Here are tried and true gift ideas to help inspire and outfit your child for fun family adventures in the Swiss alps, from practical to adorable. I hope you find something you like!
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1. Personalized Swiss army knife
It’s a right of passage for a Swiss child to receive their first Swiss army knife. Kids as young as five are routinely seen wielding this iconic tool. You can order a personalized knife online. Or for a special experience, you could book a knife assembly session, where you build your own knife, which is also engraved with your name.
See my post about our experience assembling our own knives
This is possible at the Victorinox visitor center in Brunnen near Lucerne and at the Victorinox flagship store in Geneva (info.geneve.ch@victorinox.com).
2. Roasting sticks
Although we enjoy carving our own roasting sticks, telescoping roasting sticks are very handy and a lot of fun. I like this Victorinox roasting fork because the tongs retract into the handle, making it safer to transport in your pack. We also have the MalloMe brand, which we really like. We bought them on Amazon.de, which sells a lot of brands, many of which are basically the same product sold under different brand names.
With your gift, you could include a Swiss style S’mores kit with marshmallows and those petit beurre cookies covered with chocolate.
See my post: How to build a fire – Swiss style
3. Hiking Backpack
It’s a good to train your kids early on to carry a backpack while hiking. They can start carrying light and fun stuff like snacks. If I’m carrying all the other gear, it also really helps if my child can carry their jacket and any bulky items that aren’t too heavy, like a bag of chips.
A lot of the “kinder” backpacks are really small. If it can’t fit their jacket, it’s almost useless. For kids starting around 5-6 years old, I’d would suggest one around 10 L, so they can fit more stuff, even if it’s light. For kids around 11-12 years old, I would get a smaller “women’s” backpack, which just means it’s built for a smaller framed person. About 15-20L is a good size for an older child.
I prefer a backpack with a hip belt but most kids’ backpacks don’t come with that, so it’s not a deal breaker. Test the side pocket to see if it’s deep enough to securely hold a water bottle. When my kids run around, sometimes the bottle flops out because it’s too short.
For kids under 10, I would suggest something like the Tatonka Wokin 15 backpack has a hip belt and deep side pockets. The Deuter Foxtrail 10L is good for small kids but it’s almost a little too small.
For my teen, I recently bought the Deuter Speedlite 20L, which is a great day pack: lightweight, slim profile, and comfortable. It’s just big enough to carry a rain jacket and compressed down jacket as well as water and snacks. We like that the side pockets are deep enough that the water bottle doesn’t fall out. This backpack is available in other sizes from 12 – 32L. See all models on Deuter website.
Gifting tip: fill the backpack with your child’s favorite snacks for your first hike. I’m a bad mom so I fill it with candy, chips, chocolate, cookies, and a soda pop. Whatever works!
4. Switzerland Coloring Books
If you want to inspire your children to go outdoors, you could start with coloring places you want to go. The Big Swiss Coloring Book has 80 lovely hand-drawn illustrations of places all over Switzerland. The Little Swiss Coloring Book is a smaller version more suitable for travel.
We were also intrigued by this Legends of Switzerland book, which has coloring pages to accompany each story. You can read short versions of many of these legends on the Varsys website.
While you’re at it, include classic Swiss coloring pencils like this Caran d’Ache set.
See also our suggestions for Children’s pictures books about Switzerland
5. Torches
Plan a night hike with torches, even just a walk in a local park. Then gift these awesome hand torches, aka “Fackel” or “Wachstuchfackel” or “Handfackel” in German. These torch walks are always a hit with our kids. We like to do long exposure photos so they can write stuff in the air with the light.
You can buy torches online at Galaxus or at stores like Migros Do It, Coop Bau & Hobby or Jumbo.
6. Swiss plush animals
Each year when my kids were younger, Santa would leave a plush animal next to their stocking. This animal became our mascot of the year. Some of our favorites were classic Swiss animals like a hedgehog, St. Bernard dog or Steinbock (mountain goat). This is nice way to endear your children to this special place they live. This WWF Steinbock and St. Bernard dog are adorable choices.
7. Activity tracker / Fitness watch
Some kids need mini goals to help keep them moving on the trail. Last year I got my son an activity tracker watch so he could track his steps on the trail. He loves comparing our steps along the way and at the end of the day. He loves reaching his step goal (7,000 steps/day) and finds it really exciting when we double or triple his step goals in a day. It has really improved his motivation on hikes.
I read lots of reviews and finally settled on a Garmin Vivosmart (first watch above). Although we like it, I’d probably go with the Vivosport next time (second watch above), which has GPS tracking, a larger screen and color display. Both sync with a Garmin app so you can track your activity over time.
For a cheaper alternative, install a mapping app like Komoot on your or your kids’ phone (I use Komoot for most maps embedded on our site) . Then every time you go hiking, download the trail map phone for offline use. Then you can see where you are on the trail, how far you have left to go and the elevation profile. Now the phone can answer the “are we there yet” question for you.
8. Hydration bladder
Stopping to get a drink is something that slows kids down a lot. One way to solve this problem is using a hydration bladder, called “Trinkblase” in German, instead of a bottle. We like the Hydrapak brand, which is more flexible and a bit easier to wash. I haven’t found a shop selling it in Switzerland, but you can get it on Amazon.de.
In Switzerland, you can easily find the Source brand, which works well but I find the plastic is a bit stiff. Galaxus is selling a few brands of hydration bladders including Salamon Soft Reservoir, Deuter Streamer and Camelbak Crux. I much prefer styles with a roll top closure, not the one with a wide mouth screw lid like Camelbak.
One warning: After sitting dormant all winter with water in it, one of our hydration bladders developed mold in the mouthpiece. So it’s helpful to use a brand where you can easily buy a replacement straw/mouthpiece if necessary.
9. Quick “no-tie” shoelaces
This is a gift for you and your child. Quick shoelaces will change your life. I’ve lost half my life tying and retying both my and my kids’ shoes. I have often bought Salomon hiking shoes for my kids just because they have the quicklace system, which is basically a drawstring on slightly elastic laces.
There are lots of different kinds of quick laces some in fun colors. Galaxus has Quicklock laces, Decathlon sells Quechua Quick Laces. Amazon.de sells a bunch of different brands ofquick shoelaces, many which ship to Switzerland. If I were in the US, I’d try Quickshoelace.
10. Fun socks
I always put a pair of fun socks in my kids’ Christmas stocking. Over the years, these colorful socks became the go-to hiking socks for my kids. Hiking just feels a bit more fun when you aren’t always in drab brown, gray and black clothing.
We love the mismatched Many Mornings socks. You might like The Squirrels Socks, Bee Bee or The Map.
Dilly Socks always has fun designs, including these outdoor themed squirrel and owl socks below.
I hope you found some good gift ideas in this little guide. Wishing you many happy outdoor adventures with your new gear.
4 responses
Hello Tanya, would you have recommendation for children walking sticks?
Hi Melodie, I would get an inexpensive telescoping set from Decathlon. Then the sticks can easily be adjusted to the child’s height as they grow. And you don’t have to make a huge investment for something they may not use or break over time. Decathlon has a children’s hiking pole from Quecha for CHF 9.40.
Do you have any idea at all if you can buy handheld torches like that somewhere in the States?
No idea, but I’d check at a Home Depot or Target. I searched and couldn’t find it at a US store but probably cuz I don’t know what they are called. I found a UK company that calls them “procession torches” or “garden candles”. On Alibaba they sell Hand-hold wax torch candles. Let me know if you find them.