50 Gift Ideas for Active Families

We've lost our share of phones in the water, which is never a fun way to start a holiday. Trust us when we say, these waterproof cases are a must and one of the best gifts for outdoorsy people.

When spending a lot of time outside, you want your kids eyes to be protected too. These flexible rubber sunglasses are perfect for active kids.

If your active family loves spending time around water, then add this to your list of gifts for outdoor lovers. A roll top dry sack is ideal for kayaking or paddle boarding with kids.

It's not always easy to get to trailheads when we travel, especially if we haven't rented a car. By bringing our own portable booster seat, like the mifold, we can rest easy having our kids riding safely in an uber or taxi. They are small enough that we can stash them away and carry them for the whole hike.

The Bubblebum inflatable booster is another good option for active families.

Any new parent who wants to get out in nature with their baby or toddler should have a good hiking backpack carrier. It's the perfect gift for adventurous new parents.

We've owned two Deuter Kid Comfort backpack carriers and we think it's one of the best backpack carriers for toddlers and babies.

Once your toddler is more interested in doing his own hiking, you'll be doing a lot less carrying. Little legs can get tired though, so we also brought along a toddler carrier. These are fantastic for giving little legs a break when hiking with toddlers.

We aren't just active at home, we love to find adventurous places to be an active family when we travel too. We've had several instances where we need to pair down what we travel with to just one bag. Having a shampoo bar is the perfect way to minimize waste and reduce what you are carrying.

As every parent knows, kids love to be independent. Our kids love having their own backpacks when they hike and getting them to carry water in their own hydration backpack is a great way to make sure they are staying hydrated!

For outdoorsy families that love to be on the water, this 2-person inflatable kayak is one of our favorite gift ideas for active families!

We often find, traveling with small kids, it's hard to get rental gear that is small enough or works well for kids. Snorkel gear is one piece of kids active gear that we would bring ourselves.

Don't forget to buy snorkel fins for kids.

This is a good snorkel set for adults and we like these travel size fins.

I was so pleased when we switched from our Canon DSLR camera to the compact Sony A6000 mirrorless camera. It was so much easier to carry on our active adventures.

Then I got a camera clip for my backpack strap. It's the perfect setup!

We've all been guilty of choosing adventures that are just a bit too much for our kids. This tow rope is what every active parent needs. You can go further and for longer while giving your child a little help by pulling your child's bike. You could also use it for cross country skiing.

Anyone looking for a family cycling adventure like this family cycle holiday in Ireland could make good use of this!

For avid mountain bikers who still want to get out with their kids! This front mounted seat is good for kids 2-5 years old.

Never forget helmets for the kids! For travel with kids, unless we are booking a cycle tour through a company in advance, we would pack our kids helmets if we plan to cycle on holidays. This gives us the peace of mind that we will have suitable helmets for them.

Hands down the best mittens we have had for our kids. You can trust that advice from Canadians who often have their kids outside for long periods of time! These would make the perfect stocking stuffers or adventure gifts for kids!

While we try to keep what we pack for our active adventures to a minimum, this is the perfect small game to pack for road trips with kids.

While in the car with kids, we also use podcasts and audiobooks to keep our kids entertained.

Whether you are searching for the California Condor while in Zion National Park with kids or spotting wildlife in Banff National Park, don't forget to pack a good pair of binoculars.

These would make a great stocking stuffer for outdoorsy kids!

While we haven't traveled with our Thule Chariot, it was one of the BEST pieces of adventure baby gear we owned. We used it so frequently as a bike trailer in the summer and with the ski attachment in the winter.

Two accessories worth adding on are the jogging kit and a bunting bag for winter.

If you have one child riding a bike and one still in a bike trailer, this Thule child bike seat is ideal for getting out on family bike rides.

For winter hiking with kids, we never leave our microspikes behind. This is especially the case if we are carrying a child in a backpack carrier!

For kids that do all their own hiking, these are the best adventure gifts for kids.

Headlamps should be on everyone's list of outdoor family gifts! They'll get plenty of use, especially for camping with kids.

While not the most exciting family Christmas gift ideas, thermal underwear will get plenty of use in the winter! Keep everyone warm and happy on your outdoor adventures!

Here are good thermal underwear options for men, girls and boys.

Our kids each own a pair of Ella's Wool Tubes. These knit leggings in merino wool are our go to pants for all our outdoor adventures with our kids. They are flexible, cozy and warm!

Waterproof hiking shoes are an absolute must! For the amount of hiking we do, we keep the kids feet warm and dry by using waterproof hiking shoes. While they aren't the perfect substitute for proper rain boots, it's much easier to travel with just one pair of boots.

Keen sandals are another must for us, whether we are visiting Thailand with kids or on a hiking adventure in Colombia with kids.

Don't forget the adults! Here are Keen sandals for women and for men.

Fleece hoodies are ideal for family adventure holidays. They work great for layering to keep warm on cooler days or on their own when starting a hike on a cool morning.

We always recommend getting one with a hood, as that can keep kids extra warm with it pulled up.

