Gift Ideas for Skateboard Loving Kids
We’re big skating fans in this house! It’s such a great activity for kids, helping them improve their balance, confidence, resilience, social skills and mental health, to name just a few things. Sure, it comes with its risks but, if you take the right safety precautions, then we feel that they’re far outweighed by the benefits.
If your child loves skateboarding like mine, here are a few birthday or Christmas gift ideas.
Skateboard Designed Specifically For Kids
It probably goes without saying that buying an actual skateboard is a pretty good place to start in terms of a gift for a skateboard loving kid! While my partner does skate and knows more about what he’s looking for, my knowledge isn’t great so it made sense for me to look for something trustworthy that’s specifically designed for children.
Enter Mino Skateboards, which are designed just for kids by French pro-skater Lucas Puig and his wife Astrid. For now we’ve got a Marcel cruiser but we’ll probably look to move to the next level soon as my son is getting better with every session. The particularly cool thing about the Marcel model is that it has a cork deck - perfect for kids who are starting out skating on knees or just testing their balance barefoot like my son likes to do at home.
Checkerboard Vans-style Quilt
This is basically a Vans slip-on in bedroom decoration form! If you don’t want to cover your kid’s bedroom in loads of branded decor, then this feels to me like the perfect nod to skate style while still staying timeless and, dare I say it, chic!
I custom make these quilts to order using repurposed and remnant materials, meaning lots of fun options for unique colour combos that work perfectly with your child’s existing decor. Order one through my shop then we can decide on your colour combo together before I get making!
Skateboard Themed Books
My partner has found a few brilliant skate themed books over the years that my son has really loved. They all have amazing messages about resilience, the value of not giving up when you really want something, and friendship. We’ve found them to be super helpful if my son falls at the skatepark and feels disappointed - we remind him about the characters in these books and how they fall but get back up and try again. It always seems to get him back on the board. You can find the My First Skateboard ones here and Little Skate Rats here.
Finger Skateboard
I honestly cannot count the hours of play time we’ve had with these tiny boards! We have a couple and use them all the time. Pretty much any surface can be a rail or ramp and they’re great for keeping in a pocket as an emergency toy in a cafe. My partner made a super simple half pipe out of cardboard and an old wooden crate which has also been a real winner.
To honest, the ramp could be a gift in and of itself - it's so easy to DIY with some basic supplies.
Kids' Skate Pads And Helmet
Safety protection really is non-negotiable for a young one starting to skate. A concrete skatepark is not fun to fall on and it’s just not worth taking any risk. The body pads also give a mental sense of security that falling is ok, allowing them to try more things - we practice sliding down ramps on my son’s knees to remind him that he’ll be ok if he does fall. (Shout out to the one of the teachers often at our local spot who we learnt that from!)
We’ve always found skate shops to be super friendly and happy to help find the right fit equipment (especially important for helmets), so if you have one near you, that would be a good place to start.
If you’d rather shop online, my son has these pads and this helmet - both purchased from local shops with amazing reputations.
Children's Rocker Balance Board
We were kindly given this as a gift by my son’s aunt and it’s been a big hit! Aside from obviously using it to improve his balance, my son also uses it as a half pipe for his finger skateboard. The rocking motion is also said to be great for emotional regulation, so it’s really a great item to have for your skate-loving kid in more ways than one.
Skateboarding is a really wonderful hobby and world for your child to enter into and there are so many related gift options that go beyond a big-brand t-shirt or hoody! I hope this little guide has helped give you some ideas. Let me know in the comments if there's anything you'd add to the list!