7 Food Gift Cards for Kids to Gift Them a Fantastic Night Out
We all love home-cooked meals, but a night out with friends is always on the minds of kids these days! Finding the right gift for kids is a difficult task as their interests and hobbies change almost daily! There are a lot of possibilities, but this article will cover food gift cards for kids. There are so many restaurants these days that it is difficult to narrow down your scope. That’s what we are here for!
Food gift cards for kids should be to a restaurant they frequent. Especially if they are of the age before they are able to drive, a food gift card should not be to a new place as they would have to drag a parent or older sibling there with them! We recommend finding a gift card you know they will spend on a restaurant where they enjoy meeting with friends or stopping on the way to or from school. Gift cards are a great gift, but we know kids, and they are likely to misplace the card if they hold on to it for too long.
Before we jump into our list, we want to give an honorable mention to food delivery services like Uber Eats and Door Dash. They grant kids access to countless restaurants for takeout and delivery that they can pick out at any moment. They are great gift cards, but you should double-check to see that the kids are old enough to have food delivery accounts! They need an account before they can use the card, and if they don’t have one, we’d wager this gift card would prove to be more trouble than it is worth! If they do have an account, you can buy an Uber Eats gift card here and buy a Door Dash gift card right here. Without further ado, in this article, we are covering the best 7 food gift cards for kids.
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As a quick reminder, we’ve pointed out all of the retailers on this list that you can find on Gift Card Granny as of this writing. Gift Card Granny makes it easy to buy and send customized gift cards online and earn cash back while you do. Gift Card Granny carries thousands of local and national brands including Visa gift cards, Mastercard gift cards, and gift cards for many of the awesome spots on this list.
Now that we’re on the same page, let’s jump right into our list!
1. Subway
A classic stop for kids on the move
Subway and their affordable and quick sandwiches are a great food gift card for kids. Their subs are a great treat for kids before or after going to sports practices, and once they can drive, a quick trip to Subway is an easy way to get a quick meal. We think that most kids have a go-to sandwich at Subway, which is awesome, and a Subway gift card lets them pick up a few sandwiches on their own.
Kids, usually, do not often have to pay for their own food. While that’s pretty nice, getting to pay (especially with a gift card) can be a good change of pace. Wawa and Sheetz are turning into great places to give gift cards as well. Especially for older kids who are able to drive, a quick stop at a Wawa or similar restaurant is always a treat.
2. Burger King
Fast food is always a hit
Fast food is a big winner with kids these days. In terms of food gift cards for kids, we love the Burger Kings and Mcdonalds, the Wendys and Chick-Fil-as. These are great stops for any day with family and with friends. When you are getting a gift card, we recommend checking out where they like to go! Especially if they don’t have a driver’s license and aren’t the age where their friends are driving it is important to know what opportunities they have to spend a gift card.
If the kid is out with their family, it is unlikely that they will need to spend the gift card. They are kids! Try to find somewhere that gives them the ability to spend it instead of forgetting about it, and we think that Burger King, or another fast food restaurant, is a good place to do that! If you know they aren’t super interested in fast food, or, perhaps, their parent’s aren’t super into the kids going out and eating a bunch of fast food, let’s get into some other possible options for food gift cards for kids!
3. Cold Stone Creamery
Every kid loves ice cream
Buy a Cold Stone Creamery gift card
This gift card should come as no surprise for any kid! Ice cream is where it's at, and Cold Stone Creamery is the perfect place to go! If there’s one nearby, of course. Any local ice cream place will do, whichever one is the closest! We love Cold Stone Creamery and places like Dairy Queen because they are all over the country. Regardless of where they are, we’d wager that there’s one of these close by and a gift card to a place like this lets them go out and get some delicious ice cream. The only thing better than ice cream? Free ice cream, of course!
Before getting any gift card for kids, make sure that there is a place nearby where they can spend the gift card!