Here are great options for boys, for men and for women.

We love convertible pants for hiking holidays with kids, like when we hiked up to the Lost City in Colombia. They allow us to pack less and often dry super fast.

Here are convertible pants for men, for boys and for girls.

If we know we will be doing any kayaking or stand up paddle boarding on our trip, we'll pack our own kids swim vests. This is especially true if we aren't confident that appropriately sized swim vests will be available for kids, like when we visited these family friendly beaches in Thailand (some of them by boat).

This might be the one piece of active travel gear for kids that shows up the most in our posts! We LOVE the Sunday Afternoons kids hats. They provide coverage of their face and neck, which is important when hiking all day in the sun. The best part is the kids love them and will happily wear them.

Take a look around our blog and you'll see our kids wear them all the time!

Looking for a way to capture all your adventures! The DJI Pocket is the perfect lightweight option!

For those needing a waterproof camera, you can't go wrong with the GoPro. It's our first choice when we are heading to a beach or out on the water. It's also a great options for more active adventures like cycling.

This is one of the best gifts for an outdoorsy family to capture every moment!

We rarely use suitcases anymore. Backpacks are the easiest way to get around with kids, especially when we are moving around by bus, train and many other modes of transportation!

Our kids always bring their own backpacks. We try to keep them small and ensure they pack them with only their essentials. We also like to get school backpacks that also work for traveling.

These North Face backpacks are ideal! Our kids currently each have one for school and we'll use them for traveling and hiking too.

For families that like to get off the beaten path, you still need to make sure you can get your electronics charged! We travel with a couple of portable chargers. This way we never need to worry about phone batteries dying. They are ideal for camping with kids.

When it was time for a new camera, we needed a camera that was small enough to fit our active lifestyle. It was a struggle trying to hike with a large DSLR around my neck. The Sony Alpha a6000 mirrorless was idea! It easily fits in my backpack and it's light enough to take everywhere!

Whether it's for a hike or a plane ride, we always have water bottles with us. Our current favorite for kids is the Thermos Funtainer. We like the larger 16 ounce size and that it doesn't leak.

Having your own beach blanket is a must (rather than carrying multiple towels). Get one that oversized to have room for everyone!

Packing microfiber towels is well worth it. We use them for showering when camping or when we have an swim in a river. They are ideal gifts for outdoorsy people.

Like the kids, we always carry water bottles even if we have our hydration bladders. The benefit of water bottles is that they aren't sweaty and keep water cool in a hot climate. They are also good for cold climates where the tube of a water bladder can freeze.

For extra long hiking days, especially in hot weather, we will pack our hydration bladders to make sure we have enough water for everyone.

Have the ability to communicate even when you are out of cell service! The Garmin inReach should be in everyone's hiking backpack. This one comes with Topo Maps and GPS Navigation.

For beach holidays we always pack a rashguard for everyone. There's nothing worse than having a sunburn ruin your beach days. Here are rashguards for men, for girls and for boys.

We love paddle boarding with our kids and can't wait for them to be big enough for a junior stand up paddle board.

Amazon also carries a junior inflatable stand up paddle board for kids

We've been to several places where we couldn't have gotten by without our rain gear. We look for rain jackets with a hood and always pack rain pants as well. They also work well for layering with a fleece hoodie on extra chilly days.

For women, these rain pants are a good option. We like this rain jacket for men with these rain pants.

For kids, these are good rain jacket options for girls and boys. Don't forget kids rain pants!

We use our hiking backpacks for both our airplane carry-on and also for hiking. I currently use a Deuter Futura 28L and find it's a good size for both.

Snowshoeing is a fun way to get the whole family out in the winter! Our kids love to run, play and jump in the snow!

These are a good option for snowshoes for kids just starting out.

We also make sure our hiking shoes are waterproof. No one wants to hike in wet feet and you just never know when you might get caught in the rain.

Waterproof hiking boots for men.

One of the best gifts for outdoor lovers or gifts for active families is an light down jacket for everyone. These can easily be stuffed in a backpack in case the weather changes quickly (which often happens in the mountains). They are also perfect for traveling with.

• Down jacket for men
• Reversible down jacket for girls and boys

Insulated snow pants are must for keeping kids dry and warm in the winter. We like a bib style to keep snow out.

These are the actual snow pants we own with a reinforced knee and plenty of room to grow.

Our daughter has snow pants with a fleece vest instead of the bib style for some extra warmth.

For winter activities, you'll often find us in softshell pants with a thermal underlayer. They are perfect for hiking, snowshoeing and cross country skiing. Here's an option for softshell pants for men.

If we are out sledding or playin in the snow with kids will wear insulated snow pants.

We travel with water bottles and water bladders. Since we are often out hiking, we want to make sure we have enough water for everyone to stay hydrated. These larger water reservoirs make it easy to carry enough water.

Whether you'll be spending time on the beach, at the pool or just hanging out at the campsite. Flip flops are great for letting your feet breathe at the end of the day!

• Flip flops for men
• Flip flops for girls
• Flip flops for boys