Whole family gift ideas?

[MaryMorph]

In the past, I purchased individual gifts for each of my nieces and nephews. We've had a bit of a baby boom in the family over the last year, and that is no longer in the budget. Instead, I'm planning on giving each individual family a gift.

My sister's family is the toughest...her 4 kids range in age from 13-4. Any suggestions on something that would be fun for all? I was thinking of a board game or something like that.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a fun family gift?

Thanks---

mary jo

[jmarie]

Movie Night Basket

DVD
Popcorn
Candy like you can purchase at the movies,
Root beer or some other caffeine free beverage
Make some fake tickets inviting each and use them as the gift tag.

[stefania4]

Uncommongoods.com has a cube of conversation topics for families. I just ordered one for a friend who got engaged and will acquire a stepson in the process.

[ClaraB]

Oh, oh, I've got one - Looney Tunes Golden Collection! We have it and watch it often - I gave it to DB's family last Christmas as a family gift and they all loved it as well. Volume 1 is the best - we've watched some of the other volumes as well, and some of the old cartoons on them are almost unrecognizable.

[donleyk]

Dominos are great for the whole family as well as Yatzee!

[Mike A.]

How about a Netflix (http://www.netflix.com) subscription? We've gotten that for my parents and they've really enjoyed it.

[Kyra]

One of our favorite family games is the card game Uno. I have taught 3-year olds how to play it, so this could possibly work for your age range. There are different "versions" of it out there as well. For small kids, I just take out the weird cards (skip, reverse, etc.) and they can always just match colors even if they don't know their numbers yet.

There's a great game called Cranium, and the manufacturers make several versions of this. One of those might also work for your age range.

How about a family membership to a local destination: zoo, museum (art, science, children's, etc.), local or state park system, swimming pool, something like that? Or if that's not the right price range, maybe tickets to the same if that's appropriate?

I love the movie night suggestion.

Good luck!

[Taeler]

We love the game sequence and the kids in my family (3,5,10,and 12) all love to play it!
I also like the movie night idea. Or you could give the parents a "date night" certificate and the kids a "movie night" basket, then the parents can go on a date while you watch a movie with the kids. I love getting the gift of someones time!

[leightx]

Can the 4 year old read? We play games almost every night at our house. Our favorite family game is Apples to Apples Jr. (http://www.amazon.com/Out-Box-Apples-Jr%252e-2nd/dp/B000B74E40/sr=8-1/qid=1165263051/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-2039804-2284833?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games), which is perfect for kids who can read on about a 2nd grade level (at least).

Our other favorite is Uno Attack - no reading involved, and it's really pretty hilarious when the cards come flying out at you. :p

[erin elizabeth]

I second the Netflix idea--my friend gave me a one-month subscription and it was $9.99. They can watch a few movies and so get something everyone likes over the month :)

[MelissaAS]

This may not be what you're looking for, but I like to give families the LLBean Boat and Tote bag with their last name embroidered on it. They come in all sizes and I LOVE using the huge one to pack the family for beach/lake days www.llbean.com. The huge one is only $30!

[gobluem82]

We do family gifts now, too--it's much easier. Last year, I got everyone ice cream balls--you put the ice cream ingredients in the middle, ice and rock salt in the outer compartment, and roll the ball around to freeze the ice cream. They're available through places like L.L. Bean and Red Envelope. One family gift that we enjoyed was a half gallon of maple syrup along with a maple syrup cookbook. You could also do something similar with gourmet honeys.

[JMM74]

Passes to the local skating rink? That's one of our family activities. :)

[DanaSD]

I put together a pizza making kit once - pizza pan, trader joes pizza sauce, CA pizza kitchen cookbook.

[memartha]

I was also going to suggest "Table Topics" which might be the same type of product as stefania4 mentioned. If you go to www.tabletopics.com, you will see it.

We have the Family edition, and the kids and their friends LOVE to play it as they're finishing dinner (we keep it in the middle of the table, with the salt and pepper).

[BucknellAlum]

How about an ice cream maker and personalized ice cream bowls?

Or personalized mugs and a basket with hot chocolate mixes, etc. Personal Creations makes a lot of these type of mugs. www.personalcreations.com