Best Ideas for Family Gifts
Looking for the best ideas for family gifts? This list shares some favorites for families of all sizes and makeups! When you’re done, check out my full list of carefully curated gift ideas for everyone. This post contains affiliate links and gifted products.
Especially at a time when people receive so much STUFF, I love the idea of family gifts that are shared with multiple family members and/or gifted to the family as a whole. Today, I’ll be sharing some of my best ideas for family gifts.
Why give family gifts?
If you’re looking to consolidate your shopping and gift giving, family gifts can really help.
I find that family gifts helps me:
- Have to find fewer items to buy
- Wrap less
- Save money OR
- Have a larger budget for a nicer gift – the quality over quantity approach
Think about it: instead of purchasing each kid a little tchotchke that adds up to $100, you can purchase a nice, shared toy for $80 saving you a few bucks. Or instead of getting every family member something else, just get one cool thing that’ll cost the same total, but that everyone will love.
But does that exist?
What makes the best ideas for family gifts?
Here are some of my tips for what makes the best ideas for family gifts. Start by thinking about what the family might use together. Sometimes this can be focused only on the kids, and sometimes it’s something that the kids AND the parents will love. And for older families (without young kids) it’s even easier to nail.
For example:
- Toys for 2+ at once – specifically targeting the age group of the family’s kids. This is easier to do when the kids are closer in age and can play with them together. This is a great approach when you’re looking to add more quality over quantity.
- Games! Especially family-style games that can really be played with everyone together.
- Things that encourage time together
- Large home and kitchen gadgets that can be enjoyed by all – this is my favorite category for when you are looking to purchase something bigger instead of loads of small items.
- Small kitchen gadgets – this is great for when you are looking to save and bring a smaller token gift for the family.
Best ideas for family gifts
Here are some of my best ideas for family gifts – picks from larger and smaller brands that’ll be enjoyed by the entire family!
Games & Family Toys
Play matters, and since lots of gifting centers around toys, these picks are a win. While the toys tend to take a quality vs. quantity approach, the games often take a budget-friendly approach.
MAGNA-TILES Pet Playhouse
MAGNA-TILES are a winner for kids of all ages. My 12 year old still loves playing with them, and my 2 year old joins in supervised (they are for ages 3+ due to small parts.) And the cool thing about it is, you don’t need to know if the family already has it or not – it’s the type of toy that you always want to build on the existing stash – the more pieces the better!
The Pet Playhouse from MAGNA-TILES is a fabulous set for sibling play – whether they already have a stash of MAGNA-TILES or not. It comes with super fun specialty pieces – including steps, slides, cubes, and more. And my kids’ favorite part? The adorable pets (4 of them, enough for each of my kids to adopt one) – plus the caretaker figure that the set comes with!
This is super fun to play with as a standalone toy or combined with other MAGNA-TILES sets.
Hootenanny Feelin Cute Game
Family games that include ranking things tend to be a win – they open up conversation and sometimes even good-natured bickering. Feelin’ Cute has all of that – and adorable animals. Yes, this is a game where you actually rank cuteness of animals!
As a 2-8 player game, it can really be played by the whole family. Players need to silently rank where on the cuteness meter the “it” player would rank the animal card that is picked in relation to the existing animal.
Every detail of Feelin’ Cute is cute (but they managed to keep it gender neutral) – from the raised animal paw player pieces to the blobfish tokens (for when no one guesses correctly) – and my favorite part, the vivid photos of 175 different animals. It’s part trivia, part family conversation, and piles of cuteness.
Pixicade
We love gaming experiences that take kids off the screens for a bit! That hybrid setup is a great way to get kids a little more actively engaged in their game play.
Pixicade features loads of different games that can be played all with your drawings! The notebook and markers come with guided instructions and games to set up, and then the app scans it for the actual game play.
It requires absolutely no drawing skills (see my stick figures) but kids in a wide range of age groups will get the huge satisfaction of seeing their drawings animated – and playing with them! It’s got loads of mini games in one kit, and, unlike many other video games, it’s an easy-to-gift boxed set that can be wrapped and gifted as a physical gift. The companion app is free to download.
Carrera Mario & Luigi Tabletop RC
I have two boys close in age, and while that is a very specific family structure, it’s the perfect one for this tabletop RC course from Carrera! Featuring my boys’ favorite brothers – Mario and Luigi – it’s got loads of endless sibling fun and friendly competition.
Kids (and adults who may want to sneak a play) can set up a racing course on the table or floor using the very generous 60 guardrails that the set comes with. Race Mario and Luigi using the included remotes – batteries included too. The cars are small – 1:50 scale – and have three speed settings.
The set also comes with fun and humorous optional signs so that the family can really get together and design a fun race track.
Uzzle Puzzle Game
For the family that enjoys more puzzle-type games, The Uzzle is a super fun game for up to four players. Each player gets a set of 1×2 cubes with prints on each side and need to race to match up the design on their cards.
Even level 1 (there are 4 levels) is harder than it looks! You might think you almost got it, but then you’ll find that you need a previously played piece for its other side! Do-over time!
This game can even be played with larger groups, since it’s a team-friendly game. Teams of two can join up to make the pattern on the card faster for a larger scale family game.
Cool Food Gadgets & Gifts
We have an aunt who always gifts each family a fun gadget – and we love it! This can be done on a small scale or larger. We will be gifting our kids the ice cream maker as a family gift this year (yes, I did advance test it to review it for you!) Smaller gadgets and kitchen tools work as well.
And of course, gifting gourmet food items is a win too – and something that the whole family can enjoy.
