Northwest Experiences Holiday Gift Guide – Gift Ideas for the Family & Date Night Ideas too!

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Are you looking to give a gift that doesn’t take up any space or create any more clutter for your loved ones?  While most folks don’t need more stuff, you can never have enough time with the ones that you love.

We have some great ideas for you that are gifts of experience and special memories around the Northwest that can be enjoyed throughout the year.  Recipients will be thrilled to play tourist in their own city, try something fun they’ve always wanted to do, or simply enjoy the gift of quality time with loved ones.

Western Washington:

Gift Ideas for Kids and Families:

Favorite Experience Gift Deal for this season –

Dave & Busters Game Play Card – Auburn, WA & Bellevue WA

Sia in the iFly Seattle location. 

iFly Indoor Skydiving Experience – Tukwila, WA

We share our iFly Seattle review, from our visit a few years back, to give you an idea of what to expect. We also share all of the current deals we know about for iFly in that article as well.

Top Golf – Renton, WA.

They have now opened a Top Golf location in Renton! Top Golf is a sports entertainment complex with high tek golf games (these are fun even if you are not a golfer), food, and a fun high energy atmosphere. It is especially great if you are buying for a family with tweens or teens, or young adults.

Plus, find a deal on Gift Cards for Top Golf at Costco too!

Paintball Tickets –  Multiple locations around Puget Sound

Get all-day paintball admission and equipment rental for 1 or groups of 4, 6 or 12. This is for ages 10 and up, so it’s most appropriate for the tweens and teens in your life. Get tickets on Groupon starting at under $5!

Build a Bear Workshop Gift Cards – Tacoma, WA or Lynnwood, WA

If you have kiddos who loved stuffed animals, you can get them a gift card to Build a Bear. They’ll be able to make their own stuffed animal with a choice of accessories and unique personalization. Sams Club sells Build a Bear discount gift cards here too! Build-A-Bear has some great savings available all year that you can combine this with, like their birthday bears and other promotions.

Chocolate Tours!

Tour Seattle’s Theo Chocolate Factory – Fremont, WA

Give your recipient a chance to pretend to be Willy Wonka for an afternoon while touring a working chocolate factory, Theo Chocolate, in the heart of Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood.  Tours start at $12 and children 6 and over are welcome on the regular tour, while younger children may participate in a weekly chocolate story time that can be booked through the factory’s website. This is a bean to bar chocolate, fair-trade, organic chocolate company. 

The Seattle Chocolate Tour in – Tukwila. Wa

This tour is in the Tukwila area, so there are lots of other things to do for families in this area, making it a great option for families especially.

Find more ideas to do in the South Sound area for families, if you plan to head out there too.

Urban Adventure Scavenger Hunt – Seattle, WA

Embark on a scavenger hunt that takes you on a journey through Seattle’s landmarks, traversing 3 miles and riding the monorail. The hunt is $49 for the full quest and it includes a family or team of 2-5 people.

      Find deals on Urban Adventures as well as more scavenger hunt options here.

Axe Throwing – Seattle, WA

Axe Throwing is a fun activity for many ages. Jens family enjoyed Sea Axe, but you will find them in many locations throughout the Puget sound. Check out Jens reel from their Axe Throwing Adventure here to get a better idea of how it works. Find deals on Axe Throwing here.

A weekend at Great Wolf Lodge – Grand Mound, WA

Sometimes a weekend away together is a perfect family present and Great Wolf Lodge is a fabulous getaway for the whole family especially when there is a discount involved.

Great Wolf Lodge has frequent deals we share about in our Great Wolf Lodge Promo Codes, and Great Wolf Lodge Groupon Deals too. You can prebook the dates when you purchase so you know ahead of time what weekend you can visit.  This is a great last-minute gift and it’s also easy to print out a picture to wrap up and put under the tree.

Museum Memberships in Washington

You can’t go wrong with a museum or zoo membership, too. Memberships are awesome because the recipient can use them year-round, and most include gift shop discounts and additional passes for friends.

Plus, most museums and zoos participate in a reciprocal agreement with nationwide zoos or museums, which means you can get a discount or even free admission at locations around the country, which offers even more savings.

