The Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide For Austin Parents
The holidays are here, and it’s time to find the perfect gifts for the parents in your life—or maybe treat yourself! Whether you’re shopping for busy moms, fun-loving dads, or a family gift, Austin is bursting with amazing local businesses and unique ideas that make gift-giving easy and meaningful. From experiences to one-of-a-kind items, this is the ultimate holiday gift guide for Austin parents. Here’s my Amazon storefront for easy clicking!
Stocking Stuffers
You can’t go wrong with flashlights (these are our favorites). I’ve never met a kid who didn’t love a flashlight.
This would be good to put in mom’s or dad’s stocking. I like to start taking these during the winter months so I don’t get sick!
Favorite Gifts For Kids
These are our favorite pj’s ever. They are so soft!
Clyde’s Big Book of Brave. According to the Cleveland Clinic, up to 80% of children under the age of 12 have had a fear of the dark/night at some point. This book helps teach courage about embracing the night and has lessons about friendship and appreciating our beautiful world. It is filled with rhyming fables and reader prompts encouraging children’s participation. The vibrant illustrations are by a very talented Ukrainian artist, Oli Wonder.
File this under: have it, love it! My son chose this piggy bank last Christmas and it’s still one of his favorite things ever.
We love using these reusable water balloons in the pool during the summer and in the bathtub year round.
My youngest loves to read. A few of his favorite beginner book series are Simon Seahorse, Dog Man, and Owl Diaries.
Classic gift that’s fun for all ages and never gets old are these Magnet Men.
Such a sweet, easy to learn card game for the dog-loving kids.
My son got this for Christmas last year and still loves playing on it. It’s great exercise for those days when it’s too cold to go play outside.
Cloud slime is always a hit.
I don’t think there’s ever been a year when my youngest doesn’t ask for one of these.
If you have a Perler Bead or Biggie Bead obsessed kid, here’s a pattern book for some inspiration!
Favorite Gifts For Tweens & Teens
Japanese Snack Boxes would be such a cool, unexpected gift! My 12 year old is obsessed with all things Japan, so I am going to get him one of these or one of these to try!
Our favorite non-leaking water bottles. Everyone in our family has their own.
This is the drone we got our teen last Christmas. It has a camera and is easy to use.
My tween is all about fidget toys, like this ball, this cube, and this worm.
Any Gen Alpha in the house will appreciate this shirt.
We got this football for our teens last year and it has gotten so much use! Here’s the basketball version too.
Such a cute and colorful necklace. I actually own this but any tween or teen would like it too, I think.
Fun ball game for when they have their friends over.
Hiking Gear
One of our favorite family activities to do here in Austin is hiking! We try to go on a hike every Sunday. We have these water packs for our big boys and this one for our youngest. It helps so much when they can start carrying their own water!
This is the hiking backpack we use on hikes. If you want to make this gift extra special, fill it with necessary items like: poison ivy wash, a first aid kit, After Bite, a packable blanket, a super absorbent blanket that folds up small to use as a towel, sunscreen, bug spray, hand sanitizer or wipes, and snack bags.
These are the hiking boots I wear, and these are the water hiking shoes I wear. My youngest wears this pair of boots and Keens sandals for water hikes. Water hiking shoes like these are what my older boys like. My husband wears Keens on hikes.
These packable puffers are great for when it starts off chilly but warms up as you hike and want to take it off and store it in your bag. (kid version)
Favorite Things for Moms
I use this electric tea kettle every day! It’s perfect for heating up water for a cup of tea during the colder months.
We love these suitcases from Amazon. I would be blown away if I got one of these suitcases and opened it up to find tickets to somewhere exciting with a whole vacation planned. Can you imagine!!??
These are always on everyone’s Gift Guides, and for good reason. I love using different colored packing cubes for each of us. We all get our own color, so it makes it really easy to keep our stuff organized once we get to our destination.
These New Balance were my favorite footwear purchase of 2024. They are extremely comfortable and were cute enough to dress up or down.
A Spa Day at Viva Day Spa is at the top of every mom’s wishlist. It’s my favorite spa in Austin.
Kendra Scott is a local jewelry maker. Her flagship store on South Congress is stunning and every mom I know would appreciate something from Kendra Scott.
I purchased this candle warmer last year and it has been my favorite thing ever! It’s the one item I bought for my friends’ “Favorite Things” gift exchange this year. Leaving a candle going all day and not having to worry about blowing it out when I leave the house or go to bed is the best thing ever.
Favorite Things for Dads
A Hops For Houses Beer Passport would make such a fun gift for an beer-loving dad out there! We get one every year, and the proceeds go towards Habitat For Humanity. You pay $25 per passport and get a free beer at 16 local businesses in the area.
If he’s into BBQ, you can’t go wrong with a whole Franklin BBQ gift combo, like one of the books, spices, sauces, and maybe even place an order for BBQ that you go and pick up for dinner one day!
A useful (and cute!) all in one tool.
Family Gifts
This is our favorite board game of all time. Hours of hilarious fun. This one is the runner up.
Everyone in our family plays the piano (except for me!) and they all love playing this daily.
To make doing chores more fun and less boring, we use a chore wheel! Each slot on the wheel has a chore written on it, plus one space that says “No chores!”. Every Saturday, you have to spin the wheel twice (to do 2 chores). My kids complain less when it feels like a game.
Experience Gifts
My all time favorite gifts to give (and receive) are experience gifts! No clutter around the house, and it keeps the fun going all year long. Think day passes, memberships to your favorite places, etc. Here’s my list of all the best experience gifts in Austin.
