Are you looking for amazing gifts for outdoor kids in your life? I’m here to help. All our kids have been active outdoorsy kids since they were born, and we’ve almost always give them kids’ camping gifts for their birthday or the holidays. Having the right camping gear makes it so much more fun to go camping and kids and teens love having their own fun camping activities and equipment. This list of camping gift ideas for kids and teens is sure to give you some ideas.
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Looking for more outdoor and adventure gift guides for kids? Check out:
- 30 Best Travel Gifts for Kids
- 40 Amazing Camping Gifts
- Best Travel Books for Teens
- Experience gifts for Teens and Kids
- Best Board Games for Travel
40 Kids’ Camping Gifts
Giving kids camping gifts is a great solution for the outdoor lover, or if you’re looking for gifts for active kids. This list looks specifically at gift ideas for older kids and outdoor gifts for tweens and tweens. Whether you are looking for outdoor gifts for boys or girls there is something on this list for everyone.
Under some items, I include several sizing options so that if you’re looking for outdoor gifts for teens you can find the right sizing.
Outdoor Camping Gear for Kids (the Essentials)
A hiking day pack is essential if you will be spending time hiking. Young kids, but especially teens should be carrying their own food, water and layers. Make sure the bag is lightweight, has good storage and will grow with the kid. For older teens, I suggest you look at adult size day packs.
This is a great gift for outdoorsy child and can be used for camping or even if your backyard for a picnic. For tweens and teens, this lightweight set is also great for putting in your daypack for hiking and eating on the trail.
A sleeping bag is an essential item for camping with kids and is a great gift idea. Kids will use it for sleepovers, camping, and more. My teens have used this exact bag before. If you are looking for a warmer bag, you may want to look at this marmot sleeping bag.
Everyone needs their own camp chair to sit around the camp table or firepit. This chair goes up to 160 lbs, but if you’re looking for something bigger, check out this chair. My 10 year old used this folding chair this summer.
Another option in addition to the folding chair above is a crazy creek chair. My kids each have one of these chairs and we use them all the time! Not only are the small and packable, they’re fun around the campfire and you can even use them on the bleachers at sporting events.
Buying a headlamp is a great camping gift for kids. It’s an essential item for camping and your teens, tween or younger kids will want to be able to get around at night and read. I also really like Petzl headlamps especially for more serious campers or backpackers.
We’ve used many sleeping pads over the years and bought this pad for our teens this summer. This is a comfortable pad and is necessary for camping to stay comfortable and warm.
A pocket knife is an excellent choice if you’re looking for kids outdoor gifts that will make your tween or teen realize that you trust them. A pocket knife is useful and something that all kids should learn to use.
These rechargeable lanterns are a fun addition to the campsite. They give off a soft light but it’s still enough to play games at the picnic table in the dark or light up the tent to read a book.
Camping Adventure Gifts for Teens and Kids
Any list of adventure gift ideas should definitely include this fun fire starter emergency kit. Let your kids start the fire this time with this fun kit.
A good pair of binoculars is a must have for any camping trip and makes an excellent gift. Here’s another less expensive option that’s a good idea for a gift for active kids who might damage more expensive binoculars.
Compass or Map Reading and Orienteering
Looking for a stocking stuffer or a small camping gift for your teen or kid? Every adventurer should have a compass and this is a great gift for outdoorsy kids.
A lifestraw is a must if you’re looking for kids’ camping gifts. These straws let you drink water directly out of a stream or lake and as you drink they filter and treat the water. I bought one of these for every member of my family this year.
Sure walkie talkies are useful, but it also so fun to talk with your friends from one tent to another. These walkie talkies come in a bunch of fun colors and are an adventurous gift for the kids in your life.
Sure most tweens and teens have their own phone with a camera but having an insta camera makes your adventures more fun. With this camera your kids can capture the camping moments and print them out right away.
A GoPro is such a fun camera and a wonderful option for outdoor gifts for teens. You teen can use this to put together their own movies, take underwater shots, or get a widescreen photo at the top of a hike.
We love our camping hammock. Some campsites even have places you can clip your hammock into, or you can use the webbing to hide it from a tree. It’s the perfect place to catch a nap or read a book.