Some  favorites for kids and families include:

• Northwest Trek
• Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
• Woodland Park Zoo
• Seattle Aquarium
• Seattle Children’s Museum
• MOHAI (Museum of History and Industry)
• Pacific Science Center
• Museum of Flight
• MoPOP Museum ( purchasing a Family Membership also includes 50% admission to the Living Computer Museum and the Flying Heritage Collection.
• The All-New Burke Museum

Gift Ideas for Adults:

Murder Mystery Dinner – Lynnwood, Snohomish, & Tacoma, WA & Hillsboro & Portland, OR

Here’s a fun idea for a gift to give an adult or couple – buy tickets for an interactive murder mystery dinner. Guests will be served a three-coursee meal while professional actors test their skills as detectives.  This would make for a unique date night experience or a fun night out with a group of friends. 

Right now, Groupon has discount tickets here, 

Puzzle Break – Seattle, WA 

You’re locked in a room for 60 minutes and the only way out is by solving a puzzle! The entire experience is about 90 minutes long and works great for families or groups.

Photo Credit: Show Me Seattle

Show Me Seattle Pike Place Market Tour – Seattle, WA

Play tourist in your own town on a guided Pike Place Market Tour while trying some fun foods along the way.  Kids under 5 are free on this tour that lasts about 2.5 hours.

Make sure to check Groupon as they are frequently available on Groupon for discounted food tours in Seattle.

Seattle Self-Guided Food Tours – Seattle, WA

Here is another idea for food tours, self guided tours. You could provide funds to taste some of the items at the included restaurants.

If you love to discover new restaurants, Emerald Palate’s self-guided food tours are a great way to explore new neighborhood restaurants and visit at your own pace. There are 2 self guided food tours you can purchase – Ballard & Fremont . Each food tour includes an 8 stop itinerary for visiting food blogger, Adria Saracino’s favorite restaurants in those neighborhood, 13-14 “honorable mention” restaurants and interviews with the restaurant owners as well.

Gift a Terrarium Bar Visit for the Gardner in Your Life!

The Terrarium bar is such a fun idea. Get a gift card for someone to visit to make their own custom terrarium. Jen visited this one in Renton, and had a great time!

Monthly Gift Subscriptions

Fun gifts in the mail can be such a delightful surprise and many of these subscriptions have a variety of gifting options that let you pick one or multiple months so that you can make sure your recipient has something special from the holidays continue into the New Year.

• FabFitFun Box– you can buy just one box or a subscription box for this fun box which features beauty, fashion & fitness items (valued at $200 or   more) – see the current offers on how to save when purchasing
• Facetory – a subscription box of face sheet masks so your recipient can have relaxing evenings enjoying 7 new face masks in every box
• Birchbox– a curated monthly makeup sample box
• Classpass – gift a monthly membership to popular local gyms.

Find lots more ideas here too.

Western Oregon:

Gift Ideas for Kids and Families:

Sky Zone Trampoline Park – Vancouver, WA

One of the best ways to get exercise & have a blast together is by heading to a trampoline park. Kids & adults will love jumping on the trampolines, so it’s a great activity to do as a family.

Live Laugh Love Art Paint Your Own Pottery Studio – Portland, OR or Vancouver, WA

Enjoy some one-on-one time with one of your kids or head there as a family to show off your artistic abilities at this Paint Your Own Pottery studio. Walk-ins are always welcome & they are open daily except Tuesdays. So give the gift of art & have fun painting your masterpieces.

Gift Ideas for Adults:

Rooosevelt Terrariums – Portland, OR

Looking for a relaxing class where your recipient can take home a special item for their home? Give the gift of a terrarium class! They will teach you how to plant a beautiful terrarium that can last for years. These terrariums are totally enclosed, low maintenance terrariums with tropical & woodland options to choose from. They have everything from antique glass jars to fine glass containers.

Stumptown Escape Room – Tigard, OR

Escape rooms are a great date night or adventure with friends (or these are also fun to do with older tweens/teens for a family bonding experience). Players will have one hour to reach escape podss, save the Western Hemisphere, gather evidence & escape the dark forces.

Museum Memberships in Oregon:

You can’t go wrong with a museum or zoo membership, too. Memberships are awesome because the recipient can use them year round, and most include gift shop discounts and additional passes for friends. Plus, most museums and zoos participate in a reciprocal agreement with nationwide zoos or museums, which means you can get a discount or even free admission at locations around the country, which offers even more savings.  Some favorites for kids and families include:

• Oregon Zoo– in 2018 this also included monthly reciprocal benefits at other Portland-area museums.
• OMSI – (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry)
• Portland Children’s Museum
• Gilbert House Children’s Museum
• Evergreen Aviation Museum 
• High Desert Museum (Bend OR)