East Oak Ridgewood Smoker
For the family that loves high quality food (especially meat!) the East Oak Ridgewood Smoker is an epic gift! A friend of mine introduced me to smoking and I can never look back.
This electric smoker effectively smokes food on a generous four racks. The temperature goes up to 275, so it’s like a slow-cooker in cooking effectiveness, but with that incredibly smokey flavor.
I’ve tried it on a few foods. First, I cooked a large dinner of drumsticks, potatoes, and corn on the cob, with cherry wood chips. The food was all delicious, but those potatoes were incomparable to any I’ve had.
I also smoked a salmon, and it was a big hit even among my salmon-reluctant crowd.
The East Oak Ridgewood smoker comes with a built-in probe for easier readiness gauging. I still hope to try it on sliced salami and more unique foods. The possibilities are truly endless with this super cool food gadget – it’s going to be a win and a talked-about family gift for years.
Whynter 2.1 Qt Ice Cream Maker
I have a secret to tell you: I unboxed this, tested it out, and then reboxed it… because I know it’ll make an epic gift for my own family – every one of my kids will love it! For a family that isn’t necessarily high tech foodie but enjoys a good treat, the Whynter 2.1 Qt ice cream maker is a winning gift.
Unlike some other popular models, this one actually freezes the ice cream. It has a buit-in compressor so that you can make the ice cream – from room-temp liquid to delicious frozen creaminess – in an hour.
Beyond ice cream, it can make frozen yogurts, sorbets and sherberts, and sauces too. It churns as it freezes, for ice cream perfection.
The 2.1 quart capacity makes enough for the whole family to share. Whynter makes some super cool “pretty” models as well but honestly, I just love the amount that their stainless steel model makes at once. We’ll be using this year-round for many ice cream parties to come!
Larder & Vine Baking Set
For the family that loves baking, the tools of the trade are a winning gift. Larder & Vine’s healthier nonstick ceramic-coated bakeware is both gorgeous and functional – making it totally gift-ready. It comes in different colors (I chose the teal set to go with my kitchen.)
It’s designed to stack neatly into the large roaster pan for easy storage. And it cleans like a dream!
The set comes with enough to feed a family a feast! It includes 2 baking sheets (I fit 12 chocolate chip cookies on each), 2 6-muffin tins, a loaf pan, a small 6.7 inch round cake pan, an 8-inch square cake pan, and a deep roasting pan that’s deep and large enough for a 5-lb roast.
And of course, it’s dishwasher safe too!
Crispy Green Freeze Dried Fruit
The gourmet food category is a growing one that is one of the most missed gift-giving opportunities. It’s a great idea for families that want less stuff but enjoy a good treat.
Crispy Green freeze dried fruit are fabulous for the family that loves fruit! It builds on the freeze-dried trend to bring all natural snacks that are shelf-stable and frankly so good! Our kids’ favorite is the mango flavor and the adults really enjoyed the strawberries.
Flavors include apple, Asian pear, banana, mango, strawberry, pineapple and tangerine. They are Kosher certified by the OU as well as gluten free and vegan.
Tip: it’s all about the presentation! Gather a variety of flavors together in a pretty basket or reusable storage bin to make it feel like a well-presented gift.
Family Time Together
The best gift to give a family is… family time! These are my best ideas for family gifts to encourage or support time spent together!
Foldology Origami Puzzles
I first discovered Foldology on Amazon and my reaction was “this is genius!” These brain-teasers mix origami with puzzles for a super cool new and affordable activity.
The goal is to figure out how to fold the paper to assemble the photo, within a set of rules. While these are individual puzzles, each book comes with 100 puzzles, making it a fabulous family date-night at home. Family members can challenge each other, race for some friendly competition, or pass on the ones they are stuck on.
The books increase in difficulty. There are currently three books available (get them individually or the first two as a set – but definitely start with the first). It’s going to be a new favorite hobby and family activity!
Gravel UltraPak Packable Blankets
I often recommend throw blankets as great family gifts, but this one really got me for its unique factor. If you like gifting things that have a “gimmick” element to them but are so functional, you’ll need to check out Gravel’s packable blankets. The material is similar to packable coats but in a blanket format. They fold down to the size of a water bottle and are actually easy to fold up into the included pouch. No “help, how did this ever fit in here?”
These blankets are absolutely perfect for keeping stowed in the car as picnic or beach blankets. The full size one can fit 3-4 people on it at the beach and the mini one is perfect as a picnic blanket. They are also perfect just for having as car blankets for families that do lots of road trips with young kids, or for camping.
And the prints? They are priceless! I wish they would have photographed better – sadly my photos on these do not do that artwork justice.
Family Date Night Cards
Here’s one for the family that loves doing random activities together: scratch off family date night cards! These super cool surprise activity cards come in a nice, sturdy box and are frankly fun to scratch off. Because of the presentation they make a fabulous wrappable gift that doesn’t cost a lot.
The 40 cards are color-coded based on what time of day they should be done, and include un-hidden keys so that they can actually fit into the designated time. Each one is marked by prep required, length of the activity, how much it costs and where it’s done.
Halo Basketball Hoop
There’s nothing like getting active together as a family, so why not gift physical activity? Halo Ball is a basket-ball inspired game only:
- It can be taken anywhere and literally packs into a drawstring bag and
- It’s played 360 degrees – all around the hoop.
The basket is hung between two points (such as trees in a park) from the slash-proof line, tightened with the rust-proof ratchet, and you’re ready to play!
Got any more best ideas for family gifts to add to the list? Anything that was a hit with your family? Comment below!