These bracelets have plenty of tools and make excellent gifts for an adventurer. The bracelet has 5 built in survival tools including a fire starter, compass, loud emergency whistle, ferro rod striker and 12 feet of military-grade paracord. Several bracelets make great kids’ camping gifts for the whole family.
Camping Gift Ideas for Teens and Kids: Games and Toys
Camping game gifts are a fun idea for kids or tweens. This ring toss packs up small and can provide hours of fun at the campsite.
This is our families favorite yard game and since it packs up small it makes an excellent campground game, especially if you have a field or open space. All the parts come in the neat bag making it easy to transport.
Cornhole is a fun yard game, but it’s usually to big to bring along on a camping trip. This collapsible game makes it easy to bring it along and one or two corn hole set make fun kids’ camping gifts.
This is a fun set of marshmallow sticks for roasting your favorite dessert. They also work well for roasting hot dogs over the open fir.
Yard games make great gifts for camping, but having a few game to play around the fire or table are fun too. This fun, silly game makes a fun campground game.
Many campgrounds are near a beach or a lake, so a metal detector can make a fun way to look for buried or missing treasure.
We bought this gift for our adventurous tween this year for Christmas. I can’t wait to take it camping with us this spring and summer. You can definitely get more expensive telescopes, but this is a good entry level one. And is also great for the science lover or if you’re looking for STEM gifts for teens or tweens.
This complete survival tool kit makes a fun outdoor adventure gift for tweens or teens. Give this gift with a survival book and your kid will love being prepared on their next camping trip.
Tying knots is an essential skill for outdoor sports including boating, fishing, and camping. Give this skill-based gift this year to your kids or teens.
This fun game is the perfect game to play around the picnic table at the campground. It’s best played with 2-8 people
Kids’ Camping Gifts – Books
If the youth you are shopping for loves to hike, this hiking log book is an excellent choice. You can also buy the boys version here. The logbook includes prompts and an easy format for recording hikes and journies.
A list of kids’ camping gifts should include a book about outdoor survival. This is more of a beginner guide to outdoor survival so is an excellent selection for kids.
Have fun on your camping trip with this would you rather game book. This make a fun camp for anyone who loves to spend time around the fire relaxing and chatting with their friends and family.
Older kids love to get involved with setting up camp and helping with the cooking. This camping cookbook has plenty of family friendly recipes to making cooking outside fun.
110 Things to See With a Telescope
Buy this book with the telescope listed above. Stargazing when you’re camping is an absolute must and this book makes it all more fun if you have a telescope. If you don’t have a telescope, check out the Backyard Guide to the Night Sky
If you don’t have a telescope, check out the Backyard Guide to the Night Sky. This is a fun book that is a perfect gift for outdoor loving kids and adventurers.
Gifts about Camping for Teens and Kids
I love this mug for a warm cup of hot chocolate to start your morning or end your night and a few of these mugs make excellent kids’ camping gifts.
100 Outdoor Stickers
Let your kids decorate their water bottle, computer, or suitcase with these fun outdoor and camping stickers. This is a great deal and you get 100 stickers.
Nalgene Reusable Water Bottle
Having a reusable water bottle is essential when you’re camping, hiking, or doing any outdoor activity. We’ve used so many different water bottles over the years, but love Nalgene bottles. Get this bottle and the stickers above and your kid can decorate their own bottle.
A perfect gift for someone who loves camping is a Happy Camper hat. This is an adult sized hat but is adjustable.
A pair of good socks is important to staying warm when you’re camping and absolutely essential for hiking. We LOVE darn tough socks. You can see a list of darn tough socks in different sizes.
Camping Throw Pill for Kid, Tween or Teen Bedroom
This cute camping throw pillow will remind your kid or teen of camping even when they’re sleeping in their bed at home.
That’s it! A complete list of kids’ camping gifts for older kids, tweens, and teens.
Travel board games make excellent gifts for kids, teens and adults. Looking for more gift ideas for the travelers in your family? Check out:
- 30 Best Travel Gifts for Kids
- 40 Amazing Camping Gifts
- Best Travel Books for Teens
- Experience gifts for Teens and Kids
- Best Board Games for Travel
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