How2Day: Simple Gift Ideas for a Family

There are any number of simple gifts you can give a family. gifts ii image by Hao Wang from Fotolia.com
There are several reasons to give gifts to a family. The family may have moved into a new house, they offered the hospitality of their home or, instead of individual gifts for a holiday celebration, you decide to give a gift the whole family can enjoy. There are any number of gift choices you can make to give a family.

Many families spend time together doing an activity. Some may set aside a night of the week that they designate as "family night." The activities for family night may vary, but, if the family likes watching family-friendly movies, a simple gift idea for a family is to give the latest family-friendly movie to be released on DVD. If the family watches movies more than once or likes classic movies, you might give a family gift that reflects the season. For example at Christmas you can give one or more of the following: "A Christmas Carol," "A Charlie Brown Christmas," Disney's "A Christmas Carol," "The Christmas Shoes," "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and many others.

Buy a basket and fill it with family snack favorites. Line the basket with either tissue paper or, for an added gift, a small towel and hot pad. Include a selection of crackers, cheeses and sausage along with popcorn.

You can make a basket that focuses on popcorn. In the basket put a bag of popcorn along with a small bottle of virgin olive oil and a selection of seasonings for the popcorn. Include regular, cheese and kettle corn microwave popcorn bags as well. For a larger, but still simple, gift for a family, along with the basket of popcorn, give a popper or a microwave oven.

When you do not know the particular likes and dislikes of a family or what to give a family for a gift, give a gift that allows them to choose their own family gift. Ask other family members or friends where the family prefers to shop. This might be a small family-owned store, a large department store or a chain retailer. Purchase a gift card in an amount large enough to buy something the whole family can enjoy. Put the gift card into a larger appropriate card as a simple gift for a family.

If you are close enough to the family to have pictures, put together a picture album with explanatory text or, if proficient on the computer, create a family slideshow. This can be series of pictures the family can view and remember family vacations and celebrations. You can add humorous pictures as well. Download the slideshow to a flash drive or DVD.

If the family plays board games, look for one the family can play together. Take into consideration the ages of the children when you purchase the game. For children elementary age and up, family board games include MindTrap, Trivial Pursuit, Apples to Apples and Balderdash. If children are younger, check out board games rated for their ages or find junior versions of games. You can also give classic board games such as Sorry, Monopoly, Clue, The Game of Life and Scrabble. Or, give Candyland for families with little children.

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