Buy a Cold Stone Creamery gift card
4. Chipotle
A gift card for fast and delicious bowls
If you’re thinking Chipotle — you’re on the right track. This is the kind of restaurant that is a real treat if they haven’t been there in a while. Their food is cheap, their service is fast, and it lets them enjoy a huge portion of rice and beans with their choice of toppings. Chipotle is a fast-food Mexican restaurant, but there are so many other Mexican restaurants all over the country.
If they are a fan of Mexican food, check out the area nearby! For older kids, they may enjoy trying out a local taquerias or other Mexican restaurant in the area. You may have tried some of them out yourself, and if there’s one you go back to again and again that could be the place to go! If you aren’t sure, you can always ask. It does take a bit of the excitement out of the reveal, but any gift card that they are excited to use beats out one that is surprising but impractical.
5. Panera Bread
Excellent meals await with this food gift card for kids
Panera has so many amazing options, and it occupies the fantastic niche of a fast-food adjacent restaurant that has some amazing menu items and a variety of delicious meals. They have been working hard over the years to create an impressive menu of dishes with a surprising depth of flavor. There are savory soups, fresh bread, awesome sandwiches, bagels, coffee, hot cocoa, tea, and much more. It is a little pricey, but, hey, that’s what your gift card is there for! If you get this food gift card for kids, they can enjoy a meal or two at a place where they may not have wanted to go in the past due to its elevated price. And if they do get here regularly then hey, a gift card is a great way to cover some of the costs.
Panera is a great place to stop after school or on the weekends. That being said, they may have yet to have Panera Bread on their radar. If you know that they will like a trip or two to Panera Bread in the near future then this is the way to go!
6. Applebees
A classic high school hang out
Applebees is a classic, chill restaurant where friends can go to enjoy a nice, affordable meal. This is a great place to meet up after sports practice, games, or any after school activity when they leave with a full stomach. This gift card is best for older kids, maybe middle school or high school-aged kids because they are likely to go out with friends. Just be ready to drive them over if they can’t drive!
This is one of our top picks for food gift cards for kids because they can go and enjoy a meal and a drink that is entirely covered by a classic $25 gift card. With that, they can leave with their pockets just as full as when they arrived. Friends can meet up at Applebees to enjoy a great night of catching up with bottomless appetizers and not have to worry about getting their favorite sodapop or a desert if they are feeling it!
7. Olive Garden
A gift card for Italian food
Get an Olive Garden gift card.
Olive Garden is an amazing restaurant for kids after school. We don’t have a ton of sit down restaurants on this list because they are not ideal for younger kids, but once they get to middle school or later it is more and more common for them to want to go out with their friends at a sit-down restaurant. They provide great portions of comfort food to their customers and they have locations all over the country. As always, make sure that there is a nearby location or, even better, that they go to one frequently. That way you know they will use it and not lose it! While talking to the kid may diminish the surprise we recommend talking to the parents about the gift card! We’d wager they know exactly where the kid finds themselves and are able to turn you in the right direction as to where your gift card purchase should lie.
We would be remiss not to mention the neverending soup, salad, and breadsticks available at this amazing restaurant! Make sure they come hungry so they can enjoy the bottomless appetizers to the fullest extent.
Get an Olive Garden gift card.
These are our favorite food gift cards for kids!
Regardless of the occasion, food gift cards are always a hit. If you’ve gotten to the end of this food-filled list and are still uncertain of what kind of gift card to get, feel free to ask! You can ask their parents or the kids themselves to find out about their favorite foods. That little bit of insight can lead you down the path to the perfect gift card, especially now that you have all these restaurants fresh in your mind. Even if they may know that a gift card is coming, figuring out what restaurant they really like is always worthwhile.
As long as the kid is going to be nearby the restaurant that you get for them, we think that they will love the gift card and might appreciate the chance to go out with their friends and enjoy a meal or a snack from a great restaurant.
Gift cards make such amazing gifts for everyone out there. Food gift cards for kids are a great way to show your appreciation and give the kids a fun night out. We hope that you have found the perfect gift card on this list!
Remember: many of the retailers on this list are available at Gift Card Granny, where you can earn cashback and rewards on all of your gift card purchases.
From all of us here at Gift Card Granny, happy shopping!