Thank you.
i’m curious by the number of weapons on the list. You don’t end up with injuries? I think of my seven year old with a sling shot and a bow and arrow, and rubber band gun (which intrigues me but I can just see him shooting it as his sister over and over again when I’m not in sight.) Do your boys just have a high degree of self control (or maybe my kid is a psychopath,) If I could understand how the rubber band gun is made to be fun and not painful I might just get it. To be clear, my kid will create guns out of Legos -it sure seems to be in his nature – but even with Nerf or anything with a missile coming out of it, will end up in his sister’s eye, and more screaming than I want to imagine!
Your comment cracks me up because I relate so well. My kids are not high on the self-control spectrum. My first child was a girl, so I declared our home “weapon-free” for the first 5 years of parenting. It wasn’t long before one son turned his pillow into a gun while another used a rubber band to fling paper at his siblings. They just came out of me with this need for battle. So we thought we’d embrace it and train it, but with boundaries. We found that “allowing weapons” with clearly defined boundaries removed the random aggression against each other. Now they have targets on trees (not their brother’s back) and we have nerf gun fights with dad and googles. The sling shots knock over cans not their sister’s head. If they use it in an inappropriate manner, they lose it. Every child and family is different though. We have 2 boys, so they play differently with each other than they do with their sister.
lots of fun activities on the list but why just for boys? I know my daughter would love to try all of these things
My daughter love these things too. This post was written as part of a series for boys but I think I mention that girls may enjoy the items as well. Great point.