Gift ideas for a nature-filled new year

This time of year, families and communities gather for cultural and religious holidays around the world, often sharing gifts and wishes for the new year. We’ve pulled together some of our favorite ways to connect to nature – from outdoor adventures to bringing a little bit of nature into your home – to help you and the children you love enjoy a nature-filled new year!

A terrarium is a great way to bring the outdoors inside! Terrarium making sparks creativity while also teaching you about the varying layers of materials needed to support optimal drainage and plant health. You can find a cool jar or vessel around your home to reuse and purchase a small plant (or maybe use a cutting from a larger plant!) for the terrarium. For my terrarium, I used an air plant! I’d recommend this terrarium starter kit ($18) for a great holiday gift that provides additional terrarium materials to get you started.

Nature Journaler Fiona Gillogly’s nature journal kit, including watercolors, a portable watercolor brush and binoculars. © Fiona Gillogly

A nature journal is another fun gift for the season. At our recent Children & Nature staff retreat, I organized a nature journaling activity and it was a highlight of our time together. One of the best parts was how easy it was! I ordered beautiful little journals with an image of a tree on the front and some nature-themed stickers. The instructions were to go outside and find one thing in nature to focus on and then journal about it. The results were amazing! Some folks did incredible sketches or wrote poetry, while others dug into learning the scientific names of their plants. For the holidays, a nature journal ($10) could be a great gift for each family member, so that the whole family can get outside and partake in a nature journaling activity together! This Finding Nature News article on nature journaling has even more great ideas to get you started.

Tehlyr Kellogg
Executive Manager
Nashville, Tennessee

If you live in a snowy part of the country, I absolutely recommend investing in snowshoes for the new year. They’re a great bit of outdoor gear to add to your repertoire because they’re so straightforward and easy for adults and kids to navigate. Unlike all the gear required for skis (plus a drive to the mountain), you can strap snowshoes on your kid and send them out the door! Take a family snowshoe walk through the neighborhood or take them out on trail. If you’re lucky enough to experience Minnesota-style winters, you can even enjoy the wonder of snowshoeing across a frozen lake!

Jamie Pérez
External Relations Coordinator
Minneapolis, Minnesota

In Colorado, the weather is cooling down – making it the perfect time to curl up with a good book! For the giving season, I’d recommend two of my very favorite kids books: Over and Under the Pond and Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal. They’re gorgeous, and do a great job illustrating the rich, interconnected ecosystems in our world. 

As a bonus: After reading your new books, you can get outside as a family and explore your local ecosystems using the Merlin ID app (for birding) or the PlantNet app (for plant identification).

Erin Allaman
Manager of Learning and Evaluation
Leadville, Colorado

Our family loves Smartwool! 

You’ve heard the saying: There’s no bad weather, just bad clothing choices. Well, we agree! Smartwool helps my family get outside no matter what the weather is doing. From socks for toasty feet to neckwarmers for extra coziness, Smartwool’s products make the perfect stocking stuffer or seasonal gift. Most importantly, we love their commitment to sustainability!

Avery Cleary
Conference Manager
Walnut Creek, California

Although I don’t have a specific recommendation, there are a zillion cool nature-themed coloring books – which are a great way to relax while feeding your creativity! Here are some examples for adults and for children.  

Happy coloring! 

Cathy Jordan
Consulting Director of Research
Minneapolis, Minnesota

I’m on the hunt for items that will inspire more outdoor exploration during the new year – and Kikkerland’s dual magnifier and compass were the perfect choice! 

Not only does Kikkerland have fun and unique products, they support and represent independent designers from around the world. Kikkerland’s Huckleberry line, designed by Chris Koens and Ramon Middelkopp and inspired by their children, consists of simple tools and toys that invite kids to have fun interacting with nature.

My kids and I are eagerly awaiting the natural mysteries that we’ll uncover with our new tools. Plus, Kikkerland donates a percentage of all Huckleberry sales to the Children & Nature Nature Network. Now that’s a gift that keeps on giving!

Kristy Omelianuk
Network Engagement Manager
Basking Ridge, New Jersey

When it comes to connecting kids to nature, our co-founder, Richard Louv, literally wrote the book. You may be familiar with his international bestseller Last Child in the Woods, in which he coined the phrase nature-deficit disorder and galvanized a global movement to reconnect children to the natural world. Last Child in the Woods was followed by The Nature Principle, which identifies seven basic concepts that can reshape our lives and our relationships with nature – and Vitamin N, a practical guide offering 500 ideas for connecting to nature in every stage of life. These three books make up a quintessential nature connection collection for the readers in your life.

And while we’re a family of readers, planning outdoor adventures for the new year is also a favorite activity at our house. Some adventures are big, like an annual ski trip, and some are close to home, like our favorite candle-lit snowshoe event at a nearby park. We’re better about spending time outdoors, exploring new places and activities, when we plan ahead. So each new year, we celebrate with a nature-themed calendar. 

2024 National Parks Calendar from Parks Project, a certified B-corporation working to inspire the next generation of parks conservation.

Some of our favorites have been National Park calendars (like this one from Parks Project) and calendars that highlight things our crew is interested in, from plants and animals to the weather, like this Minnesota Weather Guide and Almanac. You can find weather almanacs or phenology calendars for your area, and many regional and state park systems have calendars as well. When my son was younger, he loved adding outdoor activity stickers to our calendar – and looking back through our months of adventures as the year came to a close.

Laura Mylan
CSO, External Relations
Minneapolis, Minnesota

For the nature enthusiasts in your life, consider gifting a membership to the Children & Nature Network. Member support helps us curate our resource library with cutting-edge science, produce stories for Finding Nature News and increase nature access in cities across the U.S. through our Cities Connecting Children to Nature and Nature Everywhere Communities initiatives. 

This season, I’ll be purchasing a membership for a loved one who works as an integrative health and wellness coach. She encourages her youth clients to connect to nature as a pathway towards improved wellness – so a Children & Nature Network membership aligns seamlessly with her values! The membership affirms her commitment to nature-based wellness approaches while keeping her up to date on relevant news, events and research emerging from the field. 

Whether you’re shopping for a practitioner in the field or a concerned caregiver, gifting a membership is a meaningful and purposeful gesture that will help advance the children and nature movement in the new year!

Marley Kehew
Editorial Coordinator 
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Check Out More News and Resources